Customer Reviews

Open Veins of Latin America

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1 star:		(7)

 

 

Eduardo Galeano's classic work serves as a testament to the world. His words resonate with all of us who have seen and felt the pillaging of Latin America first hand. The book writen in "90 nights," when Galeano was 31 years old meticulously illustrates how Europe and North America have raped, and exploited Latin America in their continued crusade for wealth. Galeano displays how the genocide of the Indigenous Americans and the enslavement of Africans created 'the foundation stone upon which the giant industrial capital of modern times was built'. Read this book and tell me that isn't true.

This is a great book for those who want to look at things from a fresh perspective. It is not meant for those who believe capitalism and imperialism are the best options out there. Eduardo Galeano did an excellent job at investigating as well as setting forward a view of Latin America that very few North Americans ever get to know. One warning though: it is not for those faint of heart, this book is explicit and very painful to read; but that is only because the history of Latin America has been very sad and painful. An excellent read, you'll think about this book forever.

Galeano definitly knows to show us the dramitacal consecuences from the Conquer of America by the European nations, and how the impositions of the culture, religion and economic models had their origins here explained. A call for us to know the past in order to look for a better future for America Latina.

The way this investigation is narrated to us is incredible and very enjoyable.

I really recommend this book; it opened my eyes to many aspects of Latin American History. Sure, it's not very pretty, but reality usually isn't. I think it's essential for every latino who wants to try to understand our past, present & future to read this book. I read it first in Spanish, just recently a bit of it in English; it reaffirmed my belief that it is best to read authors in their native language (when you can), or as the case may be, in the language the text was originally written. Mr. Belfrage did a good job, but some insights and terms were lost in his translation. Also, I read other customer reviews and it's interesting to note that the only two "bad" comments came from the united states, a place with a very warped view of Latin America.

"Open Veins", spares noone and can be found insulting to anyone who lives in a society that is working perfectly for them. Someone who sees this world as a perfect place and has read all the history books circulating in the school system would have a hard time grasping Galeano's ideas. But someone searching for truth even if it hurts will benefit imensly from reading this book. All ideas are backed by statistical facts organized so neatly that what would usually be boring material, comes alive to the reader. Even if one doesn't agree on everything and there is a wealth of information in this book, one walks away with a whole new perspective on how things are and came to be not just in Latin America, but in the whole world. Someone famous once said fact is a set of ideas agreed upon. I think Galeano's ideas can be validated just as much as anyone elses who disagees with him. He uses his statistics very well to validate them. Read it even if only you want a different perspective on history. If you are one of the "losers" it leaves you with renewed hope and if you are one of the "winners" you may apreciate more how fortunate you are. Because as Galeano clearly points out power is constantly changing hands and will continue to do so throughout history.

This book offers the reader the possibility to understand why the vast majority of the people of one of the richest part of the planet live in misery. The domination of Spain and England has been replaced in the last two centuries by the north American imperialism. The idea that the market is free worldwide is just an illusion, well utilized by the media and by the big corporations all around the world. Galeano was able to describe the complicate situation of the central and southern american countries with simple words, renouncing to the ermetic slang of sociologists and historians yet rigorously documenting the whole reasoning. A must for Europeans and northern Americans. Indispensable for whom want to understand how the global market functions and who are the major players.

If you are at all interested in learning the why and how of how our Latin American world has been abused and pillaged ever since Cristobal Colon set foot on San Salvador Island.....READ THIS BOOK! Mr. Galeano shows us in perfect detail the complete and utter devastation to which our people have been subjected for the past 500 years. It details not only the loss of natural resources, but also of human life at the hand of many (starting with Spain and and all the way up to the United States). It is incredible that some individuals attempt to state that this book is wrong in placing the blame on whom it places it. The book blames both, the the ones who have stolen over the past 500 years and the ones who have allowed it to happen. Those who question the quality of the book are obviously blinded by the rage of having been unsmaked. A true masterpiece of modern literary work.

If you have a hard time believing the sterile happy-end history that north American schools have been spoon feeding you, or think that the simple 'no pain no gain' syntheses provided by the mainstream American and European journalism to explain increasing world poverty seem to lack justification, or if you simply want to read a well-documented story of uncountable cases of terror, domination, corruption, and exploitation--each time occuring under similar well orchestrated external conditions--then this book is for you!

History is never out of fashion, history is never forgettable, history is never isolated in the past from what occurs and shall continue to occur in the future. Eduardo Galeano makes history come alive and in so doing makes the reader face his or her own reality: shall this injustice continue with impunity? Can we sit idly by and watch? Can we pretend we are innocent because we were ignorant? The "plunder" of the continent may have changed faces, but it has not stopped... Thank you, Don Eduardo Galeano, for your genius.

Every now and then, whether the perpetrators want it or not, the truth is showing through the cracks of the hidden history. Wonderful writing. J.L.Viens