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Richard Gott

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Land without Evil: Utopian Journeys Across the South American Watershed Hardcover – 23 Dec. 1992

by Richard Gott (Author)

5.0 3 ratings

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All too often, travel writers plunge into seemingly obscure parts of the globe with little knowledge of where they are, whom they are among, or what has happened there in the past. In this trend-breaking anti travel book, Richard Gott describes his own journey through the heart of South America, across the swampland that forms the watershed between the River Plate and the River Amazon. But the story of his expedition takes second place to a brilliant resurrection of the historical events in the area over five hundred years, of the people who have lived there and the visitors who have made the same journey.
The land crossed by the Upper Paraguay river once formed the contested frontier in South America between Spanish and Portuguese territory. The Portuguese sent expeditions through it in attempts to reach the Spanish silver mines of the Andes, and the Jesuits (supported by the monarch in Madrid) established strategic hamlets-the famous Indian missions-to stabilize the frontier. But this was not the beginning or end of conflict in the area. Earlier, the Guarani-speaking Indian nations of Paraguay had made violent contact across the swamp with the Quechua-speakers of the Inca empire; later, after the departure of the Spaniards, the nineteenth century witnessed a prolonged period of purposeful extermination of the local peoples. Since the Spanish conquest, the area has seen an endless procession of newcomers pursuing unsuitable and utopian programmes of economic and social development that have inevitably ended in disaster for the local population.
Intermingling accounts of his own travels over many years with those Jesuit priests, Spanish conquistadors and Portuguese Mamelukes, together with those of other visitors such as Alcides D'Orbigny, Theodore Roosevelt, and Claude Levi-Strauss, Richard Gott weaves a complex web of narrative that brings to life the almost unknown frontier land of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Both gripping and polemical, Land Without Evil is a significant contribution to our knowledge of South America.

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Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Verso Books
Publication date

23 Dec. 1992
Dimensions

20.32 x 3.18 x 25.4 cm
ISBN-10

9780860913986
ISBN-13

978-0860913986
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Product description

Review

Richard Gott is the first modern travel writer to focus on this heartland of South America, and he does so with wit and erudition. -- John Hemming, Director of the Royal Geographical Society

This is a really original and even astonishing book written with great care bu a most skilful author. -- Hugh Thomas

About the Author

Richard Gott is a former Latin America correspondent and features editor for the Guardian. A specialist in Latin American affairs, his books include Cuba: A New History, Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, The Appeasers (with Martin Gilbert), Land Without Evil, Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, and Britain's Empire. He is currently an honorary research fellow at the institute for the study of the Americas at the University of London.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0860913988
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Verso Books (23 Dec. 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780860913986
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0860913986
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 20.32 x 3.18 x 25.4 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 3,448,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 23,080 in Travel Writing (Books)

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5.0 3 ratings

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G.I.Forbes

south america

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2017

This is an account of the authors travels in the heartland of South America between the Amazon and the River Plate when he recreates the events that happened 500 years previously and the livesof cthe people who lived there.
The author describes the actions of previous expeditions and the Jesuit safehouses
An outstanding hisrory of that part of the world.
10stars

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Reviewed in the United States on 7 November 2023

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This was a used book. The book arrived in great condition. I got it for a co-worker. He has been looking forward to it for a while.

Smallchief

I highly recommend the book for those who like good travel writing ...

Reviewed in the United States on 22 November 2017

Verified Purchase

This is an outstanding book. It is both a travel and a history book and it covers a relatively unknown and obscure part of the world -- the northern part of the Gran Chaco of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Gott focuses on the Indians (or Native Americans, if you prefer) and their interactions with the Spanish colonists and the subsequent independent countries from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Among the Indian groups he focuses on are the Guarani, well know because of the movie "The Mission." Many books describe the Jesuit missions among the Guarani as a "lost paradise." Gott's description of the Jesuit missions is more realistic.

Other groups described include the Guaycurus (who resembled the Plains Indians of North America), the Chiquitos, and the Chiriguanos. Some of these groups were at war with the Spanish for more than 300 years.

The book is well written, describing the modern cities of the region along with detailed descriptions of the history of the region and its inhabitants. Gott has no obvious ax to grind and seems to be fair minded in his histories.

I highly recommend the book for those who like good travel writing mixed with fascinating history. .

Smallchief

2 people found this helpful

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