(Part 2) Best south america history books according to redditors

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We found 275 Reddit comments discussing the best south america history books. We ranked the 122 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.

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Subcategories:

Argentinian history books
Bolivian history books
Brazilian history books
Chilean history books
Colombian history books
Ecuadorian history books
Guyanan history books
Paraguayan history books
Peru history books
Surinamese history books
Uruguayan history books
Venezuelan history books

Top Reddit comments about South American History:

u/dufour · 11 pointsr/AskHistorians

Christopher Leuchars' horribly expensive (read it in a library) To the Bitter End: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance offers a good account of the war.

In my view, Paraguay's president acted a bit like Croesus, King of Lydia, who attacked the Persians, as the oracle of Delphi promised "he would destroy a great empire". Unfortunately for him, it was his own. So, hubris on the Paraguayan side.

Argentine and Brazil failed to properly prepare for the logistical and organizational challenge. As the US armies had learned in the underdeveloped and underpopulated South, it was difficult to sustain modern armies in the wilderness. Add neglect, incompetence and politics for a really nasty and unnecessary war.

u/vade101 · 11 pointsr/unitedkingdom

> Now, here is the most shocking fact: the average argentine soldier was 19 years old with no professional training. It's hard to find a source in english, so this is the only one. Read the first paragraph of page 69 "portraits of a soldier".[3] This is portrayed very well in an argentine film called "Iluminados por el Fuego". The military (dictatorship) didn't have enough soldiers to fight the UK, so they took boys from 18 to 21 years old, gave them a frew months of training, and off you go.

It's probably worth saying in relation to that that they didn't totally expect to have to fight to keep the Falklands, the initial plan was that their Marines and Special Forces would invade and the Army would briefly occupy the islands and then be withdrawn (whilst making sure the British wouldn't be able to reoccupy the islands) whilst they negotiated at the UN for a transfer of Sovereignty.

The escalation to a full occupation happened fairly organically over the months of planning, and by the time they realised how committed they were it was too late to do a great deal about it. Martin Middlebrook's 'The Argentine Fight for the Falklands' and ['The Falklands War'] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Falklands-War-Martin-Middlebrook-ebook/dp/B0094JTQE4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=) are both excellent accounts if you want to know a bit more.

u/Gracchia · 7 pointsr/brasil

Tem a coleção do Elio Gaspari, que escreveu tudo do ponto de vista dos militares, inclusive visitou e entrevistou os presidentes que ainda estavam vivos e pesquisou muito nos arquivos diplomáticos americanos também.


https://www.amazon.com.br/Box-Cole%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Ditadura-Elio-Gaspari-ebook/dp/B01EI75K7I

u/amazon-converter-bot · 7 pointsr/FreeEBOOKS

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

u/drink_your_tea · 6 pointsr/booksuggestions

Can't recommend this highly enough: White Waters and Black.

It's not entirely about "completely unknown places," but it's a hilarious account of American intellectuals conducting a scientific expedition in the wilds of the Amazonian jungle and - having lived their lives in ivory towers - being pretty much woefully unprepared for the reality of the tropics. At times, laugh-out-loud funny, and very open, honest, and insightful. They hired guides, so the areas they traversed weren't virgin in that sense, but completely unknown to their kind.

Also, a true story.

u/JMorand · 5 pointsr/todayilearned

Best reading on the topic:

http://www.amazon.com/1808-Emperor-British-Tricked-Napoleon/dp/0762787961

This book is a best seller in Brazil.

u/tute666 · 5 pointsr/argentina

I'm back.

1st of all, there is no definitive book, you'll probably have to read a bit.

  • this Is the history book given in the CBC, the introductory course of the Buenos Aires University. It's more-o-less balanced, it does not have the most consistent style or depth. you might find really charged phrases with absolutely no explanation, and then it goes into depth regarding some irrelevant detail. But it's an excellent starting point. This looks like the extended edition which adds the menem years upto approximately 2001.

  • dirty war It pays attention to the years leading upto 1976, which is key for the context of the dirty war.

  • pre 20th century I've no faith in the modern parts of the book, but they shouldn't fuck up to much leading upto the 20th century.
u/sabu632 · 4 pointsr/Anthropology

Ethics in Anthropology. Gets very heavy into some of the important considerations for anyone thinking about a life in anthropology. Class was structured like a grad seminar, with each week the readings assigned to two people who lead the class discussion. Then for the big reads we had a formal debate with the class. There were four teams, broken up in two private debate sessions. You were assigned a side on the issue the day of the debate. All of this keeps you up on reading, and really really gets you invested in the topics. Also, some of the best case studies from the field. Favorites were:

The Fierce Controversy
http://www.amazon.com/Yanomami-Fierce-Controversy-California-Anthropology/dp/0520244044

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Catches-You-Fall-Down/dp/0374533407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343382480&sr=1-1&keywords=spirit+catches+you+and+you+fall+down

The Yale/Maccu Piccu Debate
http://lastdaysoftheincas.com/wordpress/peru-yale-machu-picchu-controversy-part-1

u/ConcreteShoeMan · 3 pointsr/martialarts

Maeda did and taught more than Judo. Just finished reading With the Back on the Ground... good book.

I think it is more complicated than that. I'm not putting down wrestling AT ALL, but I think modern MMA has a lot more factors that favor wrestling over BJJ that aren't technical. For example, the scoring system rewards a takedown even if the person on top can't mount a good offense.

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/argentina

Yanqui here, I just wanted to second the nomination for Guerrillas and Generals. It gives a great history of what led up to the 1976 coup in addition to the standard info about 76-83.

If you want more of the raw data, pick up Nunca Más, which has been translated into English. If you don't want to buy it, you can access the entire report here.

Also, there's some really interesting work done on the aftermath of the dictatorship. Pick up A Lexicon of Terror or Postmemories of Terror, both of which are excellent.

u/toon_jamie · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

In White Waters and Black Gordon MacCreagh, with a wicked eye for absurdities, Gordon MacCreagh recounts his adventures with eight "Eminent Scientificos" as they set out to explore the Amazon in 1923 without any idea of what lies ahead of them: rapids, malaria, monkey stew, and "dangerous savages."

https://www.amazon.com/White-Waters-Black-Gordon-MacCreagh/dp/0226500187

u/bran_daid · 2 pointsr/Mountaineering
u/GWmyc2 · 2 pointsr/ABCDesis

On my summer reading list, I have:

u/xlyfzox · 2 pointsr/SandersForPresident

We are.
Venezuela has some of the world's largest oil reserves, and you know we cannot allow the commies that. So there is an economic deestabilization plan underway. In Chile the CIA paid grocery store owners to empty (read hide) all their merchandise and tell their custmers that "bec ause of the socialist policies being enacted by the Allende administration" there was no more food. All the while, they hid all the food in warehouses and only sold to rich people of trust. I know, cause my great-aunt (who I loved dearly, even if she was a righty), was one of those rich ladies. My dad even told me how she would march in the "empty pot marches" against Allende claiming there was no food, while the "house service" (read servants) prepared her lunch when she came back.
Same thing with transportation companies. They would claim that there was no more fuel to power the trucks, but the CIA was paying them more than they usually made to not move the trucks.
That way a crisis was created, much like in Venezuela, where the government every now and then cracks down one businesses that hide merchandise and specially food.
If you want all the juicy details, you can read this book by the National Security Archives.

u/tibirica · 2 pointsr/brasil

Os livros do historiador Moniz Bandeira também ajudam a entender essas questões. Ele não é exatamente um bom escritor, mas é um excelente arquivista. São meio caros, mas vale a pena ler pra entender melhor a atuação geopolítica dos EUA.

Formação do Império Americano

Brasil, Argentina e Estados Unidos

A segunda Guerra Fria

u/fabiolanzoni · 2 pointsr/PERU

If you can, get this: The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Basically, a compilation of articles from various authors about the mentioned subtitles

u/j-khuysmans · 2 pointsr/Anthropology

His more academic work Passage of Darkness: Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie is better for a number of reasons, but SatR is a much better read. If you're looking for another good in-depth discussion of research ethics I highly suggest http://www.amazon.com/Yanomami-Fierce-Controversy-California-Anthropology/dp/0520244044 about Napoleon Chagnon's extremely problematic work with the Yanomamo.

u/Gadshill · 2 pointsr/hoi4

This actually happened to Brazil when Napoleon was threatening Portugal. Haven't read it yet, but here is the book you could read on what happened. If you would like the spoiler read the summary of Pedro I of Brazil here

u/modern_malice · 2 pointsr/history

Well this will make it a lot easier for you, because the biggest barrier to getting really in depth is typically language. You will have access to lots of Spanish media. I find that history tends to be more fun at first when you have personal connections to countries or events, so after you learn about the basic history of colonization, I urge you to explore the history of Peru, and of Colombia/Venezuela/Panama. Did you know that Panama was actually a province of Colombia until the US decided to locate the canal there and supported Panamanian independence?

Start with the book I mentioned earlier, then I would suggest The Peru Reader: http://www.amazon.com/The-Peru-Reader-History-Politics/dp/0822336499/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0D5CS5PZ6FVTDQCMTVJ4. I have used both The Mexico Reader and The Argentina Reader in university, and assume the Peru Reader is of equal quality.

After that I would suggest couple of books on modern politics: Addicted to Failure: US Security Policy in the Andean Region and then and then Politics in Latin America by Charles H Blake. The drug war and US policy is hugely important and has repercussions across virtually all countries in Latin America.


http://www.amazon.com/Addicted-Failure-Security-American-Silhouettes/dp/0742540979/ref=sr_1_67?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416496742&sr=1-67&keywords=peru+drug+war

http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Latin-America-Charles-Blake/dp/0618802517/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416496989&sr=1-1&keywords=politics+in+latin+america

An biography or book about Simon Bolivar would also be ideal, given his role in shaping the nations of the Andean Region of South America.

Another poster mentioned Eduardo Galeano -- he is a brilliant writer, one of my favorites, but his books tend to be a bit polemic and philosophical...I definitely recommend reading his books in Spanish, but not until you already have a good grasp of history to understand a lot of the allusions and topics his writing touches upon.

And if you are comfortable reading academic texts in Spanish, Latinoamerica. Las ciudades y las ideas (Spanish Edition) by Jose Romero.

http://www.amazon.com/Latinoamerica-Las-ciudades-ideas-Spanish/dp/9876291521/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416497447&sr=1-1&keywords=jose+luis+romero

Anyhow this is more than enough to get you started, unless you had a more specific topic you want to learn about. Don't ignore literature, movies, or online newspapers either!! Going once or twice a week to some of the more major newspapers of specific countries to read articles is always interesting.

u/andrejlopes · 2 pointsr/Brazil
u/tach · 1 pointr/polandball

As I said above, Argentina considered Paraguay a rebel province, much like China sees Taiwan. They were both part of the River Plate Virreynate, and Buenos Aires was its capital. After independence in 1811, the paraguayans did their own thing and formed a new nation.

Borders in southamerica were not fixed on those times, and there was little allegiance to a nation, especially in Argentina, with the fight between Federales and Unitarios dividing the country.

For Argentina, after the Unitario victory, annexing Paraguay was just a matter of returning a troublesome province to the fold.

Brazil had constant limit problems on their western frontiers - that is to say, they were expansionist fucks, and the independent brazilians kept this policy. See the Cisplatine province - now Uruguay.

As the treaty of Tordesillas divided the Americas into spanish and portuguese spheres of influence, Paraguay was smack at the limit, and had fought against portuguese Bandeirantes since the jesuit missions time. From the paraguayan perspective, Brazil was encroaching once more into Paraguay's land. There are no borders in the jungle, and Brazil was determined to push on until met with resistance. They got it.


> One of the major problems was again the matter of borders, particularly Paraguay's northeastern frontier. This contained little of value, was virtually unpopulated, and produced only mate, which few Brazilians had a taste for. Nevertheless, the latter were convinced of their legal right to the territory, and this had nearly led to war
in 1855, when Lopez expelled the garrison of a Brazilian fort in the disputed zone.

> Brazil sent a large squadron to the River Plate; gaining the permission of
Argentina, this proceeded up the Parana toward Corrientes. The British minister reported that Lopez was "making extensive warlike preparations" and seemed "ill disposed to listen to any reasonable suggestions in favor of a peaceable and moderate policy."1 Lopez ordered a partial evacuation of Asuncion and sent the treasury and church valuables into the interior.

>In fact, Lopez's statements were bluster, and he actually seems to have been terrified by the Brazilian threat and prepared to back down to their demands. It was his son, Francisco Solano, who strengthened his resolve and who managed to persuade the Brazilians to leave the majority of their squadron at Corrientes and proceed upriver to Asuncion with just one ship. By linking the border issue with that of freedom of navigation of the rivers, Lopez managed to secure a favorable treaty, allowing Brazil rights of passage up the Paraguay River to its interior province of Mato Grosso, in exchange for a frontier set at the line of
Paraguayan demands. Predictably, the Brazilian government was furious with its envoy and refused to ratify the treaty.

>The following year a compromise was reached, with the boundary question put on ice for six years. By 1862, at the expiration of this period, during which a solution should have been reached, tension between the two countries rose again.

>Yet no effort was made to appoint commissioners or deal with an issue that could clearly lead to a serious breakdown in relations between them.

Leuchars - To the Bitter End: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance -pp 23-24

u/DarrkRook · 1 pointr/books

>The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

As enjoyable as that book was, another great book on Fawcett is Exploration Fawcett, which was put together by Fawcett's son using his old journals. I found it to be a fantastic read.

u/MrGoodEmployee · 1 pointr/chicago

I've heard House of Leaves is really bizarre and cool.

My current deck is Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa, Between Legitimacy and Violence: A History of Colombia, 1875-2002, Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, Blood Meridian, and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

It's a really depressing list.

I read American Gods a couple years ago and hated it enough to not pick up another fiction book for like over a year.

u/empleadoEstatalBot · 1 pointr/argentina
	


	


	


> # La desaparecida que llamó a sus padres seis años después... y nunca más se supo
>
>
>
> 12/05/2019 05:00 - Actualizado: 12/05/2019 18:18
>
>
>
> La primera llamada de Cecilia Viñas a su familia se produjo en diciembre de 1983, días después de la llegada de la democracia a Argentina. Llevaban más de seis años sin saber de ella. La última llamada se produjo tres meses después. Y luego... nunca más se supo.
>
> "Veo a mi viejo y me dice: 'Llamó tu hermana'... Lo miré para ver si no estaba chapa [loco]... Mi viejo, con total convencimiento, decía que era ella, 'que era la gorda'", recuerda su hermano Carlos, que no tiene ninguna duda de que era Cecilia: 'Estaba totalmente angustiada. Pero era ella. Seguridad total. Podrían haber puesto a una actriz con la voz angustiada, pero había códigos que conocíamos ella y yo... Cecilia habla con mi papá, pero con la voz 'soplada', tratando de que nadie escuche... Desde la primera llamada decía: 'En cualquier momento me largan'... Y también dice 'nos trasladan', como si fuera un grupo de rehenes al que mantenían secuestrado".
>
> Cecilia Viñas fue la única desaparecida de la que se tuvo información durante la democracia... Fue un caso único de la dictadura militar
>
> Nadie sabía nada de Cecilia desde el 13 de julio de 1977, cuando fue secuestrada junto a su marido, Hugo Penino, en el contexto de la ola siniestra de la Junta Militar argentina. Cecilia Viñas estaba embarazada de siete meses. Años más tarde se desvelaron varias cosas: Hugo Penino quizá fue asesinado el mismo día de su secuestro. Cecilia no. Cecilia daría a luz dos meses después en una habitación cutre del centro clandestino de detención de laESMA (Escuela Mecánica de la Armada).
>
> Otra muestra del salvajismo político de esos días: el padre de Hugo, marido de Cecilia, era primo de un general. Tras la desaparición, fueron a verle para preguntarle por el paradero de Hugo y Cecilia. La reunión no salió bien (por decir algo). Lo recuerda el hermano de Cecilia: "Mi viejo llamó al padre de Hugo, que era primo hermano del general [Osvaldo René] Azpitarte, a cargo del V Cuerpo de Ejército. Fueron a verlo, y el tipo de forma muy cruda les dijo que cada fuerza hacía lo que quería con sus secuestrados. 'Si los tuviera yo, y ellos habrían estado en la joda, no los ven más', les dijo… Y Azpitarte era pariente de Hugo... Salieron devastados de la reunión". En efecto, con familiares así, quién necesita enemigos. Era la guerra total y absoluta contra la subversión, su entorno y todo aquello que se moviera.
>
> Lo cuenta el periodista e historiador Marcelo Larraquy en su nuevo libro, 'Los días salvajes', historias olvidadas de una década crucial (1971-1982). Larraquy, autor de clásicos como 'López Rega, el peronismo y la Triple A' o 'Galimberti: de Perón a Susana, de Montoneros a la CIA', vuelve a su tema favorito: la narración de una época convulsa que trasciende el caso argentino: sus libros sirven como espejo de qué ocurre cuando la política se polariza a lo bestia, la revolución choca con la represión y los artefactos políticos más extraños se suceden. O la Argentina de los setenta como laboratorio político del crudo siglo XX.
>
> #### Busquen a mi hijo
>
> De entre todas las historias de 'Los días salvajes', quizá la más dura sea la de Cecilia Viñas. Una de las llamadas a su familia desde su confinamiento quedó grabada. Es estremecedora. Cecilia sospecha (con razón o sin ella) que la novia de su padre (hija de un comandante) pudo irse de la lengua sobre su antigua militancia sindical y precipitar su secuestro. Aquí la llamada:
>
> Una vida normal truncada salvajemente por lo peor de la política. "Después del golpe militar [Hugo y Cecilia] decidieron mudarse a Buenos Aires y abandonar la militancia hasta que la situación se aclarara. Hugo Penino consiguió empleo en Ford Copello y Cecilia en Nexo Publicidad. Había hecho un curso sobre tarjetas perforadas, una de las primeras herramientas informáticas para guardar datos. Los dos tenían buenos sueldos. Una vez, su madre le avisó que el Ejército había ido a su casa de Mar del Plata a preguntar por ella, pero Cecilia continuó en su trabajo. Quería hacer una vida normal. Ya estaba casada y esperaba un hijo", cuenta Larraquy.
>
> Su hermano Carlos recuerda así en el libro los meses previos al secuestro: "Cecilia pensaba que no tenía nada que esconder. Ninguno de los dos era clandestino. Yo estuve con ellos un mes antes del secuestro. No tenían ningún temor. Ella, con la pancita; los dos muy felices; todo bien. Lo que tenía Cecilia es que largaba todo lo que se le venía a la cabeza. Yo le decía: 'Bajá los decibelios porque los tipos están muy pesados'. Y hablamos de la pareja de mi viejo, una mina bastante reaccionaria, hija de un comandante de Gendarmería, con un cuñado en la Marina, y mi hermana discutía bastante sobre la situación del país. Yo le decía que se hiciera la boluda".
>
> #### Democracia pervertida
>
> ¿Cómo logró Cecilia hablar con sus padres desde su secuestro y por qué no volvió a saberse de ella? No se sabe con certeza. Quizá le dejaron hacer llamadas para minar a la familia y pedir un rescate. La democracia había llegado a Argentina, sí, pero el enloquecido tren de la represión no detuvo su marcha de un día para otro, sino que se fue ralentizando. Suena muy crudo, pero había mucha gente viviendo de eso tras años de represión contra la disidencia por parte de estratos oficiales y/o clandestinos del Estado. Uno de los lados sórdidos de la transición argentina es que el secuestro se había convertido en industria, y una industria no se desmonta en dos días, del secuestro político habíamos pasado a la extorsión criminal sin coartadas.
>
> "Cecilia Viñas fue la única desaparecida de la que se tuvo información durante la democracia. Esto implicaba que, aun en el gobierno de Alfonsín, había una fuerza militar que todavía tenía secuestrados-desaparecidos en algún centro clandestino... Fue un caso único de la dictadura militar. Una secuestrada-desaparecida en 1977 que comenzó a llamar a su familia en diciembre de 1983, diez días después de que Alfonsín asumiera el gobierno. En las conversaciones hablaba de 'traslados', y 'guardias'... Una de las conversaciones fue grabada. La escuchó el ministro del Interior, Antonio Tróccoli, en su despacho el 30 de abril de 1984. El ministro transpiró: había una desaparecida que estaba viva", escribe Larraquy.
>
> PortadaPortada
>
> "El 29 de abril de 1983, la dictadura militar había resuelto dar por muertos a los "desaparecidos": 'Debe quedar definitivamente claro que quienes figuran en nóminas de desaparecidos, y que no se encuentran exiliados o en la clandestinidad, a los efectos jurídicos y administrativos se consideran muertos, aun cuando no se pueda precisar hasta el momento la causa y la oportunidad del eventual deceso, ni la ubicación de sus sepulturas', aseveraba el 'Documento Final', para dar por cerrados los debates acerca de "la lucha contra la subversión", cuenta el libro. Pero Cecilia Viñas vivía, aunque nunca dieron con ella. El que sí apareció fue... su hijo.
>
> En otra de las llamadas a su familia, el 14 de enero de 1984, Cecilia preguntó cómo estaba su hijo. En 1977, sus secuestradores le dijeron que lo habían entregado a su familia tras el parto. Pero no era cierto. Según su hermano, enterarse de eso "fue tremendo para Cecilia", que en la siguiente llamada rogó a su madre: "Busquen a mi hijo".
>

> (continues in next comment)