1493 by
From the author of 1491-- the best-selling study of the pre-Columbian Americas--a deeply engaging new history of the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs.
More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans.
The Columbian Exchange, as researchers call it, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. More important, creatures the colonists knew nothing about hitched along for the ride. Earthworms, mosquitoes, and cockroaches; honeybees, dandelions, and African grasses; bacteria, fungi, and viruses; rats of every description--all of them rushed like eager tourists into lands that had never seen their like before, changing lives and landscapes across the planet.
Eight decades after Columbus, a Spaniard named Legazpi succeeded where Columbus had failed. He sailed west to establish continual trade with China, then the richest, most powerful country in the world. In Manila, a city Legazpi founded, silver from the Americas, mined by African and Indian slaves, was sold to Asians in return for silk for Europeans. It was the first time that goods and people from every corner of the globe were connected in a single worldwide exchange. Much as Columbus created a new world biologically, Legazpi and the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically.
As Charles C. Mann shows, the Columbian Exchange underlies much of subsequent human history. Presenting the latest research by ecologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the creation of this worldwide network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City--where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted--the center of the world. In such encounters, he uncovers the germ of today's fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars.
In 1493, Charles Mann gives us an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.
Bolivar by
An authoritative portrait of the Latin-American warrior-statesman draws on a wealth of primary documents to set his life against a backdrop of the explosive tensions of 19th-century South America, providing coverage of such topics as his role in the 1813 campaign for Colombian and Venezuelan independence, his legendary love affairs and his achievements as a strategist, abolitionist and diplomat.
Born in Blood and Fire by
In this text for students and the general reader, Chasteen (history, U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) discusses the history of 20 Latin American countries from the first contact with Europeans in 1492 to the present. The text is accompanied throughout by maps and black and white photographs. The volume does not include bibliographical references. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR
Flight to Freedom by
"They had been massacred, assassinated. [The death squad] had pulled off their nails. They had been burned with acid ... shot in the head." In a provoking, first-person account of the horrors of war and political persecution, Salvadoran refugee and community leader Carlos Vaquerano remembers the day that his brother Marcial and seven others were brutally murdered by the death squads supported by his country's violent right-wing government. When a sister in the United States offers to help him emigrate, Carlos and his family agree that he has no other options. So, like the more than one million Central American refugees fleeing the atrocities of war, Carlos makes the difficult journey through Mexico and into the U.S. Once here, though, he cannot forget his brother's admonishment: "Never forget that you have to fight so that justice exists in our country." Fulfilling his brother's plea, Carlos Vaquerano would go on to establish the Salvadoran-American Leadership and Educational Fund, one of the nation's leading Central American organizations. Each of the eight people interviewed for this landmark collection--Carmen Alegria, Isabel Beltran, Juan Ramon Cardona, Eduardo Gonzalez, Javier Huete, Alicia Mendoza, Rossana Perez, and Carlos Vaquerano--is a leader in the Salvadoran/Central American refugee movement. Consequently, this book offers insight into the early philosophy and framework of the movement as revealed by some of its pioneers. Published as part of the Hispanic Civil Rights Series, this compelling and historically significant volume collects the personal narratives of Central American refugees who fled the violence in their homelands and became leading community advocates at theforefront of social justice.
A History of Latin America: c. 1450 to the present by
This complete history of South and Middle America is now updated to provide fuller coverage of twentieth-century developments in politics and economics, as well as social and cultural life. A complete history of Latin America from pre-conquest to the present-day. Second edition includes new preface, updated bibliography and a new chapter on the 20th century. Covers political, economic, social and cultural history.
The Killing Zone: The United States Wages Cold War in Latin America by 
The Latino Reader by
The Latino Reader is the first anthology to present the full history of this important American literary tradition, from the mid-sixteenth century to the present day. Selections include works of history, memoirs, letters, and essays, as well as fiction, poetry, and drama. Adding to the importance of the volume are several selections from rare and little-known texts that have been translated into English for the first time.
Looking for History: dispatches from Latin America by
From the esteemed New Yorker correspondent comes an incisive volume of essays and reportage that vividly illuminates Latin America's recent history. Only Alma Guillermoprieto, the most highly regarded writer on the region, could unravel the complex threads of Colombia's cocaine wars or assess the combination of despotism, charm, and political jiu-jitsu that has kept Fidel Castro in power for more than 40 years. And no one else can write with such acumen and sympathy about statesmen and campesinos, leftist revolutionaries and right-wing militias, and political figures from Evita Peron to Mexico's irrepressible president, Vicente Fox.
Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number by
Timmerman, an Argentine-Jewish journalist and newspaper editor whose preoccupations were corruption and anti-Semitism, published the habeas corpus to the Argentine courts by the families of the disappeared and was jailed on April 15, 1977, after 20 civilians under army orders stormed his apartment. This is Timmerman's chronicle of 30 months of torture and jail time spent primarily in a tiny, wet cell. The Argentine junta, under international pressure, finally set him free by exiling him in Israel. This work first appeared in English translation in 1981. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Revolution Question: Feminisms in El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba by
What do women do for revolutions? And what do revolutions do for women? Julie Shayne explores the roles of women in revolutionary struggles and the relationship of these movements to the emergence of feminism. Focusing upon the three very different cases of El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba, Shayne documents the roles of women in armed and unarmed political activities. She argues that women contribute to and participate in revolutionary movements in ways quite distinct from men. Despite the fact that their political contributions tend to be seen as less important than those of their male comrades, the roles that women play are actually quite significant to the expansion of revolutionary movements. Shayne also explains how, given the convergence of political and ideological factors, feminism is often born in the wake of revolutionary movements. As a result, revolutionary feminism is a struggle that addresses larger structures of political and economic inequalities. Based on extensive in-depth interviews with activists in all three countries, The Revolution Question offers new insight into the complex gender relations underlying revolutionary social movements and enables us to re-assess both the ways that women affect political struggle and the ways in which political struggle affects women.
Simon Bolivar by
Simón Bolívar was a revolutionary who freed six countries, an intellectual who argued the principles of national liberation, and a general who fought a cruel colonial war. His life, passions, battles, and great victories became embedded in Spanish American culture almost as soon as they happened. This is the first major English-language biography of “The Liberator” in half a century. John Lynch draws on extensive research on the man and his era to tell Bolívar’s story, to understand his life in the context of his own society and times, and to explore his remarkable and enduring legacy. The book illuminates the inner world of Bolívar, the dynamics of his leadership, his power to command, and his modes of ruling the diverse peoples of Spanish America. The key to his greatness, Lynch concludes, was supreme will power and an ability to inspire people to follow him beyond their immediate interests, in some cases through years of unremitting struggle. Encompassing Bolívar’s entire life and his many accomplishments, this is the definitive account of a towering figure in the history of the Western hemisphere.
Understanding Central America by
Understanding Central America explains how domestic, global, political and economic forces have shaped rebellion and regime change in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras throughout their histories, during the often-turbulent 1970s and since. The text provides students a comprehensive coverage of Central America, political science, and international relations. The authors explain the origins and development of the region's political conflicts, their resolution and ongoing political change. This Sixth Edition provides the most up-to-date information on the recent political changes in each of the five countries presented"
William Walker's Wars by
"William Walker's Wars details the little-remembered history of the American man who, with the help of a privately assembled army, installed himself as president of Nicaragua in 1856"
The Companion to Latin American Studies by
Covering all the possible topics, from colonial cultures and identity to US Latino culture and issues of race, gender and sexuality, this book situates Latin America in its historical, linguistic and cultural context.
Concise Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature by
Contains topic-based essays, geo-historical surveys of individual countries, critical biographies on individual writers, and critical summaries of representative works.
Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003 by
Draws together entries on all aspects of literature including authors, critics, major works, magazines, genres, schools and movements in these regions from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day.
Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture by
Presents a processual view of Mexican history, society and culture from ancient civilizations to the present day.
Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands - Latin America by
This volume explores how people from various cultures perceive information and negotiate business deals. It covers topics such as gift-giving, value systems, cognitive styles and personal space.
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America by
A field guide to the birds of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, abundantly illustrated and with comprehensive coverage of both endemic and migrant birds
Birding is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry in northern Central America, and this is the newest and best bird field guide to this region--the first new bird guide in over ten years for the countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. This guide is far more complete than previous ones, with more than 800 species accounts, full-color range maps, and 1,000 beautiful illustrations and behavioral vignettes covering all species recorded in the region.
This guide is designed for birders to carry in the field, and it is a must-have for any birder who visits the area.
The Fall of the Ancient Maya: solving the mystery of the Maya collapse by
Ancient Maya civilization thrived in the tropics of Central America for more than a thousand years and produced some of the world's finest architecture and art. Then it mysteriously vanished, leaving a landscape of ruins smothered by forests. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the great puzzles of history, ranking alongside the Fall of Rome as an enigma that has intrigued scholars for generations.
Seeing and Being Seen by
The practice of morality and the formation of identity among an indigenous Latin American culture are framed in a pioneering ethnography of sight that attempts to reverse the trend of anthropological fieldwork and theory overshadowing one another.
In this vital and richly detailed work, methodology and theory are treated as complementary partners as the author explores the dynamic Mayan customs of the Q'eqchi' people living in the cultural crossroads of Livingston, Guatemala. Here, Q'eqchi', Ladino, and Garifuna (Caribbean-coast Afro-Indians) societies interact among themselves and with others ranging from government officials to capitalists to contemporary tourists.
The fieldwork explores the politics of sight and incorporates a video camera operated by multiple people—the author and the Q'eqchi' people themselves—to watch unobtrusively the traditions, rituals, and everyday actions that exemplify the long-standing moral concepts guiding the Q'eqchi' in their relationships and tribulations. Sharing the camera lens, as well as the lens of ethnographic authority, allows the author to slip into the world of the Q'eqchi' and capture their moral, social, political, economic, and spiritual constructs shaped by history, ancestry, external forces, and time itself.
A comprehensive history of the Q'eqchi' illustrates how these former plantation laborers migrated to lands far from their Mayan ancestral homes to co-exist as one of several competing cultures, and what impact this had on maintaining continuity in their identities, moral codes of conduct, and perception of the changing outside world.
With the innovative use of visual methods and theories, the author's reflexive, sensory-oriented ethnographic approach makes this a study that itself becomes a reflection of the complex set of social structures embodied in its subject.
Handbook to Life in the Aztec World by
Ever since the violent end of the empire in 1521, the marvels and mysteries of Aztec Mexico have intrigued us. And in recent years, astounding discoveries from the excavation of the Templo Mayor in the heart of Mexico City have taught us even more about this fascinating culture. The increasing recognition that the achievements of Mesoamerican civilizations were among the most sophisticated of the ancient world has led to a demand for introductions to the basic methods and theories of archaeologists, art historians, and ethnohistorians working throughout the region.
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