(Part 3) Best central america history books according to redditors
We found 232 Reddit comments discussing the best central america history books. We ranked the 84 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
I know people are already trying to correct you; but, Cortes didn't even win the first time he fought the Aztecs, he lost almost half his men and a few thousand native allies. There's a whole history behind it, lasting almost a whole year. You can read more about it in the letters he wrote to king phillip. One of his commanders also wrote about it.
Letters from Mexico https://www.amazon.com/dp/1607964910?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
The Conquest of New Spain https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UM8A40?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
William Walker may be the strangest character in United States history that almost no one has heard about.
William Walker (1824-1860)
Born in Nashville, Tennessee
Was a physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary.
https://www.amazon.com/War-Nicaragua-William-Walker/dp/1142486583
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(filibuster)
He declared himself President of Nicaragua and he is still well known and despised in Central America.
Walker was both a hilarious buffoon, a man of his times and a bloody norte americano adventurer. His book can be at times accurate while also being unapologetic propaganda. Walker was considered a criminal in the United States and crossed the legal lines of his day. He was however also reflective of contemporary attitudes in the United States. He recruited enough men to help him invade other countries and the money to buy new Colt revolvers and rifles to arm them.
I first discovered William Walker by accident while searching through a university special collection. His book was published in 1860 and likely had never been read. My opinion was that he was crazy but focused. Obviously his views on race and religion were the mirror of his day. He just had the connections and the balls to get off the oldschool sofa-couch and invade Central America.
But he was also a military idiot because he invaded Central America with like 30 dudes with no solid resupply and no recon.
No surprise, he died in Central America.
Conquistadors by Michael Wood is a great overview of the conquest, plus he hits a few of the other major players.
History on Fire also just wrapped up a really excellent 4 part series on Cortez & the Conquest.
El Salvador was a country of 5 million, 85% of the wealth and land was owned by 14 prominent families. So, El Salvador had a long history of repression and violence since La Matanza in 1932 when around 40,000 peasants were slaughtered after an attempted Communist uprising, lead by a guy called Farabundo Martí. This violence continued with repression against any sort of protest and eventually the Church, inspired by Liberation Theology in the 1970s would start to encourage people to form trade unions and attempt to gain more human rights. Basically these priests etc. would help people “conscientise” (aka teach them how to read, make them understand they weren't dying and poor because of themselves, but rather oppression) and then be killed/ targeted by the death squads or the army.
Oscar Romero was made Archbishop in 1977, a few weeks afterwards his friend Father Rutilio Grande was killed by the police, and a few weeks later the army stormed Grande’s parish of Aguilares and killed around 400 people there. They were considered subversive due to their organisation into unions and them attempting to get increased rights, wages and so on...
In 1979 a coup occurred promising to stop the repression of the previous government. However, the army kept on killing and nothing changed. Oscar Romero was at this point an outspoken defender of human rights. He gave a homily saying "in the name of God: Stop the repression!" and was assassinated celebrating mass the next day in 1980. At his funeral, the state placed bombs and shot at the crowd as they ran for shelter into the cathedral.
At this point, everyone knew Civil War was imminent. After Che’s failure in Bolivia, Cuba understood that you had to have a united left to win any kind of war. So, Cuba insisted that all of the guerrilla groups in El Salvador merge into one. The FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) formed from a merger of several Salvadoran communist guerrilla groups. Their ethos was Marxist-Leninist, Maoist, and they drew upon Che Guevara's foco theory and theory of guerrilla warfare...
So, the FMLN declared war and very quickly the US began pouring money into El Salvador in response. This is basically because of the Domino Theory, where the US felt if one Central American country fell to socialism, the surrounding countries would also succumb.
The army would commit multiple genocides, kill civilians and so on for the next 12 years. US would give the country (which is tiny- smaller than Wales – over $6 billion in funding – most of which went to army training). At the same time, the Soviets, Cuba and Nicaragua were providing funding/arms/training to the FMLN.
Throughout the war, the right/state was responsible for around 85% of atrocities during this time. There were multiple genocides in El Mozote, El Calabozo and the army would also forcibly recruit young boys into the army, where they would then have to commit atrocities. There was also widespread rape, torture, kidnap and murder by the army. Eventually, the army killed six priests (who had Spanish citizenship) who had been outspoken critics of the war and the repression by the Salvadoran state. It got a lot of attention on the international stage and the US withdrew funding due to this, previously they had been complicit in sweeping murders under the rug.
Ultimately, El Salvador tried really hard to follow in Cuba’s footsteps, with Cuba's support, but the US wouldn’t let that happen. Basically, the two protagonists in this war were the US and the FMLN. Without US funding, the war would have ended much quicker. The FMLN took part in the elections following the end of the war and won. (But also an amnesty law meant no one got punished.)
Sources:
https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/ElSalvador-Report.pdf
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/publications/elsalvador2/
http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/homilies-and-writings
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Own-Backyard-Central-1977-1992/dp/0807848573
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Civil-War-El-Salvador/dp/146962866X
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-rHosu4buhMC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=fmln+tactics&source=bl&ots=_Pp1Ksy767&sig=RgsaiyaaU_qo1XYMwetYDjmbzxw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi31Nbqj_jTAhXNEVAKHQwnCiMQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=fmln%20tactics&f=false
I didn't see you specify feature-length films, which sadly the industry there just can't sustain yet. However, there are a handful of short film directors in the country's history who produced a prolific amount as to be considered significant in Central and Latin American artistic circles. Thanks to modern technology, a few of their works are available online via 'La Museo de la Palabra y Imagen,' which is a museum in El Salvador dedicated to preserving the modern recorded history and heritage of the country.
Probably the most prolific of these directors is Alejandro Cotto (1928-2015). He was based in Suchitoto, a small, rural region of the country, and supposedly worked with directors like Luis Bunuel as miscellaneous crew. By the end of his life he was highly honored by the national government for his contributions to art in the country. The only one of his shorts I've seen, 'El Rostro' (The Face), certainly fits a lot of the qualities that are often associated with third cinema. It has a neorealist/Satyajit Ray quality to it which I find to be fairly interesting.
The other one I can think of is Balthazar Polio. His two shorts are also on YouTube. Topiltzin is very aesthetically and thematically similar to Cotto's 'El Rostro,' but I have a special fondness for 'El Gran Debut' (The Big Debut). If you're able to look past the stodgy film quality and poor state of deterioration, you get a very interesting film that's dense with symbolism. Playing off of the nation's fondness of clowns and circuses, the film tells a simple story that touches on themes of loneliness, depression, acceptance, and suicide! I've actually watched this short a lot and could go on and on about it, so it's best if I just leave it at a few sentences 🙂 . It's not that I think it's particularly good or important, but it shows a great deal of promise when considering what Salvadoran cinema as a whole would look like if supported better. The poor state the films currently find themselves in is disconcerting, and preservation is an undertaking only being assumed by a small group of organizations. Considering the country's culturally destructive wartime period, it's lucky we still have what we've got.
As you can see, these films are all pretty much lacking in dialogue or language, requiring no subtitles, so in a way these shorts seem to display a tendency towards 'pure cinema,' which I find to be very exciting. It certainly lends it a lot of opportunity for a more international audience, and perhaps potentially gaining greater critical consideration in the future. Unfortunately, El Salvador doesn't really have any Glauber Rochas or Patricio Guzmans to claim to. I wish their film industry was more active than it was, but the political, social, and economical situation of the country then and now has never allowed it to flourish in any significant way. That is not to say the country is lacking in a national voice, as the nation's literary heritage is quite rich. If you're interested in books with politically charged perspectives of the country, definitely check out the writings of Manlio Argueta and Roque Dalton, who I believe to be among the country's most interesting and approachable writers. Also check out the book Radio Venceremos (Rebel Radio). The way it's composed makes it feel less like a non-fiction book and more like a cinema verite experience in text format. Speaking of that, I almost forgot about 'El Salvador, El Pueblo Vencera' (El Salvador, The People Shall Rise). No subtitles on this documentary unfortunately, and I've never seen this one in its entirety. That said, the film holds the distinction as having being selected by UNESCO for preservation, so it's definitely an important piece of 'Salvadoran cinema.'
Apologies if you already knew about these films, but I like bringing them up in case anyone else finds interest in the subject.
I couldn't find that, but I assume it's one of the many anti-Castro groups from Florida, and most of them were funded by the USG. There were not only posters created, but radio shows, television shows, books, and newspaper and magazine articles, and the sources of the funding and the names of the people that created much of the work are likely to be either lost to history or revealed by a FOIA request and posted to some obscure place when most of us are dead.
There's a good book about the whole boondoggle called Psywar on Cuba : The Declassified History of U.S. Anti-Castro Propaganda
For history suggestions, don't forget /r/history
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Looking quickly at their excellent reading/watching list, https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist
I see this:
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Latin American/Caribbean History
General
South America
Central America
At least when the US executed Panamanian forces the same way during Operation Just Cause, the families were never sent bills for the ammo.
An additional book of newer date would be Latin American Air Wrs and Aircraft, 1912-1969, by Dan Hagerdorn, which includes a sizeable, very detailed, and excellently illustrated chapter on the Chacho War.
That is: that book is actually containing illustrations for text that was released separately, online (in form of PDF files). These used to be downloadable at www.hikokiwarplanes.com, but it seems that website is meanwhile down.
Your absolute best bet is going to be Complete Illustrated History of the Aztec & Maya. It includes more than just the Big Three South American (Aztec, Inca, Maya) civilizations in the region. Should be a good intro book - used by a lot of students as far as I know.
While I don't have a lot of experience with this series, apparently Amazon produces a series called Captivating History that includes Mayan, Aztec and Incan histories. Since I have Prime, these are apparently free to me and I'm assuming that's why they came up when I was pulling the Illustrated History.
If you perhaps want something more scholarly and archaeological base, I know Archaeopress Publishers put out a line exclusively about Pre-Columbian South American history that explores different sites and publish edited essay compilations on various subjects. These are going to be a bit pricier as they're not really intended for intro-level students - try your local university and public library networks to see if they have any on hand. You might discover something similar for your efforts!
Archaeopress has a strong focus on South American archaeology and history texts.
Lastly, and more niche for the Mayan focus, there's Archaeoastronomy and the Maya. This one is purely personal. Under 200 pages, a quick read, if not a bit dense and more schoarly than your overage intro or trade book. Lots of specific information about Mayan astronomical artifacts.
Seems like the first book might be what you're looking for! Steady reading!
the danger is that the dude isn't accessible to rational argument. you could give him some homework, and if he does his readings in good faith maybe he'll change his mind. chances are your buddy doesn't think of himself as a racist, so maybe some basic understanding of history will help him out.
but again, probably he's going to feel very skeptical about this whole thing, so he's not really going to engage with the arguments properly. and the problem with wanting to attack things that are systemic is that sometimes you need to look at a large amount of evidence before you start thinking that there's a system pulling the strings.
i think the way people change their minds is by surrounding themselves with folks that have a certain viewpoint -- over time you begin to understand it much better than just by swallowing a bunch of books. essentially if all your friends think that X is a given, you're much more likely to believe X than if half your friends are desperately trying to convince you.
if he's starting to hate his job, and if he's starting to hate capitalism, then that's something that's directly accessible to him, that's something you can work with. stupid example: get him into street fight. they mostly talk about the pains of working minimum wage but it's from a clear left perspective, so they point out the way the system fucks black people whenever the subject does come up. more robustly, try getting him into left spaces (as long as he's not going to be a dick to others there). over time, he'll get to interact with racial minorities on the receiving end of this fuckery, and begin to understand that "hey, if all these folks agree with me that my boss is a dick they're probably on my side, so maybe i should listen to them about black people".
Unfinished Conquest by Victor Perera
The Battle for Guatemala by Susanne Jonas
Buried Secrets by Victoria Sanford
Guatemala: Never Again! by the REMHI Project
Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal, and Forgetting in Guatemala by Daniel Wilkninson
Shattered Hope By Piero Gleijeses. This is the best history of the "Decade of Spring" period of 1944-54, and corrects some of the mistakes in Bitter Fruit.
Gift of the Devil Jim Handy
If anyone cares to read an on-the-ground account of the effects the cartels have on Mexico, its governments, citizens, and in particular the non-tourist visitors, you can't do much better than Oscar Martinez's The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail. It's extremely chilling, and Martinez's bravery and boldness to tell the story of the countless people who are either killed or silenced (or both) is very compelling. He's a phenomenal writer, and the translation in the English version is flawless.
Highly, highly recommended. Vice also did a piece on this subject.
A lot of people in this thread are questioning the reliability of the source, some even suggesting that the CIA did not plot to assassinate Castro at all. For all those I recommend this book, a previously secret CIA report on assassination plots written in 1967 by the CIA Inspector General, declassified in 1967. It is even a good read. All the outlandish sounding attempts are included, by the way, from contaminated cigars to letting Castro lose his famous beard by means of thallium salts and such.
There are a couple big boy words in here, but if you want to actually know what you're talking about you should read Living in the Shadow of the Eagle. Or if you really want to stretch that pea brain of yours, I recommend Hegemony or Survival.
But seeing as you're just a right wing loon desperately trying to justify US Imperialism, I doubt you'll read either and just call me some derivative of "shit" again like a really smart guy.
> How so?
Because the economic policies of Venezuela were not codified in 1999.
> Which of these is not chavista policy?
The one where Venezuela invested hundreds of millions of dollars in petrochemical factories way back in the 70s and 80s.
> Nonsense.
If your familiarity with Venezuela comes from scare stories you read on the internet last week, it'll come as a shock, no doubt.
I recommend picking up Exiting the Whirlpool, a history of US-Latin American relations from the 1970s to the 1990s.