Open veins of Latin America : five centuries of the pillage of a continent

by Eduardo Galeano

Paper Book, 1997

Description

Since its U.S. debut a quarter-century ago, this brilliant text has set a new standard for historical scholarship of Latin America. It is also an outstanding political economy, a social and cultural narrative of the highest quality, and perhaps the finest description of primitive capital accumulation since Marx. Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Eduardo Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Thus he is concerned with gold and silver, cacao and cotton, rubber and coffee, fruit, hides and wool, petroleum, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, aluminum ore, nitrates, and tin. These are the veins which he traces through the body of the entire continent, up to the Rio Grande and throughout the Caribbean, and all the way to their open ends where they empty into the coffers of wealth in the United States and Europe. Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. An immense gathering of materials is framed with a vigorous style that never falters in its command of themes. All readers interested in great historical, economic, political, and social writing will find a singular analytical achievement, and an overwhelming narrative that makes history speak, unforgettably. This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende's inspiring introduction. Universally recognized as one of the most important writers of our time, Allende once again contributes her talents to literature, to political principles, and to enlightenment.… (more)

Status

Available

Call number

330.98

Publication

New York, USA : Monthly Review Press, 1997.

User reviews

LibraryThing member papalaz
Galeano is one of only 2 Uruguayan authors I have read (the other is Onetti). His trilogy Memory of Fire is one of the few non-fiction works that I have regularly recommended. The trilogy is a more or less complete history of America and it is organised as the most humane of narratives possible on
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a history that is far removed from humanity. This work is an earlier and more overtly polemical history of 5 centuries of the bloodletting of the Latin American continent almost unto death.

Written in 1971 The Open Veins has become a classic among scholars of Latin American history and although it does not have the wonderful structure and narrative flow of the Memory of Fire trilogy it is an incredibly compelling read even for the non-historian. Galeano's gift has been honed over the years but his talent for engaging you with history shines even in this earlier work. Galeano has been compared favourably to Dos Passos and Marquez and that is not too high a praise.

If you want to discover how a mythically rich continent can be reduced to penury read this book. If you want an insight as to how the IMF can enslave not just nations but whole continents read this book, What the hell - READ THIS BOOK.
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LibraryThing member cflpeace
There was a reason that President Hugo Chávez chose this book to give as a present to President Obama (sending it from #54,295 to #2 in Amazon's sales in two days): if you care about Latin America and want to understand its people, this is the book to read. Two simple reasons: it goes into
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extraordinary depth of the people's history, and his writing style make him a joy to read. It affected my life as no other book has.
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LibraryThing member carterchristian1
This is a remarkable book. For the United States citizen it is a quick trip through the "other Ameican" history, and not the happy upbeat one usual from North of the Border, where in the end everything turns out well. Be;fraage's English translation is excellent and Allende's introduction to this
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edition.
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LibraryThing member LASC
[In this book, the author's] analysis of the effects and causes of capitalist underdevelopment in Latin America present [an] account of... Latin American history. [The author] shows how foreign companies reaped huge profits through their operations in Latin America. He explains the politics of the
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Latin American bourgeoisie and their subservience to foreign powers, and how they interacted to create increasingly unequal capitalist societies in Latin America. (Cover)
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Language

Original publication date

1971

ISBN

0853459916 / 9780853459910
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