13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top notch general history, April 18 2009
By J. Tuohy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Weep, Grey Bird, Weep: The Paraguayan War 1864-1870 (Paperback)
Let's start with what this book is not. The back cover blurb says it is "...the most extraordinary love story of the 19th century, set against the background of the most disastrous war ever fought." Whoever wrote that clearly never cracked the cover of this book. Madam Lynch makes into the book as she should, but to describe this as a love story is total nonsense.
Now, what Weep, Grey Bird, Weep actually is: it is a well researched, engagingly written history of a facinating and important period in South American history that is woefully underrepresented in english-language military writing. Roger Kohn has given us both an excellent history of the military actions of the war and a great deal of the social and political action, at least on the Paraguayan side. He follows the history with a well thought-out, dispassionate analysis of the effect of the war on Paraguay (catastrophic)and of the character of Paraguayan President Lopez (a monster who destroyed his country but was not totally without redeeming qualities - trust me on this one).
Two minor quibbles. First, the book would have benefited by more maps. The movements of the various players would be much easier to follow. Second, whoever proofread the galleys did a terrible job. The text is filled with typos and extraneous letters and words.
So, ignore the minor nitpicking and read this book. It will provide a gateway to deeper research. Or maybe just give you pleanty to talk about with your military history buff pals.