Richardson has produced a masterly synthesis of Andean prehistory. The book is well-written, without jargon. Professional and layperson alike will find it a fascinating story and the source of many ideas to be tested in the coming decades. It is superbly illustrated with color maps and many photos, all in color except for old archival shots in B&W. Although some scholars might object to the overtly environmentalist perspective, this reviewer finds the approach convincing while providing coherence to the panoply of the Andean past. And all of this for under $20--for which the Smithsonian Institution should be roundly applauded

Creatively conceived and beautifully written. Besides a first rate contribution to linguistic anthropology and Amazonian studies, it's a great read. Check out the amazing musical transcriptions in the appendix.

This is a monumental work by an author who made six trips to Argentina, and also traveled to Spain and Panama, while researching this book. The author refers to Juan Peron as the most remarkable and enduring leader in Latin American history. The author proceeds to describe this remarkable career, following Peron from his humble birth in rural Argentina, to his military training, to the Presidency (1946), exile, and return to Argentina in the early 1970s where he would die in office. Brief mention is made of Isabel's tragic and short reign as President after the death of her husband. Extensive information is also available regarding Peron's relationship with Eva Peron ("Evita"), with a few chapters devoted to her. A section of photographs is available as well.

The author's description of Juan Peron is comprehensive and complex, and may therefore be best suited for someone already very familiar with Peron and contemporary Argentine history. If you are looking for a more brief and succinct historical rendering of Peron's career, you may want to look elsewhere, perhaps to JUAN AND EVA PERON by Clive Foss. My favorite biography of Juan Peron is PERON AND ENIGMAS OF ARGENTINA by Robert D. Crassweller. Crassweller explains in PERON AND THE ENIGMAS OF ARGENTINA that Peron was a product of the "Hispanic Creole" tradition, and that all his successes and failures can be seen within the context of that culture, and in many ways were *shaped* by that culture. In fact, Crassweller argues that Peron's real talent was his keen insight into the culture, his keen intuition in understanding how to reach out to and unify as many different segments of Argentina as possible. While Joseph Page does attempt to provide cultural insight, he does not succeed to the extent that Crassweller does.

Joseph Page comes to a conclusion that may surprise many: that Juan Peron was a pacifist at heart; "He steadfastly rejected violence as an open instrument of policy." Page also points out the irony that Peron, once considered by some as a "South American Hitler," would have never plunged or plundered his country into war, and that it was the men who ousted Peron who went on to kill thousands of people.

It's the story of Juan Domingo Peron, the 'leader' of Argentina in the 5oth, Evita Peron - his secound wife and the 'heart' of Argentina and Isabelle Peron - his 3rd and last wive. It tells the story of three people that want to become a leader - two were it. But the only Peron who was loved by the people - I mean really loved - died too young to become a leader. Evita, or Maria Eva Duarte de Peron, died at 36. It's a great story of 3 great people

This is an excellent profile of Peru. If you are working in or traveling to Peru you will be greatly benefitted by this book.

Until I read John Crabtree's profile of Peru the best book out was Jane Holligan's FOCUS: Peru Though I still recommend Holligan's book (see my review) Crabtree's profile is more current (up to the first year of President Alejandro Toledo's term - 2001) and more sensitive to the plight of the poor and oppressed in Peru.

Excellent is Crabree's section "The Fight for Democracy". A must read for those who desire to understand the political forces that control Peru. His insight into the critical control that the IMF, WTO and IDB have over developing countries like Peru are eye opening. His sections on the economy and society are informative and succinct. The poor (54% of the society) struggle daily, living hand-to-mouth while the wealthy and powerful remain safe behind their walled fortress homes.
John Crabtree didn't excessively laud ex-president Fujimori terms in office, but neither was he excessively critical of Fujimori's dirty subterfuge, which recently has been disclosed. Nor was he critical of Fujimori's hatchet man Vladimiro Montesios. He states, "Categorizing Fujimori is not easy. By no means a traditional dictator, he was certainly no democrat. Rather, his regime was a hybrid of both elements."

As I write this review there are demonstrations in every city in Peru. In the streets of Cusco, the police, in their attempt to crush a demonstration, killed a teacher (28 May 2003). President Toledo, is suffering a massive crash in his approval ratings (from 84% after the election to 14% May 2003). The lowest approval rating ever given to a president.

This is a must read profile of Peru. John Crabtree's book, along with a good travel guide (Footprint Peru 4th ed. - see my review) should be in your suitcase before departure. Highly recommended

Peru makes few marks on the average person's mind outside Latin America. We may think of llamas, Andes, Pizarro and the conquistadores, Macchu Picchu, the pan pipes and armadillo-shell charangos played by street musicians all over North America, and maybe, in the last few years, violent Maoist guerrillas, drug gangs, and a notorious siege of the Japanese Embassy. Perhaps you have read Vargas Llosa's excellent novels. What else ? Do you recall Theodore Wilder's novel "The Bridge at San Luis Rey" ? What about Yma Sumac or von Hagen's book on the roads of the ancient Inca Empire ? I'm digging deeply now, right ? Unless you have studied a specialized version of history, or have gone in for Latin American anthropology, Peru remains on the fringe of our non-Latin American world. Perhaps you would like to know more. Perhaps you are beginning to study the area or the country. Perhaps you are just looking for a good book on a subject that has always interested you---but you didn't know where to start.

This is the place. It's always a pleasure to find a good basic book that gives you clear, well-written insights into a country or time you really knew only hazily before. That's why I was so glad to read PERU, by Dobyns and Doughty. Though I bought it back in 1983 in Australia, when the book was only seven years published, I didn't get around to reading it till just now. It is part of a series of Latin American Histories put out by Oxford University Press. The only other one I ever read, on Chile, by Brian Loveman, also stood out as excellent.

PERU gives an excellent overview of how that country's culture changed over time, from the ancient civilizations of the oases and highlands long before the Christian era, through the Inca Empire (that began just about a century before its collapse under the Spanish onslaught), to the colonial era and the end of European rule. Even though in the 19th century, the political confusion is reflected in a less Olympian overview from the authors, cultural change, as opposed to blow-by-blow political history, remains uppermost. It is always difficult to separate these culture and political history---one might quibble with the authors whether this or that was entirely necessary, but they provide a readable, interesting account (you can let some of the statistical paragraphs go unless you are collecting data). My edition of the book ends at 1975, before the return of democracy, the rise of Alan Garcia, Fujimori and Sendero Luminoso, and the subsequent fall of all three. There are many books on the Incas and the ancient Peruvian civilizations. Pizarro and the Conquest are also well-covered in literature. Overviews, to my knowledge, are scarce. Thus, while somewhat dated, PERU may be the best book in English on Peruvian cultural history as a whole. Inca Cola does not rate a mention, however, neither does Vargas Llosa.

En 25 años no se había publicado una Historia del Perú de envergadura similar en los Estados Unidos: de Chavín a Fujimori, un milenio de trayectoria colectiva en un solo volumen. El prestigio de su autor -Peter F. Klarén de la Universidad George Washington- y del sello editorial que la auspicia -Oxford University Press- son razones suficientes para prever la influencia que Peru: Society and Nationhood in the Andes habrá de tener en los medios «peruanistas» norteamericanos.

Establecer un eje interpretativo con validez en el largo plazo es el mayor reto en un proyecto de esta naturaleza. Ni las épicas incaica o pizarrista ni menos aún la lucha por la independencia funcionan más, advierte el autor, como los eventos fundacionales de una historia nacional. En la supervivencia misma de sus pobladores, en su voluntad e ingenio para levantarse de sucesivas devastaciones -de origen tanto humano como natural-, encuentra el profesor Klarén la clave de la larga duración peruana; una historia, según él, tan rica como dolorosa.

Varios siglos de supervivencia comunitaria hicieron del Tawantinsuyo el más efectivo proyecto estatal en la historia de los Andes. Verdadero triunfo sobre la fragmentación que de la geografía misma pareciera emanar. Su derrumbe, y la catástrofe demográfica que prosiguió supondría para las sociedades andinas una perecedera «desestructuración».

Con todo su poderío, no obstante, el orden colonial no logra imponer por completo los criterios de casta y segregación originalmente previstos. A ello, los futuros peruanos ofrecieron una terca resistencia, demostrando asimismo una distintiva capacidad para maximizar las oportunidades que las fisuras del poder colonial ofrecían. A lo largo del XVIII, la supervivencia deviene rebeldía.

Frente a la conciencia criolla forjada en la capital virreinal surge, en la sierra sur, una visión alternativa: recuperar la memoria incaica en la perspectiva de un programa nacional. Como nación, el Perú terminará construyéndose a contramano de la historia representada por los rebeldes de 1780: «lo criollo» como negación de «lo andino».

Tomando la iniciativa nuevamente, entre fines del XIX e inicios del XX, emprende la población andina un nuevo ciclo de confrontación: comunidades contra haciendas una vez más. En lo que queda del siglo la cuestión de la marginalidad indígena aparece como el gran telón de fondo de una historia cuyos cronistas oficiales insistieron en reducir a los avatares estatales y capitalinos: la «historia de Lima» como sustituto de la «historia del Perú».

Una verdadera revolución historiográfica, en curso desde los años 70, es lo que permite, subraya Klarén, esta drástica ampliación del marco histórico peruano. Una revolución basada en los aportes convergentes de investigadores peruanos (Pease, Burga, Flores Galindo, Manrique, Bonilla, entre otros) y extranjeros (Stern, Spalding, Jacobsen, Gootemberg), cuya obra individual hace posible la síntesis interpretativa ahora intentada por Klarén.

Pero es la historia misma de las últimas décadas la que convalida el esquema interpretativo elegido por Klaren: la emergencia de una sociedad de masas que, del «desborde popular» (Matos Mar) al «otro sendero» (De Soto), y de la insurrección senderista a la contra-isurrección rondera, decretaría la crisis final del país imaginado por los criollos de inicios del XIX.

La evolución política contemporánea, desde esta perspectiva, aparece como una sucesión de intentos por revertir la desestructuración y erigir andamiajes institucionales duraderos sobre las arenas movedizas de una historia irresuelta.

Si hay una lección importante a extraer de una historia construida así es aquella relativa a las hondas raíces de nuestra fragmentación, sustrato último de nuestra inveterada inestabilidad. Dictamen de la geografía y de la historia, que explica, en buena medida, nuestra tradición de caudillos, refundaciones sucesivas y precarios experimentos democráticos. Ni el país «enfermo» o «embrujado» que se ha querido ver, tampoco el país con futuro brillante per se. Una lección de humildad más bien es la que esta lectura sugiere, la apreciación de un derrotero que lejos de culminar en el panteón de los héroes encuentra en una milenaria vocación de supervivencia su clave última y su promesa. Un país de sobrevivientes, en suma, aún a la espera de una genuina reconciliación.

I am currently researching Peru. This is one of the best books I have found. It covers all the key issues. The authors are insightful and discuss key points while being easy to read. After reading this book, the reader will have a much better understanding of what has led to modern Peru. Could not ask for more from a book!

I can think of no other text that explains politics in Latin America better. The authors provide an outstanding review of history, culture, religion and revolution in Latin America. Moreover, the research of Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Argentina, Chile and Brazil by assorted scholars in part two of the text is excellent. Anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Latin America must read this book.

POPULAR AMERICAN RECORDING PIONEERS: 1895-1925, by Tim Gracyk, has detailed biographies of singers/musicians on old records! 444 pages. This is the ONLY book ever published to give biographies of early recording pioneers. Learn facts about the singers who made records of "popular" music before 1925! The book's opening essay gives a summary of the history of the early recording industry, the "acoustic" era. Rare sources were used--trade journals like TALKING MACHINE WORLD, memos from the Edison, Victor, Zon-O-Phone, U-S Everlasting, and Columbia record companies, etc. Following the long intro are detailed encyclopedic articles (organized alphabetically): 100 artists with separate entries in the book include the American Quartet, Billy Murray, Ada Jones, Cal Stewart (Uncle Josh), Nat Wills, Steve Porter, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (other "jass" bands of 1917 covered, too), Paul Whiteman, George J. Gaskin, Carl Fenton, Sam Ash, Aileen Stanley, Henry Burr, the Peerless Quartet, Arthur Collins, Byron G. Harlan, the duo Collins and Harlan (separate entry--new info!), S. H. Dudley, Al Bernard, Edward M. Favor, Rudy Wiedoeft, Sousa, Walter B. Rogers, Vess L. Ossman, Sam Lanin, Bert Williams, Frisco Jazz Band, Olive Kline, J. W. Myers, Ben Selvin, the Green Brothers, Haydn Quartet (the quartet that sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for Victor), Marion Harris, Arthur Fields, Irving Kaufman, Will F. Denny, Frank C. Stanley, Nat Shilkret, Frank Ferera (did his wife and fellow recording artist Helen Louise die of foul play? she vanished during a ship voyage in 1919!), James Reese Europe (Jim Europe), Victor Military Band, Victor Light Opera Company, Werrenrath, Shannon Four (Revelers), Richard Jose...many more! Rare info here from descendants of the artists, from old letters sent to historian Jim Walsh (some never published by Walsh), from rare primary sources like birth & death certificates, from archives! This is the ONLY book that covers artists who, from the 1890s to the mid-1920s, made records of music that was "popular" in nature, as opposed to records of operatic arias, symphonic works, or concert pieces. A pre-electric method for recording was used, with musicians performing into a horn, not a microphone. This encyclopedia covers American artists who recorded Tin Pan Alley numbers, Broadway show tunes, ragtime, "coon" songs, novelty numbers, quartet arrangements, parlor ballads, early jazz (sometimes called "jass"), blues, dance music, hymns, and early country. This book makes a distinction between stage personalities who happened to make some recordings--when they found time in their busy schedules--and artists who made their living largely by recording regularly, perhaps finding a little time on the side for theatrical performances, vaudeville, or concert recitals. Few stars of the stage made records regularly, exceptions being Bert Williams, Nora Bayes, and Al Jolson--even their output is minuscule compared with that of Henry Burr, Harry Macdonough, Lewis James, Vernon Dalhart, Irving Kaufman, and others who, for a long time, earned a living by recording. Over 100 of these kinds of artists covered in detail, with info available nowhere else! This book has a GREAT INDEX if you want to look up specific records/songs.