(Part 3) Best south america history books according to redditors

The tragic thing is, they probably will be killed.

Colombia has the highest level of labour oppression in the world, with over 63% of all trade union murders in the world occuring there.

Whilst this book is mostly about the FARC-EP, it provides a concise and informative overview of the persecution of Communists, Socialists and anybody involved in the labour struggle in Colombia over the past half-century, to top it off, each chapter is backed up by sources.

One to stick on your reading list.

Hahaha, yeah the problem with inscriptions is that they very rarely come without abbreviations. It's no problem- I just got a lot of practice while visiting ancient sites during study abroad. There is also a great book by Lawrence Keppie on how to read Latin inscriptions which lays out all the most common abbreviations.

Here is the link if you want to check it out.

It really depends on what type of climbing you enjoy: adventure, sport, mountaineering, etc.

Here are some of my favourites:

If you like alpinism and want to learn how pathetic and weak willed you are compared to Steve House, check out Beyond the Mountain. Great book. Dude has insane ethics that make me feel bad for clipping bolts.

If you're more into big wall climbing and how it fits in with life lessons, The Push by Tommy Caldwell is phenomenal. He really throws it all out there and gives you an insight as to just how hard he worked to free the Dawn Wall and all the lessons that came with it.

If you want a really well written account of one of climbing's most bizarre controversies, The Tower by Kelly Cordes was one of my favourites this year. It gives a back-and-forth history and insight into climbing Cerro Torre and really gives a glimpse into life in Patagonia and the history of climbing Torre.

If you're a big dreamer and history nut, The Bold and The Cold gives first hand stories of the first ascents of some of the biggest routes in Canada. From the Bugaboos to Robson, it's a fantastic read and really gets you longing to get out out there.

Eiger Dreams was a fantastic collection of unrelated short stories centering around climbing and mountaineer. Some big characters and bigger adventures that are well told by the same author (and climber!) that gave us Into the Wild.

And finally, I recommend The Calling by Barry Blanchard for no other reason than it's a really well written account of the life of a fading alpinist in the Canadian Rockies.

Hope this helps!



Bonus recommendation: not climbing related, but a really great read for anyone who loves the outdoors: The Names of the Stars is a fantastic book that follows the personal account of a retired Park Ranger who spents 5 months alone in the wilderness of Montana watching fish eggs. It's a boring premise but the author is so vivid with his descriptions and shows the connection between us and the wild. I read it in a day, it was that good.

The United States actually provided a considerable amount of support to the British air base on Ascension Island. Without American shipments of fuel, the airbase on Ascension Island would have been almost impossible for the British to supply.

If you're interested in the Falklands War, I recommend Martin Middlebrook's The Falklands War, it's an excellent source for a British perspective on the conflict.

Does anyone know of an accompanying Argentinian account?

Hey there.

Liberal Thought in Argentina, 1837-1940 edited by Natalio R. Botana and Ezequiel Gallo. It's a compilation of primary sources, check out "Message on the Electoral Reform (Buenos Aires, February 29, 1912)". It's on Project MUSE, here (your school most likely has access to it): http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9781614879060 . This is a good compilation of sources on that period, so it'll be useful.

A Short History of the Argentinians by Félix Luna. Haven't read this personally yet, but Félix Luna is very respected and I know it's a good summary of Argentine history. If you haven't gone too deep in your readings, this might be a good starting point and you can probably jump to other bibliography based on the sources. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Argentinians-Felix-Luna/dp/9504904033 . Not period-specific though, sorry I couldn't help you with that.

Let me know if this helped. Good luck!

His government may not have been publicly pro-Nazi, and he didn't declare Argentina for the Axis, but Peron's Nazi ties and sympathies are very well documented.

Half-Century Later, a New Look at Argentine-Nazi Ties (NYT)

The Real Odessa: How Peron Brought the Nazi War Criminals to Argentina by Uki Goni

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

• *Born In Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America: Fourth Edition By John Charles Chasteeen. This edition was published in 2016 and features an improved set of maps and illustrations.
  
• *The Oxford Handbook of Latin American History By John C. Moye
  
• *Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent: 2009 edition By Eduardo Galeano.
  
• Latin America: Regions and People By Robert B. Kent.
  
• The Cambridge History of Latin America By Leslie Bethell.
  
• Afro-Latin America: 1800-2000 By George Reid Andrews.
  
• Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization By Arthur Demarest is one of the best introductions to Mayan history.
  
• Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History By Susan Toby Evans.
  
• In From The Cold: Latin America's New Encounter With the Cold War by Gilbert M. Joseph and Daniela Spencer.
  
• Revolution and Revolutionaries: Guerrilla Movements in Latin America By Daniel Castro.
  
• The History of Latin America: A Collision of Cultures By Michael Eakin explores 500 years of Latin American history and looks at the economic, political, social and cultural evolution of its nations and their peoples.
  
• The Oxford History of Latin American Economics By Jose Antonio Ocampo and Jaime Ros. This is a good introduction to understanding the development of economics and policy in Latin America.
  
• Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence by Robert Harvey.
  
• Politics of Latin America: The Power Game: 4th Edition by Harry E. Vandon and Gary Prevost looks at the political history of Latin America and delves into the sociopolitical issues that have influenced Latin America from the ground up as well emerging issues and new problems facing Latin America in the age of globalization. Vandon and Prevost
  
  

  South America
  

  
  

• A Concise History of Brazil By Boris and Sergio Fausto.
  
• Short History of Brazil, A : From Pre-Colonial Peoples to Modern Economic Miracle By Gordon Kerr.
  
• A New Economic History of Argentina by Gerardo Della Paolera and Alan M. Taylor.
  
• The Argentina Reader by Gabriella Nouzeilles and Graciela Montaldo.
  
• A History of Chile: Enduring Editions by Luis Galdames.
  
• The Paraguay Reader: History, Culture, Politics by Peter Lambert and Andrew Nickson.
  
• The Ecuador Reader by Carlos de la Torre and Steve Striffler.
  
  

  Central America
  

  
  

• Power in the Isthmus: A Political History of Modern Central America By James Dunkerley.
  
• Simon Bolivar: A Life By John Lynch explores the life of the extraordinary man who liberated six countries from the Spanish Empire made a lasting impression on the politics and society of Central America still tangible today.
  
• The History of Panama by Robert C. Harding covers a century of history, economy and culture in Panama.
  
• The Costa Rica Reader by Steven Palmer. Covers the history of Costa Rica.
  
• Columbia Before Independence: Economy, Society and Politics under Bourbon Rule by Anthony McFarlane.
  
• Democracy and Socialism in Sandinista Nicaragua By Harry E. Vandon and Gary Prevost.
  
  

You're better off asking someone on /r/askhistorians i'm afraid. Most of the material i draw on is a steady consumption of Venezuela related news from Aljazeera, The Washington Post and Venezuelaanalysis. A book i can recommend, though about The Latin American left in general, is "The Resurgence of the Latin American Left"

http://www.amazon.com/Resurgence-Latin-American-Left-ebook/dp/B005GW3V3A/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396372393&sr=1-4&keywords=latin+american+socialism

Its kind of dense and can take a while to plow through (in my experience at least) but its well worth it. It deals with the growth of socialism in Latin America, its causes, effects and the political context of this in specific case studies. I think it gives a very nice and scholarly overview.

I got really into this and read Andean Tragedy: Fighting the War of the Pacific, 1879-1884. A really interesting war that has everything: (what can only be described as) South-American politics, incompetent generals, unruly troops, daring assaults, domestic unrest, ironclad warfare, and a mountain-jungle insurgency.

Then I wanted to write an alternate-history fiction novel on a steampunk version of the war if the foreign powers, who merely invested in the region in our history, came into play in full force. Ah, youth.

Congratulations, that's fantastic. I'm relatively new so I hope I do this right.

Can anyone help me find a book, A War Betwixt Englishman: Brazil against Argentina on the River Plate.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Betwixt-Englishmen-Against-Argentina/dp/1860644562

I tried US and UK amazon, Abe books, Ebay, google is no help. It is so hard to find English language books on South American history. Any tips on that would be appreciated, too. I am not a student, so I don't have access to an ILL close by.

Stumbled upon this at the library... crazy, crazy book.

The Rivers Ran East

Long out of print, this is a riveting firsthand account of Leonard Clark’s search for the legendary lost Seven Cities of Cibola — reputedly home to enormous reserves of gold — in the rain forest east of the Peruvian Andes. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer, Clark is joined on his expedition by Inez Pokorny, a gutsy, multilingual female explorer. Their treacherous journey includes encounters with head-hunting Jivaro Indians, man-eating jaguars, 40-foot-long anacondas, poisonous plants, and shamanistic healers. Against the odds, Clark and Pokorny reach their destination, but nearly starve to death trying to transport sacks of gold out of the dense tropical foliage.

Cox, el de los huevos de titanio. El editor del primer diario (el Herald) en publicar nombres de desaparecidos. Les recomiendo leer el libro contando su vida durante la dictadura https://www.amazon.ca/Dirty-Secrets-War-David-Cox-ebook/dp/B005FHNOXS/. En realidad lo escribió el hijo, porque como contó en una entrevista, el padre nunca pudo pasar de la primera página por la carga emocional que tenía para él.

Hi, I'd like to help you in your search for places to visit. I know some really good guides of Colombia. They are the "Moon" Travel Guides - Colombia. These were written by an american guy called Andrew Dier. In them you can read about various places throughout the country and how to get there. Also you can find things like, special festivities such as carnavals and fairs and when to come.

Here is the link to it: http://moon.com/explore/colombia/

You can also buy the book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Colombia-Handbooks-Andrew-Dier/dp/161238627X/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZMK6RBR4RGV0M90RE2B

Spotlight on Cartagena and the Caribbean: http://www.amazon.com/Spotlight-Cartagena-Colombias-Caribbean-Coast/dp/163121098X/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZMK6RBR4RGV0M90RE2B

Spotlight on Bogota: http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Spotlight-Bogot%C3%A1-Andrew-Dier/dp/1631210971/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZMK6RBR4RGV0M90RE2B

Spotlight on Medellin and the Coffee Region: http://www.amazon.com/Spotlight-Medell%C3%ADn-Colombias-Coffee-Region/dp/1631210998/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T8P4VQ3ZPK3J7R9E4K6

I hope you find it useful. Oh, by the way, the guy who wrote this guide came here just as a tourist and was so amazed by the country that he stayed here. Its been twelve years now.

Why wouldn't they want them?! the Falklands are awesome! but also it serves as a handy distraction for CFK's government to rile up sentiments about the Falkland Islands and the "evil colonial British pirates occupying Argentine land" all the whilst the nation is on the verge of a second default. The Junta did the same in the 80's.

I think there is a second reason that's not often alluded to and that's future resource claims in the Antarctic. This is a map of Argentine Claims in the southern ocean now at present we control a lot of this ocean as we have a legal claim to part of the Antarctic & The Falklands, South Georgia, The South Sandwich Islands and a lot of small islands and islets, so if Argentina wants to claim what it sees as it's share of the resources that will eventually flow out of the Antarctic it has to keep pressing it's claim to these lands and oceans which means harrassing us. The nice thing is we don't have to do aanything we just have to keep on keeping on. Pink Ice covers this topic really well if a little dryly but is definitely worth a read if you have the time

Maybe this? It's quite up to date but it's mostly a book about how this government sucked told by a very openly anti-government journalist.

Here

bad infrastructure, horrible poverty gap, no acess to schools, all that and they still had a corrupt government. At least chavez was elected. source

but keep going, you are doing great with all your talking.

It's not quite an autobiography, but the travels of Percy Fawcett, based on his own letters and diaries, were compiled by his own son after he disappeared and published into a book called [Exploration Fawcett] (https://www.amazon.com/Exploration-Fawcett-Col-Percy/dp/1842124684) which chronicles his adventures and experiences throughout South America in the mid-1920s. From the mountains of Peru to the jungles of Mato Grosso, Brazil, he had quite a life! While some aspects might have been exaggerated by the man itself, it's still an incredibly gripping read, especially given what happened to him.

I mean, there are entire books written about the unique Brazilian relationship with communication and transportation infrastructure, but okay.