"Porque no creo en la Argentina"
por Alberto Halac

Libro en español y publicado durante la los fines de la epoca militar en 1983. Solo 1000 ejemplares fueron impresos.

Introduccion del autor:

"Este trabajo no tiene ninguna pretensión filosófica más profunda que la que pueda aspirar un hombre común, sin formación académica, con una experiencia quizás limitada, y una casi inexistente inclinación tanto para las virtudes heroicas, como para los vicios espectaculares, pero sí es el fruto de un elevado costo emocional y pecuniario afrontado personalmente en su totalidad, y con orgullo.

Es lícito y comprensible, preguntar que motivación me alentó en esta empresa solitaria. Ha sido, irónicamente, una emoción: la vergüenza.

Vergüenza por la mentira y la corrupción institucionalizadas; y por esa pulida y pedante ignorancia de los argentinos. Una ignorancia que los seduce piadosamente al autoengaño.

Es por todo eso que no creo en la Argentina. Sólo creo, en un último análisis, que las proposiciones expresadas a través de estas páginas, están condenadas al repudio basado en viejos prejuicios y una sobrevaluada autoestima."

Ramona reminded me of myself when I was a little girl. She does things that most kids only think of doing because they are afraid to get into trouble. I love the reality aspect that Beverly Cleary brings to the story. Not only does Ramona LA Chinche take me back in time, it allows future generations of kids to see that they aren't the only ones to think up some of the crazy stunts that Ramona pulls off. This story is a hilarious page turner from the very beginning! I'd recommend it to any school teacher and, of course, all students. What a great read!

This is a great book about how villagers helped slave runaways to hide and start a new life. It has beautiful illustrations, good humor and it's based on historical facts. My daughter loves it!!

I would like keep this book very much. Thanks.I.H.

This is an academic look at the organization of middle-aged Argentine mothers that began in the wake of widespread political and state sponsored terrorism in the period of 1976-1982, more commonly called the Dirty War. It began as a network of mothers who met while trying in vain to search for their children who had been 'disappeared' by the government and grew into an internationally recognized and admired group committed to changing the structure of the Argentine political system from the bottom up. This book focuses on the journey of these women from traditional housewives, many with no formal education, confined to the private sphere of home and family, to a highly politicized, ever present and very out spoken activist organization. They have taken the traditional role of 'mother' and used it to their advantage to bring to light the atrocities committed by the military junta against their children. As the title suggests, their organization has revolutionized the concept of motherhood by taking the concerns and duties of mothers out of the private sphere into the public and even international political arena. This book is an interesting documentation of the group and includes interviews with many members as well as commentary from many Argentine and international publications about the Mothers. It discusses their activities from the group's conception during the Dirty War through the transition to democracy as well as their continuing struggle in Argentine political life today. The book also documents the enormous obstacles they faced and continue to face economically, socially, and within their own families as well as their political struggles. It also talks about their interaction and reception in the international sphere, as they captured the attention of human rights and women's organizations from all over the world. It even discusses the ideological split among the Mothers after the return to democracy in 1982 that caused some Mothers to break away from the original group to form another group of Mothers with slightly different ideologies. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the focus on the development of the women themselves. A great deal of time is devoted to the transformation that has taken place among these women as they came together to find solace in each other that only someone experiencing the purgatory of not knowing the fate of their children could offer. It documents the courage, dedication, successes and disappointments of a group of women who came together to help each other look for answers. It is detailed documentation of a very personal and painful journey of political awakening through collective struggle and pain. It is one of the most valuable and moving aspects of this book. By focusing on this personal transformation, one begins to understand the almost incomprehensible corruption and brutality of the government. For these women, protesting meant standing in the face all traditional social, religious and cultural roles for women, especially middle-aged women. By the end of the book, one can't help but share in their frustrations and pain as they continue to fight for the integrity of the family and the supreme sanctity of human life. It is ironic that it was precisely because they were quintessential Argentine mothers that they became political activists that began to transform the concept of motherhood and the role of women in Argentine society. The abduction of their children was not only a painful, emotional loss, but also a direct assault on the institution of the family. It is interesting to note that throughout the book they emphasize their occupation, as a mother, has remained intact. However, the activities involved with being a mother have changed. To them, now to be a mother also meant fighting for the rights of their children, left voiceless by the government and carrying on their children's work and memory in their absence. This book is an excellent source of information about the Mothers themselves as well as about the atmosphere of Argentina as a whole during this time. It has many pictures of the mothers from the past and present and mixes academic fact easily with first person accounts, quotes and interview. It equally discusses successes and mistakes of the group, as well as various controversies that have surrounded the group's history. It's content and style make it an emotional and informative book.

Bioy Casares moves effortlessly from reality to fantasy. This collection of short stories are often grotesque, sometimes surreal, but always entertaining. Particularly read "Margarita" and "The Travel Diary"

The captivating story and many adventures of St. Francis Solano for children 10 and up; his converting the slaves on a sinking ship and 9,000 Indians with one sermon, healing the sick, finding a spring in the desert, etc.

Sorrentino is one of the few alive Argentinian writers who catches the spirit of the sarcasm on contemporary customs. Very recommendable!

Very recommendable either for a Ph.D. student interested in the history of emerging markets crisis or the scholar aiming to tell her students how modern theory and empirical tests are applicable to some stories like the Argentine one.

Not only is this book a magnific contribution to understand the monetary and banking history of Argentina, but also a contribution that informs present-day debates in macroeconomics (e.g. the choice of optimal exchange rate regime, various generations of financial and currency crisis, bank runs). The authors make a significant effort to formalise major stylised facts across different crisis episodes, through the lens of modern monetary and banking theory. Moreover, they offer a fresh look at issues concerning crisis management and resolution and policy evaluation in the "first" era of economic globalisation (1880-1914) as well as during the interwar period all the way down to the 1930's depression.
Modern tools help test the hypothesis laid out generally at the beginning of the theoretical framework introduced in each chapter. Ranging from accounting exercises (fiscal solvency, banking balance sheets, as a few examples)to cutting-edge time series econometric modelling, the evidence found by the authours sheds light on crucial empirical issues. Some examples may illustrate this point:
a) The Purchasing Power Parity assumption (PPP, in a single equation cointegrating framework);
b) Money supply and demand, and exchange rate determinants in 1884-1913;
c) The Internal-External Convertibility dynamics (phase diagram, Vector Error Correction Model estimation)

Finally, the lessons drawn by Della Paolera and Taylor are, in my view, very telling to the way Argentina got into the path to the collapse of the currency board 1991-2001.

Professor Crenshaw writes about her recognized area of area of expertise: terrorism and the pshycological and political motivations behind it. Crenshaw shows how this illegitimate vehicle of power and political will fits into the modern political system. A wonderful introduction for students of international politics as well as a solid text of general interest