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Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent Paperback – 21 May 2009


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Product details

  • Paperback: 317 pages
  • Publisher: Serpent's Tail (21 May 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 184668742X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846687426
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 10,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review

This book is a monument in our Latin American history. It allows us to learn history, and we have to build on this history (Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela)

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Galeano's vision is unswerving, surgical and yet immensely generous and humane ... Eduardo Galeano ought to be a household name (Arundhati Roy)

He has more first-hand knowledge of Latin America than anybody else I can think of, and uses it to tell the world of the dreams and disillusions, the hopes and failures of its people... Galeano denounces exploitation with uncompromising ferocity, yet this book is almost poetic in its description of solidarity and human capacity for survival in the midst of the worst kind of despoilation (Isabel Allende)

Remains pertinent nearly 40 years on... Impassioned and lucid, Galeano is a knowledgeable guide through a shameful history of foreign exploitation... If he needs a primer on his southern neighbours, Obama could do worse than studying Chavez's present (Phil Mongredien Observer 2009-06-21)

A valuable study (Sunday Business Post 2009-06-14)

Review

`A valuable study' - Sunday Business Post

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful By P. Passmore on 1 Oct 2009
Format: Paperback
I recommend this book to all students, also to those interested in Latin American history and globalization.
This book will challenge some preconceived ideas on population and the resources of "developing nations". It will also help understand what the free market means to developing countries. Also it is a very enjoyable read. This book is an excellent introduction to Latin American history.

Writing Style:

I read 1/3rd of this book on a train journey, so it is well written and interesting to keep you gripped to the book. I personally found the last half of the book to be the most gripping but overal its an excellent book.

Chapter Structure:

Ok very long chapters but broken down into subchapters which makes all the information bite size and highly focused case studies are used to illustrate different aspects of the overall topic of the chapter.

Overview:

Highly enjoyable and recommended to anyone interested in politics or history.

This is the sort of book which would make a nice gift. On an extra note, I enjoyed this book to the point that I have bought a few of his other books and added them to my pile of must read books for my course. Currently reading Upside down: a Primer for the Looking-Glass World and will have a review up about that book shortly. All depending on when I get to finish it off but some people may prefer that book as it is a lighter read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful By David I. Howells on 14 Feb 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I liked this book as it gave me a perspective of how US, British and Spanish imperialism has affected latin America from a latin American viewpoint as the author is Uruguayan. I also read this book at the same time as I read the 'Untold History of the United States' by Oliver Stone. What I liked was how the the facts of the latter confirmed those outlined by Eduardo Galeano. The story of how western democracies have literally economically raped an entire continent is mind boggling and a shameful part of our history. Apart from the economic theft of its resources, the amount of direct and subversive political interference in the sovereign affairs of latin America by us and in particular the United States is equally scandalous. No wonder these countries have little love towards us. To read this book is to read about commercial, political and military exploitation of weaker peoples by strong nation states and it is a shameful indictment of our imperialistic past.

This historic unveiling is well referenced, well told and a good read. I do wish there was more political explanations held within and to some extent the economic facts got somewhat laboured at times. However it was an important read for me as I spend a lot of time in latin America and I regularly come across this historic resentment for deeds done in a bygone age...as well as in recent times. We made many a country in this geographical sphere into a banana republic, this book tells you how we did it, how much it cost us and how much we took away...
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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful By Norberto on 13 May 2004
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book can be irritating to quite a few people, such as conservative Brits who are proud of the British Empire and USA nationalists who think they are dominating the world because they happen to be cleverer.
Extremely naive interpretations of recent history are surprisingly widespread. We need more books like this one; it is packed with facts and figures but it is still easy to read. This is probably because Galeano's driving force is his passion for justice.
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38 of 43 people found the following review helpful By A Customer on 28 Mar 2002
Format: Hardcover
This book is quite simply a classic - indispensable. Ever since the conquest Latin America has been robbed, pillaged, exploited by the imperialist countries (first Spain, then England, now USA) - the very structure of the region reflects its reconstruction over 500 years as a source of much of the wealth that we in the core countries of the world system enjoy and take for granted. Moreover you'll discover things you didn't know, like the destruction of independent and progressive Paraguay in the 19th Century.
Brilliant.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful By Thomas Smith on 30 April 2009
Format: Paperback
This book is a fantastic piece of journalistic-style prose describing, in a wonderful impassioned voice, the unending pillage of Latin America. It flies by and the author really fits a surprising amount in. Anyone interested in development theories should read this as their base dependency theory text. It really portrays the realities of the asymmetry between the metropolis and the pillaged peripheral states of the world economy. Essential reading, as i'm sure many people are finding out since Hugo Chavez gave a copy to Mr. Obama recently thereby raising its profile again..
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful By john boyle on 16 Dec 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
It tells the tragic story of Latin America like no other book. The book will take you up 1970, but the issues then are the issues today so you will get the sense that not a lot has changed. The writer has his finger on the pulse of Latin America and tells its many stories in such a fashion that you move seamlessly from one horror to next almost not being shocked anymore as its terrible history unfolds.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful By travellersoul on 29 Mar 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Firstly upon reading this book I thought it was leaning toward a rant against American policy in Latin America, but the author whilst doing this to begin with, does show in considerable depth the circumstances pertaining in Spain before the conquest. His writing style is easy to follow and it is a fascinating journey through the realms of the past centuries of how a continent has been used and abused for the gain of other continents. Wholeheartedly recommended.
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