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Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia
 
 
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Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia (Hardcover)

by Steven Dudley (Author) "The story of Josue Giraldo and his party, the Union Patriotica (UP), started with the idea of peace, of settling the long-standing conflict that had..." (more)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 280 pages
  • Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (29 Dec 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 041593303X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0415933032
  • Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16.1 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 75,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #2 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > South America > Colombia
    #7 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > Central & South America
    #22 in  Books > Horror > Reference

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Review

"A brave, meticulously researched story of missed opportunities, treachery and revenge, and the burden of history on a country that has rarely known peace. Steve Dudley has visited more of Colombia's harsh venues, and sat patiently in them longer than any other foreign journalist, to understand the forces that have propelled Colombia's conflict for decades and decades. What he has produced is a passionate narrative, rich with the characters and landscape of a remarkable country, that explains why Colombia's confounding war continues to resist all attempts to stop it.."
-Scott Wilson, Andean bureau chief of the "Washington Post
"Steven Dudley's haunting account of the rise and blood-soaked fall of Colombia's Patriotic Union (Union Patriotica) party is essential reading for anyone who wants to fully understand the causes of Latin America's longest-running civil war. A brave and unflinching book
."
-Joseph Contreras, Latin America Regional Editor, Newsweek
"This insightful look into the Colombian insurgency will be valuable for scholars, policy analysts, and citizens who need to know about the next major battlefield. It's drugs, civil war, class struggle, and more U.S. intervention woven together into a very readable story
."
-Saul Landau, author of "The Pre-Emptive Empire: A Guide to Bush's Kingdom and "The Business of America: How Consumers Have Replaced Citizens and How We Can Reverse the Trend
"With verve and compassion, Dudley tells the riveting story of a political genocide that has cost Colombia thousands of lives. No one else has written this history so well and with so much first-hand access to its protagonists. It is a painful, complex, funny, andprovocative read, and goes to the heart of how modern Colombia really works
."
-Robin Kirk, Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch-Americas Division and author of "More Terrible Than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia
"Through honest, vivid, and scrupulous reporting, Dudley gives a superb history of the Patriotic Union in the mid-1980s, which continues to haunt the country's politics. His sensitive account is a significant contribution to understanding the Colombian enigma, and should be required reading for policymakers convinced they have all the answers to help produce an enduring peace
."
-Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue Institute


Product Description

"An authoritative work of modern history which is also a nail-biting page turner...Dudley writes with an appealing blend of passion and honesty and his book is absolutely riveting." - Jon Lee Anderson, "The New Yorker". "Essential reading for anyone who wants to fully understand the causes of Latin America's longest-running civil war. A brave and unflinching book." - Joseph Contreras, "Newsweek". Faced-paced and beautifully written, "Walking Ghosts" presents a window into one of the most fascinating and deadly conflicts of our time. Steven Dudley unpicks the complicated conflict between the Colombian government and FARC, the country's largest and most powerful guerrila group. He focuses on the compelling stories of key actors - politicians, drug kingpins, revolutionaries and killers - in this struggle that has plagued Colombia for the past fifty years. Dudley has seen this war up close: dead bodies, paramiltaries, victims, guerillas and survivors. He has witnessed political parties grappling for power by any means necessary, spoken to all sides and asked the tough questions to deliver this definitive new account.
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"The story of Josue Giraldo and his party, the Union Patriotica (UP), started with the idea of peace, of settling the long-standing conflict that had ripped the country apart for decades." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning journalistic account of political genocide, 16 Jan 2004
By Bert Ruiz "author/journalist" (Pleasantville, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
"Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia," by Steven Dudley is a stunning journalistic account of political genocide. To this end, the author has very likely crossed a dangerous line in Colombia's Civil War and exposed himself to enormous danger. Because by bravely documenting the links between Colombia's ruthless narco-paramilitary death squads, the Colombian armed forces, the Colombian National Police, powerful landowners and corrupt members of the two-party political establishment...he has made many bitter enemies.

This book is about the tragic rise and fall of a Colombian political party called the Patriotic Union(UP). Dudley painstakingly interviews the key political actors in the Colombian Communist Party and senior members of the FARC guerrilla organization who were responsible for the establishment of the UP. At the beginning there was much hope that the UP party could break the rigid chains of Colombia's two party system and foster a reform minded peace. However, Dudley's impeccable research demonstrates how powerful members of Colombian society were not prepared to accept a political party that was sponsored by the Communist Party and a revolutionary guerrilla army.

Consequently, a sinister dirty war was conducted. The government fell silent while the Army and well-financed paramilitary death squads exterminated the UP. The body count was horrific. A total of 111 members of the UP were murdered in 1987; 276 were assasinated in 1988; and 138 were butchered in 1989. Within five years thousands were slaughtered. The dead included UP presidential candidates, Senators, Mayors and members of Congress. Half-way through this book one will certainly question the wisdom of the Colombian government. Because by allowing the murderers to go free (97% of crimes in Colombia go unpunished)...many poor segments of Colombian society no longer have faith in the State.

This book is well written. It is hard to put down. But please be warned...the violence is brutal and Dudley objectively portrays the terrifying bloodshed inside the borders of Colombia. He also documents how paramilitaries brag of military and political support. Moreover, the author honestly hints how the United States $1.3 billion Plan Colombia funds may be helping paramilitary death squads led by Carlos Castano.

In conclusion, this is a groundbreaking book. Dudley is a former human rights worker and tier-one journalist who has dared to expose Colombia's dark secrets. The author openly admits that there is not enough room in one book for all of Colombia's victims of paramilitary violence. Dudley is a brave journalist. He dares to question how the current Colombian government is trying to forgive the paramilitaries (grant amnesty) and allow them to keep their drug trafficking wealth. In conclusion, Colombia needs a human rights truth commission like that of Peru and Guatemala. However, after finishing this book one will find that the elites in Colombia will never allow this to happen. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

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