eShop USA > Books > The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)
The Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)
List Price: $25.95Our Price: $17.13 You Save: $8.82 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 985
EAN: 9780822336495
Edition: 2
ISBN: 0822336499
Label: Duke University Press
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 520
Publication Date: 2005-11
Publisher: Duke University Press
Studio: Duke University Press
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
Sixteenth-century Spanish soldiers described Peru as a land filled with gold and silver, a place of untold wealth. Nineteenth-century travelers wrote of soaring Andean peaks plunging into luxuriant Amazonian canyons of orchids, pythons, and jaguars. The early-twentieth-century American adventurer Hiram Bingham told of the raging rivers and the wild jungles he traversed on his way to rediscovering the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu. Seventy years later, news crews from ABC and CBS traveled to Peru to report on merciless terrorists, starving peasants, and Colombian drug runners in the “white gold” rush of the coca trade. As often as not, Peru has been portrayed in broad extremes: as the land of the richest treasures, the bloodiest conquest, the most poignant ballads, and the most violent revolutionaries. This revised and updated second edition of the bestselling Peru Reader offers a deeper understanding of the complex country that lies behind these claims.Unparalleled in scope, the volume covers Peru’s history from its extraordinary pre-Columbian civilizations to its citizens’ twenty-first-century struggles to achieve dignity and justice in a multicultural nation where Andean, African, Amazonian, Asian, and European traditions meet. The collection presents a vast array of essays, folklore, historical documents, poetry, songs, short stories, autobiographical accounts, and photographs. Works by contemporary Peruvian intellectuals and politicians appear alongside accounts of those whose voices are less often heardâpeasants, street vendors, maids, Amazonian Indians, and African-Peruvians. Including some of the most insightful pieces of Western journalism and scholarship about Peru, the selections provide the traveler and specialist alike with a thorough introduction to the country’s astonishing past and challenging present.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A mixed bag of fascinating and important information on Peru
This anthology contains materials written by Peruvians and by outsiders who have studied Peru closely.
The first half of the collection contains essays and excerpts from the writings about major historical events and some historical documents.
The second half of the book contains articles on Velasco Alvardo and the military reformist government, the Shining Path and drug traffic. There are also a wide range of materials: essays, folklore, poetry, songs, extracts from novels, ... Read More
Rating: - A must read for the history of Peru
This is a great book for the history of Peru. The chronological order is perfect. All the essays are wonderful to read. I think I learned more about Peru with this book than any other.
Rating: - The Peru Reader: Start Early!
What a wonderfully literate collection of writings which give the traveler (actual or armchair) both the information and flavor he needs to introduce him to this complex country. I started too close to my departure for Peru to read every word, but found myself unable to decide what to skip. What seemed a boring topic turned out to be fascinating! So, start early -- the book is pretty bulky to carry on your trip.
Rating: - The Peru Reader: The best Peru travelers companion
I took this book to Peru on a trip to see the great archeological sites. I was blown awqy by the information I got from this book. Not only was I informed on so many topics but introduced to several brilliant Peruvian authors. The book was so strong I wept deeply over the history of the native peoples, I was amazed at the strength to survive under the most difficult political and cultural situations. The book was so well written that all the history and politics, not my usual reading, soaked in painlesssly, ... Read More
Rating:  - Hefty, in-depth anthology
Perhaps this book's overwhelming for a newcomer. But, if you have a basic knowledge of Peru already, this over 500-page collection of stories, chapters from academic books, poems, folktales, political reportage, popular journalism and interviews, and historical and anthropological coverage satisfies the need in English for a comprehensive starter for further research and reading on many topics.
Organised into chronological order, sections progress from pre-Inca, Inca, Conquest, Post-Conquest, Colonial ... Read More
Related Categories:
| |
 |
