Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power in Argentina

Book Description

"The movements in Argentina have been among the most creative and inspirational in recent years. Marina Sitrin's collection allows us to learn from the activists themselves and continue the experiments in autonomy and democracy they have begun."-Michael Hardt, co-author of Empire

"â€¦a fascinating account about what is fresh and new about the Argentine uprising."-John Holloway, author of Change the World Without Taking Power

The popular rebellion that began in December 2001 in Argentina with the IMF melt-down and subsequent capital flight sparked a process of creativity that continues to this day. Different from so many social movements of the past, this rebellion rejects political programs, opting instead to create directly democratic spaces on street corners, in factories, and throughout neighborhoods. Many have come to call this new social relationship, "horizontalidad."

Horizontalism is an oral history of the exciting transformations taking place since the popular rebellion. It is a story of cooperation, vision, creation and discovery. It is a history told by people in the various autonomous social movements, from the occupied factories, neighborhood assemblies, arts and independent media collectives, to the indigenous communities and unemployed workers movements.

Marina Sitrin is a New York City-based lawyer, writer, and activist who has spent large portions of the past three years in Argentina. Her work has appeared in Left Turn and Perspectives.

Customer Reviews:

An inspiring account of struggle from below.......2007-04-11

This is an inspiring collection of oral history excerpts detailing the anarchist ethos of Argentina's Horizontalist movement of the early part of this decade, in which thousands of people joined together in grassroots, participatory, anti-hierarchical struggles to rid themselves of government and take collective control of their lives and neighborhoods. Dozens of factories were taken over and run by the workers, 4 governments were ousted in a matter of days, and hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand "Que se vayan todos!" Everyone must go!

Sitrin records many stirring accounts of the political awakening and empowerment of ordinary people. They explain in their own words, humbly but eloquently, their anarchist principles of "autogestion" (self-management), and horizontalism, and their refusal to vie for government.

My only qualms with the book are that it gets to be somewhat repetitive, and could have been shortened by 50 pages without losing much detail. Also, as this is history from the grassroots, we never get a clear overview of the arc of the events of the late 90's and early 00's, or an explanation of how the movements fell short of their lofty goals, and what lessons were learned to help prepare for the next upsurge. And the lack of detail about the interviewees, such as age, class, occupation, family circumstances, prevents the speakers from fully coming alive in my mind the way that the interviewees of Studs Terkel or Robert Coles do.

But overall, this is a unique and valuable contribution to the literature on cutting edge of grassroots social struggle.

An amazing glimpse into the lives of the piqueteros!.......2006-12-16

From the military dictatorship to the dictatorship of the market, the lives of the Argentinian people have been shaped by hardship, loss and tears. Though not lately receiving quite as much attention in the mainstream press as the Bolivarian revolution in Venezeuela, the social rebellion in Argentina is in many ways even more exciting as it is happening outside the realm of traditional politics and statecraft. In this wonderfully engaging oral history project, Marina Sitrin chronicles the lives of various women and men involved in the neighborhood assemblies, recuperated factories, the unemployed workers' movement, alternative media collectives, human rights organizations, radical student groups, lgbt activism, and feminist struggles that constitute the piquetero movement. Devoid of a populist leadership and a vanguard party, this is a movement that emphasizes decentralization, egalitarianism, horizontalism, consensus decision-making, autonomy, social protagonism, and face-to-face democracy. Rather than fighting for a centralized, authoritarian, bureaucratic state socialism, the piqueteros are building a grassroots, participatory socialism from below. Unlike other radical Latin American movements, this is largely a rebellion of the underclass rather than the working-class. While the industrial proletariat does play a critical role in the movement (i.e. the garment workers at Brukman, the print shop workers at Chilavert and the workers at the Zanon ceramics factory), other important groups play a vital role like students, queers, housewives, sex workers, artists, and the unemployed. Faced with overwhelming poverty and state repression, the brave Argentinian women and men in this book are pioneering a new form of social activism against the tyranny of global capital. For activists interested in the history of the Argentine financial meltdown, alternatives to neoliberal economics, and the hopes and dreams of the piquetero movement, this is a really important and extremely readable book!!!

Lonely Planet Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, 4th Ed)

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Facts Not Straight
A step up, rather
A step backward
Fills more of the void than the others

Lonely Planet Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, 4th Ed)
Sandra Bao , Ben Greensfelder , and Carolyn Hubbard
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1740590279

Book Description

This is the 4th edition of Lonely Planet's guide to Argentina. For the updated & spectacular new 5th edition, please type the ISBN number 1740595157 into the search box above.

The new 5th edition includes more color highlights, suggested itineraries, maps, keyed sites and cultural insights than any other guide. We invite you to check it out.

Customer Reviews:

Facts Not Straight.......2003-10-17

I will only say that if the author of a book about a country (or countries) demonstrates in the "Facts" section not having even looked at a map of the region, showing complete lack of knowledge of the most basic geography of what s/he claims to know and write about, what reliability can you expect from such a book?

I'll give you three examples from the "Facts on Argentina" section that reveal lack of knowledge of the region's geography and geopolitics.

1. It says: "In most of Argentina and the other Rio de la Plata countries (Uruguay and Paraguay)...". This is the grosser mistake because Paraguay is nowhere near! the Rio de la Plata river. And that is easy to see in a map of the area this book writes about. Also from a cultural perspective, this is a gross mistake. Only Uruguay and Argentina are (and always have been) known as "the Rio de la Plata river countries". There is even a culture common to both margins of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate in English). This "rioplatense" culture (from "Rio" and "Plata") is not even shared by all of huge Argentina that is a lot more than just the region around this river that divides it from smaller Uruguay.

2. It says that Spaniard "Solís probed the area now known as Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay". But the region occupied by what today are those three countries is VERY big--and one could not say more than Solís probed the region around the Rio de la Plata river, which covers only a small section of today's Uruguay and Argentina (and not Paraguay).

3. It says that "Solís died at the hands of Uruguayan tribes". This sounds almost as a joke if not an insult. Uruguayans did not exist in Solís's times. The author might mean "the tribes *then* inhabiting *today's* Uruguay". Those tribes were not Uruguayan, just as the Apaches were not American (nationals of the U.S.).

I leave the conclusions up to you. I'm sure *some* facts must be right in this book, but such a lack of professionalism revealed in the absense of the most basic review of the facts of a book edited by a large, well knwon publisher does not inspire the least trust in me. I rather not waste my money: I am willing to pay for information--not for mis*information.

A step up, rather.......2003-07-19

The first 'reviewer' has it wrong--this edition of Lonely Planet's Argentina book is a remarkable improvement over the 3rd edition, which at times is convolutedly wordy beyond belief. The review sounds like it was written by the previous author. Be aware that some competetive guidebooks, such as those put out by Avalon (or Moon) pay their authors based on the royalty system. In other words, on how many books they sell. Avalon may be putting out their own Argentina guide soon. Your best advice: run through the books at a bookstore and decide for yourself which fits your needs best.

A step backward.......2003-04-21

Except for most of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego chapters, which show evidence of capable research and writing, this is a step backward from the previous edition. The coverage of northwestern Argentina is superficial and even naive, and the coverage of Iguazu falls missed the enormous changes that resulted from privatization of national park services over the past few years. It looks as if only one, perhaps two, of the five authors was really up to the job.

Fills more of the void than the others.......2003-03-10

I used the guide in February 2003 to complete a trip in Argentina. The Lonely Planet guide was the best that I found, but none were up to par. I had Rough Guide to Argentina with me as well, and found it superior for the descriptions of points of interest. Lonely Planet, however, provided adequate descriptions and added travel information (75% correct) and local maps from time to time. Particularly unreliable were prices (of course, with the economic situation) and flight information. Pricing in any of the Arg. guides published for early 2003 is only good for comparison between like opportunities. Flights tended to be offered on different days or had been cancelled since publishing. The only notable information flaw I remember was in the El Bolson description, where they placed the cervezeria and associated campground on the opposite side of town. Everyone I met travelling to Uruguay or Paraguay had the Shoestring Guide to S.A. rather than this specialty guide, so I have no information on those sections of the book. All in all, the L.P. guide provided the best overall information, and I wouldn't have had as much time to enjoy my trip without it.

A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century

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Almost as good as the original version :)
Nearly unreadable
Good But Not Enough Narrative

A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century
Luis Alberto Romero
Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0271021926

Book Description

"Luis Alberto Romero has written a book that is comprehensive, balanced, and full of insights into the development—and turmoil—of modern Argentine history. This book can serve as a starter for anyone interested in the topic. Specialists too will rely on it for its analysis and detail. James Brennan's translation is outstanding."— Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University

"The purpose of this book is to provide a straightforward synthesis of twentieth-century Argentine history in all its complexity and paradox. . . . Romero focuses on Argentina's place in the larger world, the role of the state, and the influence of culture and intellectuals on the nation's development."—Richard J. Walter, reviewing the Spanish-language edition in The American Historical Review

A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century, originally published in Buenos Aires in 1994, attained instantaneous status as a classic. Written as an introductory text for university students and the general public, it is a profound reflection on the "Argentine dilemma" and the challenges that the country faces as it tries to rebuild democracy. In the book, Romero painstakingly and brilliantly reconstructs and analyzes Argentina's tortuous, often tragic modern history, from the "alluvial society" born of mass immigration, to the dramatic years of Juan and Eva Perón, to the recent period of military dictatorship and democracy. For this first English-language edition, Romero has written a new chapter covering the decade of the 1990s. A rare book combining great erudition with an engaging narrative, it is destined to be the standard English-language history of Argentina for many years to come.

The son of Argentina's greatest twentieth-century historian, José Luis Romero, Luis Alberto Romero has emerged as one of the leading historians of his generation in Argentina. Romero's generation is one that has witnessed the most dramatic decades of the country's modern history, the decline of Argentina and its descent into violence, dictatorship, and despair, but also the hopeful if often difficult process of rebuilding democracy since the mid-1980s. Combining the rigor of the professional historian with a passionate commitment to his country's future, Romero's work is a major contribution to our understanding of one of Latin America's most important nations. This translation by James Brennan, himself a leading English-speaking historian of Argentina, makes this valuable book available to a wide readership in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Customer Reviews:

Almost as good as the original version :).......2004-04-18

This interesting book is a translation of "Breve Historia Contemporanea de Argentina", and it is a good way to start studying Argentina's history if you don't speak spanish.

However, if you can speak that language, I strongly recommend you to buy the original version in spanish. The reason for that is, in my opinion, that it is always better to read a book in the language it was written, so as not to miss any nuances in meaning, and in order to appreciate better the style of the author. Disregarding how good a translator is, he is bound to make at least some mistakes, sometimes ignoring slight degrees of difference that convey not only meaning, but also feeling.

In this version there are parts where it isn't easy to follow the author's ideas, but from my point of view that is due to two things. To start with, it isn't easy to explain Argentina's history, because it is quite complex. As a result, explanations regarding that theme are frequently complicated, even in the original version of this book in spanish. Secondly, translating a book to another language is never easy, and I think that the interpreter (James Brennan) did his job incredibly well.

The structure of "A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century" is quite simple, but really useful and eminently practical. After a short introduction, the author starts this book with Yrigoyen's first presidential term, continues with Alvear's presidency and then carries on with Yrigoyen's unfinished second term. He delves deeply into the conservative restoration, and then tries to explain what Perón meant to Argentina, and the polarization of society that his presidency produced. From then on, democratic governments would be constantly interrupted by revolts, and the military would have the final word regarding all matters of importance in Argentina. That, until the Malvina's defeat, which ended up in the collapse of the military regime, and the beginning of a fledging democracy... This, the first edition in english of "Breve Historia Contemporanea de Argentina", has also new chapter that delves into the decade of the 1990s, and that wasn't included in the 1994 spanish edition.

Luis Alberto Romero is a very well known argentinian historian, author of other good books. Despite that, this is the one I prefer, at least so far. Notwithstanding the fact that it deals mainly with historical facts, it also includes his interpretation regarding what happened.

Some people criticize the author because he ask them to "accept his interpretation of History". I don't think that is the case. The aim of the author was to write an useful and short book for his students and the average reader interested in History, and in order to do so he sometimes had to write directly what he thought about a period, instead of saying what many authors thought about the same period. On the other hand, he does that as little as possible and only in order to keep the number of pages in his book from growing too much, and he never forgets to include in the bibliography reading material from authors that think differently.

On the whole, I think this is an outstanding book. It gives a very good introduction to Argentina's Contemporary History, and even though it isn't overly long, it is remarkably thorough and well documented. I prefer the spanish version, but I think that this version is also very good, and I must recognize that it has a merit that the other didn't: it allows those who don't speak spanish to read it.

Belen Alcat

Nearly unreadable.......2003-11-26

The form of history writing and the use of language (perhaps the fault of the translator) make this a very difficult read, perhaps not worth the effort. The author's approach to written history is to make generalizations and conclusory statements while rarely giving evidence to support them. The book tells us that the aristocracy tended to think this and the unions' goals were that. It does not, for the most part, tell the reader who wrote what, who said what to whom or who were the leaders performing what actions. It fails to connect the links between occurances over time that mark the turbulent development of the country. The author asks the reader to simply accept his point of view, his own interpretations, as if they were simply the truth. This reader is not willing to do so. I want to see the evidence, and the author seems reluctant to show it.

The language of the English translation is the other big problem. It is hobbled, academic and awkward. The prose of the translation is so stilted that it makes me want to put the book away. A sharp comparison that comes quickly to mind is the work of Simon Schama or Jaques Barzun, whose engaging and persuasive books hold the reader like a good novel (while making a very persuasive case, not asking the reader to accept their interpretations on faith).

I bought this book because I am planning my first visit to Argentina. It gave me some sense of the country's complex, troubled roots, at least as Mr. Romero sees it. Sadly, I do not know whether I should believe him, and he or his translator make reading this book too hard for the small payoff.

Good But Not Enough Narrative.......2003-09-23

This book provides an overview of Argentine history in the 20th century with a post-script from just last year. This book is combined narrative with a good deal of broad analysis looking at major factors governing the history of Argentina. In the Introduction, the author states that he is aiming to avoid a schematic view but wants to provide a large scale narrative. Despite this statement, this book tends towards structural analysis and a major theme, the difficulty of establishing democratic institutions, emerges from the narrative. Major structural factors that drive Argentine history are identified as Argentina's strong and often stormy coupling to international markets, the emergence of a strong and at times paternalistic state that tended to overpower other civic institutions, the development of distinct sectors of society lacking a common political culture, and the Argentine preference for charismatic leaders who appear to be all things to all people. In general, this is an informative and intelligent book. A defect of the book is that there is not sufficient narrative for a non-Argentine audience. This book was apparently written originally for the broad Argentine public and despite the author's best efforts at including significant narrative, it seems to presuppose a high school level knowledge of Argentine history. Another drawback is the writing style. As shown in several chapters, the author can write quite clearly and sometimes powerfully, but there are many passages written in academic jargon. The word discourse, for example, appears frequently and is used inconsistently as a semi-techical term to describe ideology and a variety of related phenomena. Whether this is the fault of the author or his translator cannot be known without reading the original spanish version.

Specular City: Transforming Culture Consumption and Space In Buenos Aires 1955-1973

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Specular City: Transforming Culture Consumption and Space In Buenos Aires 1955-1973
Laura Podalsky
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1566399483

Book Description

A sweeping account of one of the cultural centers of Latin America, Specular City tells the history of Buenos Aires during the interregnum after Juan Perón's fall from power and before his restoration. During those two decades, the city experienced a rapid metamorphosis at the behest of its middle class citizens, who were eager to cast off the working-class imprint left by the Perónists. Laura Podalsky discusses the ways in which the proliferation of skyscrapers, the emergence of car culture, and the diffusion of an emerging revolution in the arts helped transform Buenos Aires, and, in so doing, redefine Argentine collective history.

More than a cultural and material history of this city, this book also presents Buenos Aires as a crucible for urban life. Examining its structures through the films, novels, and telenovelas that reflect Argentina's sense of its own culture, Specular City reveals the representative power that Buenos Aires has for reflecting the massive change Latin America underwent in its struggle for a modern definition of itself.

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Internal disputes affecting foreign policies?

Fascinating Study

The Falklands Sting is worthy of praise.

The Falklands Sting: Reagan, Thatcher, and Argentina's Bomb
Richard C. Thornton
Manufacturer: Brassey's Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1574881558

Book Description

An expose of the Regan Adminstration's role in the war that ended Argentina's nuclear program and helped keep Margaret Thatcher in power.

Customer Reviews:

Internal disputes affecting foreign policies?.......2001-09-04

This book is GREAT!!!

It shows how three National Governments define their foreign policies working from/amongst/within their internal disputes. The 3 nations involved are Argentina, Great Britain and the United States. The issue at stake is the Argentine claim, and 2nd April 1982 take-over, of the Malvinas (for Great Britain: Falkland) Islands. I guess it could be just anything else...

So it goes:
1) In the US: Haig vs Weinberger
2) In the UK: Nott vs Thatcher
3) In Argentina: Galtieri vs Viola

The books even reveals how Argentina lost the islands because of the steps taken by General Viola (de facto president ousted by General Galtieri) to make sure that the take-over was anticipated, which in turn gave the UK the time-window they needed (badly) to perform the re-taking.

Fascinating Study.......2000-05-09

This is a fascinating work of detailed scholarship. Thornton has put together a compelling retelling of the War, and by giving us hitherto undisclosed details as to the political infighting within Argentina, the United Kingdom and the United States he has managed to give meaning to so many unanswered questions which other writers simply dismiss as being 'illogical' or 'unexplicable' behaviour. Piecing together a wide web of inter-related intrigue, Thornton has put the entire conflict into a whole new light. Highly recommended.

The Falklands Sting is worthy of praise........1998-07-10

Richard Thornton's book is an important study for understanding the diplomatic machinations of the Cold War era in general and the Reagan-Thatcher partnership within it in particular. Hitherto, the British-Argentine conflict has been treated either as a sideshow in the history of international relations or as a symbolic reassertion of British power in what seemed to be its imperial sunset. Thornton's approach is entirely new and original, setting the conflict sqaurely where it belongs in the chronology of Cold War history. With substantial support the author argues that the conflict was a sting designed to divest Argentina of its military government and nuclear weapons program (a little-known fact, the details of which are only recently being elaborating) while strenghthening America's strategic relationship with Thatcher's Britain. Thornton gives great care to relate the nature of the divisions existing within the various (American, British, Argentine) leaderships and how they influenced the outcome of the war. Particularly relevant to Cold War students is his treatment of the machinations behind Thatcher's ability to make a necessary war and Reagan's ability to support her. Thornton exposes the attempts of Alexander Haig and the "wet" foreign ministers Lord Carrington and Francis Pym to sideline the military solution, secure Thatcher's political defeat, and implement a renewed detente relationship with the Soviet Union. The Reagan-Thatcher defeat of the detente cabal is of crucial importance to understanding the origins of the war and the place of its outcome in Reagan's strategy of renewed containment. Barring a few factual errors of the minor sort, Thornton's analysis is a true example of what American scholarship of the Cold War should be. It is a proud refutation of the left-wing view that international relations are simplistic or irrelevant and that the broad social trend is what should concern historians most.

Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976

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PROFESSOR GLEIJESES, WRONG CONCLUSION!
Impartial Scholar or Useful Idiot?
An important contribution to Cold War History
You gotta read this book:
Half truths and denial of a failed Cuban dream

Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976
Piero Gleijeses
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807854646
Release Date: 2002-12-02

Book Description

This is a compelling and dramatic account of Cuban policy in Africa from 1959 to 1976 and of its escalating clash with U.S. policy toward the continent. Piero Gleijeses's fast-paced narrative takes the reader from Cuba's first steps to assist Algerian rebels fighting France in 1961, to the secret war between Havana and Washington in Zaire in 1964-65--where 100 Cubans led by Che Guevara clashed with 1,000 mercenaries controlled by the CIA--and, finally, to the dramatic dispatch of 30,000 Cubans to Angola in 1975-76, which stopped the South African advance on Luanda and doomed Henry Kissinger's major covert operation there.

Based on unprecedented archival research and firsthand interviews in virtually all of the countries involved--Gleijeses was even able to gain extensive access to closed Cuban archives--this comprehensive and balanced work sheds new light on U.S. foreign policy and CIA covert operations. It revolutionizes our view of Cuba's international role, challenges conventional U.S. beliefs about the influence of the Soviet Union in directing Cuba's actions in Africa, and provides, for the first time ever, a look from the inside at Cuba's foreign policy during the Cold War.

Customer Reviews:

PROFESSOR GLEIJESES, WRONG CONCLUSION!.......2007-09-21

In conflicting Mission, Gleijeses explain the real role of Cuba and the USA in the 1970s Angolan conflict.

The work is well researched, using rare documents obtained from both sides of the Cold Warriers Caribbean embargo wall--imposed by Washington on Havana. Gleijeses research is as thorough as it is deep, thus he has produced an excellent book.

Notwithstanding, I wish to draw attention to one issue his conclusion, which I believe will continue to compromise, for sometime, otherwise sound research about cold war era conflicts such as this one.

Cold War propaganda and the false "Truths" that they have created can lead to wrong conclusions, even when unbiased facts are presented. Brilliant researchers such as Gleijeses are not immunized against this sickness.

In the work, he suggested that Angola had only marginal strategic significance to the US. He argues that intervention in Angola served only to protect the prestige and credibility of America's global foreign policy. Therefore, a small, but rational, purpose of the Angolan mission would be to demonstrate that Vietnam had not reduced America's resolve to protect its foreign interest everywhere--even in backward third world countries. Another small, but equally rational purpose of the mission, he thought, was Kissinger's fear that the Marxist-lite MPLA could subvert détente in Southern Africa.

In contrast, he concluded that the Cuban mission--less rational--was motivated by Castro's revolutionary zeal. So the author reasons, the Cubans felt that they needed to fulfill some kind of messianic mission in the Third World.

Another explanation offered by Gleijeses, for the Cubans decision to take on such a great risk (David vs. Goliath),was based upon their desire to strike back at the United States... Where it was less risky--In less significant Africa, and at the same time build Cuban solidarity abroad. Here David decides to only politically tickle Goliath's feet, not to inflict upon him a military, political and economic head-blow. Africa, accordingly was a good place for the expression of this strange Cuban enthusiasm

Gleijeses did not remind his readers that the Stalinist Soviet Union had long ago decided to build their brand of Socialism in one country only! No wonder Maoist China and Stalinist Russia could not see eye to eye!

In addition, Professor Gleijeses did not draw our attention to the fact that all the so called "Cold War" wars (military, economic and psychological), were carried out against former colonies of Europe--in Africa, Asia, Latin America and in parts of Europe itself. People in the former colonies had launched a more vigorous struggle for independence after their European masters ability to subjugate them was wrecked by the war with Germany.

The USA and the USSR, important beneficiaries of World War II, seeking to claim their spoils from that war, simply met resistance from antsy colonial peoples fighting, individually and in alliance, to claim their freedom. Angola and Cuba, and Cuba in Angola represented a part of that process and was just one outcome of people in society trying to claim their natural rights. I don't recall that the author mentioned that issue in his great book.

What was the "non-aligned movement" and the "Group of 77" about in global relations during that period? Economic unity and liberation from white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism.

In this context, it is not useful to imply or to suggest that Cuba's mission in Angola was less rational than that of the US or that it was based on a counterproductive desire for revenge. Hopefully, as we put more distance between the Cold War and ourselves, more research like Gleijeses' will be produced, but with less prejudiced conclusions drawn.

Impartial Scholar or Useful Idiot?.......2006-08-30

This book is also published by a government press in Cuba, to which the author donated the rights. The book launch was attended by all members of the Communist Party of Cuba's Political Bureau. Any of you "Useful Idiots" who think Gleijeses is an impartial scholar should put your money where your mouth is and apply for a teaching post in Havana. I'm sure the academic freedom you will enjoy will greatly exceed anything you've experienced in the decadent United States.

An important contribution to Cold War History.......2006-05-03

CONFLICTING MISSIONS is a brilliant, impressive, and important book. It not only teaches us about the dramatic differences between US and Cuban policies in Africa during the Cold War (until 1976), but it also stretches our minds to see the Cold War "from below." Virtually all Cold War history has been written from the US (or Western)perspective, based on US archives. Gleijeses is the only scholar to have gained access to the Cuban archives; the result is that CONFLICTING MISSIONS contains not only new information but also a new perspective. Gleijeses challenges the reader to reconsider established truths. In his narrative -- which is voluminously supported by research not only in Cuba but also in US, Belgian, West German, East German, and British archives, as well as almost 200 interviews -- Fidel Castro, not the Americans, is shown to be the leader pursuing an idealistic foreign policy.

You gotta read this book:.......2005-05-09

From page 271,

"U.S. intelligence reports shed some light on the issue. In January 1976 Kissinger told Congress that "In August [1975], intelligence reports indicated the presence of Soviet and Cuban military adviser, trainers and troops, including the first Cuban combat troops." He was rewriting history: in the summer of 1975 U.S. intelligence told a different story. (d) An August 20 CIA report concluded, "What seems ....likely is that the Soviets have asked Cuba to help out with advisers and technicians....[sanitized] Officials of the Ministry of Information, which is controlled by the MPLA, have tried to pass them off as tourist." On September 22, an INR report claimed that "the Soviet and other allied countries, notably Cuba, have provided technicians and advisor to assist in military planning and logistics. While most are based in the Congo, there is increasing evidence that some foreign advisers are present with MPLA units inside Angola." On October 11 the CIA National Intelligence Daily specified that "a few Cuban technical advisers have been operating with Popular Movement [MPLA] inside Angola for time." There was no mention Cuban troops, or even of large numbers of instructors, until early October, when a significant number of Cuban advisers did indeed arrive."

(d) Kissinger, Jan. 29, 1976, U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Ralations, Subcommittee on African Affairs, Angola, p. 10. In his memoirs, Kissinger cites one of my articles to support his claim that the Cuban intervention "began in May, accelerated in July, and turned massive in September and October," which is precisely the opposite of what my article said. (Kissinger, Renewal, p.820)

As to the likelihood that Cubans were following Soviet orders, we hear on page 307 from "Arkady Shevchenko, who was an adviser of Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko in 1970-73 and then undersecretary-general of the United Nations until 1978, when he defected to the United States, [and who] writes that in 1976 Vasily Kznetsov, acting foreign minister, asked him to join a group reviewing Soviet policy in Africa.. Shevchenko asked Kuznetsov, ""How did we persuade the Cubans to provide their contingent?'...Kuznetsov laughed ...and told me that the idea for large-scale military operation had originated in Havana, not Moscow.""

Evidently, the Cubans were acting in Africa at great cost to themselves at least in part from a humanitarian concern for the dignity of Angolans. The historical record shows no such concern on the part of the United States of America.

well-documented, well-reasoned, and suspenseful. Great scholarship.

Half truths and denial of a failed Cuban dream.......2005-04-04

Towards the middle of 1988, Castro, who had taken personal control of the war, wanted to withdraw from Angola and discussions began on how this could be accomplished without losing face. One of Castro's top generals in Angola had already tried to defect and Moscow was pressing Castro to reach a settlement. The Cuban leader adopted an aggressive stance and threw more Cuban troops into the front line in order to lend weight to his negotiating position in the peace talks. General Del Pino, who also defected to the West, pointed out that it was pure bluff on Castro's part and that he feared defeat was imminent.
Cuban forces, integrated with SWAPO units, nevertheless pressed on to within 12 kilometres of the Namibian border. Facing 11,000 Cubans and perhaps 2,000 SWAPO was a force of 500 battle-hardened men from 32 "Buffalo" Battalion, the only available troops at the border until reinforcements could arrive. They held the line until tanks and artillery could be moved up. Cuban MiG-23s joined the fray and one was shot down. As the South African forces prepared to move North to engage the Cubans in what promised to be a Cuban nemesis, the Cubans signed the New York peace accords and avoided disaster.
The Cubans immediately claimed victory, which Bridgland points out was 'nonsense', but that:
the Cuban story was taken at face value by Castro's sympathisers in the Western press and repeated so many times that it became received truth. The Cubans were helped by the South Africans' own clumsy efforts at propaganda, which amounted to saying as little as possible about the full-scale war they fought in Angola.
The SADF at no stage had wanted an all-out war that would take them to Luanda as conquerors. Their objectives had been to fight a limited war in support of UNITA and prevent the Cubans from capturing UNITA's strongholds. The SADF had succeeded in this and was content to let the Cubans take the limelight. As Bridgland points out in his final summary of the war:
The War for Africa and the New York accords provided Cuba with pretexts for slipping out of a commitment that had become too hot and too expensive to handle. In 1975, when the Cuban adventure in Angola began, the 'scientific socialist' and 'internationalist' tide running from Moscow looked unstoppable. By 1988 it was a faded dream. Despite 13 years of Cuban support, the Angolan economy was ruined. The Marxist MPLA was in utter disarray and was trying desperately to shed its 'scientific-socialist' past... Castro's dreams of a Marxist revolution spreading from Angola to encompass the whole of Southern Africa had become a poor music hall joke...

Book Description

Most studies of immigration to the New World have focused on the United States. Samuel L. Baily's eagerly awaited book broadens that perspective through a comparative analysis of Italian immigrants to Buenos Aires and New York City before World War I. It is one of the few works to trace Italians from their villages of origin to different destinations abroad.

Baily examines the adjustment of Italians in the two cities, comparing such factors as employment opportunities, skill levels, pace of migration, degree of prejudice, and development of the Italian community. Of the two destinations, Buenos Aires offered Italians more extensive opportunities, and those who elected to move there tended to have the appropriate education or training to succeed. These immigrants, who adjusted more rapidly than their North American counterparts, adopted a long-term strategy of investing savings in their New World home. In New York, in contrast, the immigrants found fewer skilled and white-collar jobs, more competition from previous immigrant groups, greater discrimination, and a less supportive Italian enclave. As a result, rather than put down roots, many sought to earn money as rapidly as possible and send their earnings back to family in Italy.

Product Description

Este libro relata la historia de una socieada en cambio, contada por personas que estan tomando sus vidas y sus comunidades en sus propias manos. Halban en su propias voces. Es una historia de cooperacion, vision, creacion y descubrimiento. Es una historia contada por personas en las empresas recuperadas, las asambleas barriales, los medio independientes, los coletivos de arte, y los movimientos de los desocupados. Mas que una historia en contexto, este libro refleja y explora lo que la gente esta haciendo, que los motiva, como se relacionan entre si, y como han cambiado individual y colectivamente en el proceso de creacion. No se trata tanto de un movimiento de acciones, sino de un moimiento de nuevos actores sociales, nuevos sujetos, y nuevos protagonistas.

The United States and the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay (The American foreign policy library)

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The United States and the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay (The American foreign policy library)
Arthur Preston Whitagke
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Una fiesta de sorpresa (A Surprise Party) (Dora la exploradora)

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Great for infants

Una fiesta de sorpresa (A Surprise Party) (Dora la exploradora)
Lauryn Silverhardt
Manufacturer: Libros Para Ninos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 0689873921

Book Description

¡Ayuda a Dora y sus compañeros a planear una fiesta de sorpresa para su amiga lsa la iguana!

Customer Reviews:

Great for infants.......2005-01-30

My daughter loves Dora, since it's one of the few television shows we let her watch. She just giggles like crazy at the sight of Dora. This book is a lot of fun for her.

Lots of clear, bright pictures.
Simple story.
Board book will last long with infant still teething.
Introduction to the idea of a birthday party with a 1st birthday party coming up soon!

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