Central America Books

Dans le royaume des incas, des cendres du volcan etaient-elles la cause de la faible recolte et de la faim? Cinq siecles apres, des cendres et la fumee du Nevado Sabancaya fondaient les versants glaces et enneiges du Mont Ampato. Alors deux alpinistes, le Dr Johan Reinhard et Miguel Zarate, reussissaient a y retrouver le corps d'une adolescente inca. L'auteur ecrit un conte pour dire pourquoi une jeune fille de 14 ans grimpait jusqu'au sommet du Mont Ampato. Chaque chapitre du conte est precede par des faits de la decouverte de la jolie Juanita. Quelle courageuse, mourante sacrifiee pour aider a sa communaute et, avec son corps bien momifie, a la science 500 ans plus tard.

Once upon a time, falling volcanic ash might have hurt community crops and led a brave teen to scale sacred Mount Ampato. Within the last decade, ash and smoke from Nevado Sabancaya melted slopes and led mountain climbers Johan Reinhard and Miguel Zarate to the 14-year-old's mummified body. Author Susan Vande Griek starts each chapter of her suspenseful short story with facts about finding Juanita. A GIFT FOR AMPATO also works as cultural background to Janet Buell's ICE MAIDEN OF THE ANDES, David Getz's FROZEN GIRL, Harriet Griffey's SECRETS OF THE MUMMIES, Nova's FROZEN IN HEAVEN video, and Dr Reinhard's DISCOVERING THE INCA ICE MAIDEN.

While this book is not a great work of literature, its content is exceptional. Dr. Arnold Trebach, for decades one of the world's leading experts on drug policy, has hit all the nails right on their heads. As a criminal justice professor, this was required reading in my capstone seminar for seniors, and it is truly a "must read" for any open-minded individuals who want to know the truth about the drugwar and drugwarriors. We need Dr. Trebach's new brand of wisdom to escape the horrors of prohibition and to get down to the real business of dealing with drugs and the human beings who use them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! (a recovering drugwarrior)

Given the current trends in the War on Drugs, Mr. Trebach's book offers refreshingly radical and interesting new strategies on how we might deal with the dilemma of illicit drugs. He also gives a great deal of information from behind the scenes of just how we have been dealing with this problem. It is interesting that this book was originally published in 1987, during the height of the drug war

The amount of detail and research that went into this book is amazing--I keep thinking I've learned the whole field and then I turn to the book and discover something new. The book is long but very readable, full of fascinating illustrative quotes, and is based on truly thorough knowledge of the primary sources. By the way, this paperback has the same pagination and material as the entire two volume hardcover. Be careful not to get the abridged version by mistake--it deletes footnotes which are key to using the book as a starting point for your own research.

Read this in College. Found it to be the best complete review of American Indian policy from colonial times to present.

This hefty (700+ pages) anthology, far-reaching in scope and viewpoint, attempts to reflect "the historical and contemporary experience of life on the Great Plains." It includes many different types of writings (short stories, memoir excerpts, essays, tribal accounts) from scores of different writers (Mark Twain, Maria Sandoz, Hamlin Garland, Garrison Keillor, Wright Morris, Louise Erdrich, to name only a few). The book's sections are organized around specific themes:

1) The lay of the land and natural history;
2) Natives and newcomers: these include Indian accounts of the first Europeans and early explorer impressions (Louis & Clark, Stephen Long, etc.);
3) Arriving and settling in: reflections of the first white settlers and the creating of communities.

Each passage is fully introduced by the editors in terms of its message and social/historical significance. The anthology provides a comprehensive overview of the Great Plains as a section of North America (Canada included) remarkable for its special, in some ways even unique, life offerings it gave to those who came in contact with it. Excellent for use in college survey courses dealing with the Plains, it's also an interesting book for anyone wanting to gleam insights on the region from a wide array of perspectives.

This is a great collection of stories. I have been reading it cover to cover and enjoy every story. Many of the stories are so well written that I can feel the wind and hear the meadowlarks that I remember from my childhood growing up near Wichita. I would recommend it for every Great Plains native and maybe for those who don't understand why anyone would want to live "out there."

Kriste Lindenmeyer has done us a wonderful favor by giving us a portrait of childhood in 1930's America. She looks at many different facets of youth during these turbulent years including child labor, education, consumerism, and how the New Deal affected these youngsters.

Lindenmeyer's book is well written and is an enjoyable read. Her prose is clear & her arguments consise and well thought out. After reading this book, it is easy to see why the decade of the 30's changed childhood forever in America. Before this ten year span, education was of secondary importance, and children were not considered consumers. During the 30's, education became of prime importance to so many, youngsters were seen as consumers that could spark economic growth, and children were removed from the most oppressive labor conditions (i.e. manufacturing & mining).

The author's concluding chapter on the New Deal really struck me as important - it helped me to see where the FDR administration really did try to help the youth of America in addition to the adults who were so negatively impacted by the Great Depression. Formation of the EDC (Emergency Day Centers) for care of toddlers, the NYA (National Youth Administration) to promote education by providing stipends for work, and the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) with its abolition of child labor in most industries were all examples of positive impacts made by the New Deal for America's youth.

She borrows Tom Brokaw's phrase "The Greatest Generation" in describing these youngsters, because most men that went off to war in the 1940's were reared during this economic crisis. A very apt title for very important book.

American childhood in the 1930s became a government policy ideal which was reinforced by cultural changes during the Great Depression, and represented the first period of time in which the federal government provided a legal definition of childhood dependency as extending from birth through age seventeen. Any studying children's rights or American childhood will want to make The Greatest Generation Grows Up: American Childhood In The 1930s a part of their reading reference collection: it details social and political forces which shaped, defined and created new interpretations of childhood and dependency.

"Growing Up During World War II" is a wonderful compilation of personal stories from real people related in their own words. The vocabulary, thought provoking questions, and activities at the end of each chapter also make this book a useful classroom tool and I would strongly recommend it for families who are home-schooling their middle level children.

Jeanne Manning has created a fabulous resource for students, teachers, and parents to understand what it was like to live and grow-up during World War II. Her engaging style is very reader friendly and allows the voices of the people to be heard clearly. There are helpful discussion questions and relevant vocabulary words are defined.
This book should be in every classroom from 7th grade on up, because it gives a face and a voice to those who experienced World War II. Through the personal stories of young people, you gain a global understanding of life during this world conflict.

[...]

I had a hard timing finding a road map of Guatemala. This is excellent, including being printed on paper that can get wet.

I am an eager map collector mainly of Guatemala and Central America and this is the best map of Guatemala available, it shows all the features like altitude, roads, natural sightseeing, maya ruins, points of interest, caves, air landing fields, etc. It is more complete than the ones developed locally. Great map ! No doubt

Any interested in primitive masks in general and Guatemala's arts in particular must have Guatemala's Masks & Drama: gorgeous full-page full color displays of masks both on wall and in use accompany a detailed discussion of the development of masking, dance and drama in Guatemala. From unique mask and costume rental organizations to folk deities, ritual masks, figures, and celebrations, Guatemala's Masks & Drama brings the reader right into the culture and traditions of the country. Superb!

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

"The book aims to expose both the knowledgeable and novice collector to new levels of understanding." It does this by sharply-focused color photographs of hundreds of all types of Guatemalan masks with annotations in conjunction with Pieper's expert text on the cultural context of masks, guidance on evaluating masks' surfaces for appreciation of patina, dating, and clues as to use, and also spotting repairs, with directions for making repairs of one's own if desirable. The foundation of this distinctive work on the Guatemalan masks which have an integral part in the country's social, tribal, and religious festivities and ceremonies is Pieper's own large collection of masks; which has been exhibited in noted museums. The author is also a noted ethnographic photographer and recognized expert on masks and religious beliefs and practices who lectures on these topics. Masks of jaguars, monkeys, deer, tapers, and other Central American animals go back to pre-Columbian Native American culture. Later masks of Spanish soldiers and nobles evidence Guatemala's colonial experience and the blending of the traditional religion with Catholicism during it. Masks continue to be used in social and religious occasions. Craftsmen still make them, and there are stores which rent them. Pieper opens up this subject for any reader, and in so doing relates much information for collectors in identifying and evaluating masks.

What a wonderful book. My nephew was adopted from Guatemala and wanted to learn about his country. I gave it to him on his birthday and he loved it.
Get book for ages 8-12 years.

We bought this book to have for our 3yo who we recently adopted from Guatemala. What we found was that it was also a great book for our 8yo. She was able to learn so much about the country where her sister was coming from! It tells all types of things Guatemalan - from customs to geography to language - and it hits on many of the key learnings of "what is Guatemala" that are relevent to younger children. Now that our 3yo is home, she loves the book too because of the pictures - she certainly can relate to them. I highly recommend it to anyone adopting from Guatemala or wanting to learn the basics of what a beautiful and culturally rich country it is.

I highly recommend this book for a number of reasons.
If you are just starting to delve into the knowledge about Guatemala's tragic civil war this is the place to start. What this is is an abridged version of the Human Rights report on the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan army. This book is made up of two things: analysis and then personal testimonies from the victims.

What it does for you is reveal that these crimes committed against the indigenous population went far beyond simply stated genocide and ethnic cleansing. There was far more to the army's tactics than massacre and physical torture.

The crimes against the Mayas were highly psychological and I think that this report reveals that and puts it clearly. This book takes what you might already know about the horror and brings you in deeper. By the time you're done you will have a more clear, more concise, more accurate picture of what was done by the army to not only affect these people but to also keep them in silence about a war that not too many people know about.

It also shows why Guatemala is still so devastated by this war, and what it's going to take to ensure that this history doesn't repeat itself. It's difficult in some places to read, but I think you need to. As you sit in your comfortable house reading it, I think it will change your perception on life. It did mine anyway.

This book is a summarization of a human rights report presented in Guatemala in 1998. Through eye-witness testimony, it outlines the military atrocities committed during Guatemala's Civil War and the effect the war has had on Guatemala's indigenous population.

This edition has been edited from the original lengthy report but retains important testimony in smaller quotes where relevant and offers the reader stark evidence of the massive violence as well as the psychological warfare that was perpetrated on the citizens of Guatemala.

The author of this report was killed two days after it was published. His assailant has not yet been brought to justice. This report is a must read for anyone interested in Human Rights, Native cultures, or the history of Guatemala.