Not only did I learn about Argentina and its people, but I also got to learn form one of the great sociological masters Aaron Cicourel. After reading method and mesurement, this is a great text to continue one's studies. Triangulation is currently a hot topic in the social sciences. Well, reading Cicourel is a great way to understanding proper measurement and analysis techniques.

Interesting depiction of Darwin, Cap. Fitzroy and the indian Jemmy Button.
Also you will find the most primitive tribes and the most courageous and resolute missionaries.
It is possible to find a lot of things in this history: abnegation and faith, adventure and hope, but also emotions and sadness... over all: reality!

This book is insightful and thought-provoking. The research is meticoulsy performed and the author's use of case studies on Argentine civil-military flashpoints is very apropriate. This is a must-read book for Latin American scholars interested in civil-military relations and democratic government. David Pion-Berlin captures the direction that studies of military-civilian relations are headed: civilian control of the military (especially in newly democratizing countries but also in democratic post-Cold War countries). The focus rightly is on the civilian aspect of the relationship but more attention should been devoted to examining the military side of the equation in this new area of focus. I would use this book as recommended reading in a course on democratization.

Voices From Silence is a kind of sequel to Unger's El Yanqui, set some 15 years later. In that time, Argentina has suffered under an oppressive regime & is now trying to heal itself. But scars remain, and Unger's American protagonist has returned to Argentina to help the family that once adopted him as a son search for the 2 sons who have disappeared. Thus Voices From Silence deals with the macrocosm of the Argentine political tragedy through the microcosm of one family's story. But Unger does not resort to cheap theatrics in this novel. This is a scrupulously realistic account that is all the more dramatic because it resists melodrama. The horrors in Voices From Silence are all too real, and as the truths emerge through the efforts of the Benevento family to discover what happened to their lost sons, the insiduous & mundane quality of those horrors (each the result of a thousand minor failings that in themselves could never amount to much) makes them all the more troubling to witness. But Unger's novel is unflinching, and we are forced to witness acts & consequences more damaging than any melodramatic cataclysm. In this sense, Voices From Silence joins the ranks of Heart of Darkness and the works of Elie Wiesel in portraying how ordinary lives can be trapped by the very ordinary nature of oppression. Art is meant to affirm life, and Voices From Silence, by giving witness to the silenced, bravely affirms the lost value of the disappeared lives of anyone who has fallen victim to an oppression born of their fellow citizens

Armchair adventurers who love sailing, roughing it through forests, bogs and mountains in strange lands, and meeting new people in brief encounters will love "Voyaging," by Rockwell Kent. The book begins with a shocking confession in the Introduction, and carries the reader through 184 pages of high excitement and magnificent descriptions of one of the most desolate and forsaken places in the world -- the area about Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.

The book's main characters are (1) Kent, about 50; (2) his mate, a Norwegian of 26 years who started his life by shipping to sea under his father when 14, who after a few months of beatings jumped ship, cursing as he went, apparently never to see his father again; (3) a lifeboat, which Kent bought for $20 and named Kathleen, and with a group of tradesmen modified to include cabin, mast and rigging for sails; (4) the West Wind, which whistled ceaselessly and tossed the little boat about dangerously, and (5) a menagerie of people along the way who extended hospitality, most with loving kindness, a few with malice.

A touching moment came on Bailey Island when Kent asked 20-year-old Margarita García, the name of her three-month-old suckling daughter. The baby has no name because she has not been baptized, Margarita replied. There in that inhospitable land Kent converted a dirty hovel into a cathedral and "baptized" the child, giving her his wife's name Kathleen Kent García. Kent writes that Father García, a murderer who earlier was released from a nearby prison after serving time, said "the ceremony had pleased him particularly as it was in truth the baptism of his child."

Characteristically, Kent illustrates the book well with black-and-white drawings of the stark landscape, and a few portraits of his new acquaintances. He also includes several maps by which the reader may follow the men's attempt to sail around Cape Horn -- an adventure that did not always go according to plan, as the reader will discover. -- Allen Long, Arlington, VA.

It is said, here in Brazil, that the "Cisplatina War" is an episode that brazilians would rather forget, because of its bitter defeats and unfortunate revelation of hidden truths, as far as this wasn't a defensive war, and our nation loves to punch on the key that brazilian civilization has only its peaceful character. The book deals with a most important issue in South America's history, which is the "Cisplatina War", where Brazil and Argentina fought against each other, trying to incorporate a Spanish-speaking province to their own territory, against its province inhabitants will. It was a draw between Brazil and Argentina, and that province turned into our neighbor country called Uruguai. Well, when we notice that at the same time Belgium was created between France and the Netherlands, we see the huge political importance on what was held here, and why. The "Cisplatina War" was the final breath between portuguese and spanish expansionism on the River Plate, and the book shows pretty well all the important facts connected to it, the "corsair wars", the battles, the campaigns, and mainly the skills, courage and struggle of the Britons (sailors, admirals...) in it, such as John Pascoe Grenfell (who lost an arm against the argentinians) and John Taylor, amongst others... A beautiful point in this book is that it also brings back the name of all british-brazilian naval heros, as far as it is actually taken for granted by most of our historians. You MUST buy it!

Another outstanding collection from Cortazar! He is on the money a number of times in this collection. "Graffiti" is possibly the best short story I have ever read and worth the price of the book by itself. So anonymous and yet so painfully personal. Brilliant use of second-person narration, a rarity indeed. "Glenda," the dark title story, reminds me a bit of FARGO (the movie) set in South or Central America in the 1960s. Horrifying in its lack of emotion, great detail that means nothing outside of the story, striking symbolism in the final paragraph, and one of the great first lines of any short story. Again, worth the price of admission alone. Strong supporting cast of stories, broad in scope, subject, and style. With his peculiar, often odd, plots and characters, it is difficult to read a bunch of his stories at one time--he switches gears too quickly and severely. I consider that a strength. Considering his bold ambitions, he should write many more "clunkers" than he does. When he is on, nobody does it better!

This book is an interesting introduction to women's issues in Argentina for feminists, and an insightful examination of the relationships between home, country, nation, and literature.

this is a pretty funny book about an errant-knight and his many misadventures. only problem is, there's really only one joke in this massive (1000+ page) book, namely, what a fool and madman this gallant knight is. after a while, the joke begins to wear thin. i don't think this is the greatest novel ever written. it's too poorly stuctured and one-dimensional for that grand distinction. i think the reason this book IS so famous is because of the character of don quixote himself. the image of the mad don charging giant windmills is one of the most colorful and memorable in all fiction. don quixote is one of the few examples of a character who transcends the book that created him. hamlet and falstaff are two other examples.

a good read, but doesn't live up to the hype.

I read this book in its original language, spanish (since it is my first language too), and I found Don Quijote's adventures fascinating, comical, and sometimes even slightly pathetic.
"El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" is about a man, Alonso Quijana, who reads so many books of knights from the middle ages (this was written in the baroque times, NOT the renaissance or the enlightement as other reviews say) that he loses his mind and decides to become a knight as well. This anacronysm is the first clue of the comic life Don Quijote leads from then on.
The whole novel is a mockery of other books about knights (although not about the knights themselves), as Don Quijote continually struggles to do justice and to right wrongs, but is met with nothing but sad defeats.
Overall, although it is very long and uses somewhat complicated language (it is written in spanish from the 1600s, although I suppose that the translation makes it simpler as it is to modern day words), Don Quijote and his adventures are something that I'd reccomend to anyone with the patience to read it.

I took the time to read both volumes of Don Quixote, starting at the end of this past summer, and just finishing up in mid-November, and even better, in the New Century Library version, lovely old leather bound books with gold ribbons for markers. I didn't read it straight; it was interspersed with many other books on my stack.

Oh my. What a satisfying read. Of course you are familiar with the basic premise of this book, the mad Don Quixote tilting after windmills, his faithful squire Sancho Panza at his side and always on the lookout for a good meal. What I was not prepared for, and was totally delighted by, were the many and varied side stories, the topsy turvy relationship between madness and sanity (and who is which, anyway?), the wisdom of Sancho Panza as Governor (at long last!) of his very own island, and the surreal relationship between the narrator, the author, and the narrated.

This is a complex work, and could be discussed with many different themes in mind--idealism vs. pragmatism, honesty vs. duplicity, madness vs. sanity, the follies of the rich vs. the follies of the poor. Chivalry. Romantic love. Storytelling. Renunciation. The Quest. Devotion. Class structure. Religious persecution.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was that everybody was endlessly enchanted and ready to give the benefit of the doubt to beautiful young men and women, that beauty in this book equaled virtue and a kind heart, a small complaint indeed regarding this masterpiece.

If you've already read this book, this is just preaching to the choir. But if you're trying to decide whether or not to take the time, the answer is yes, yes and yes! You won't regret it, and your heart and soul will thank you.

I have been a Football fan since 1986 when Diego scored the two most famous goals in Football history. Maradona was elected the player of the century (something that slappped FIFA on its face) sure there is a lot of people that hate Diego but read this book, watch the DVDs and you decide. I just have to say "Diego is the Best".

Jimmy Burns has written a book that speaks to the trials and tribulations of being the world's best player in the world's most popular sport. The book traces Maradona's history as well as the man's impact on the game and the people for whom and with whom he played. Anyone who has had the chance to see the genius of Maradona on the field must take the opportunity to find out the social, cultural, psychological, physical, and mental context within which he played. Readers will gain greater insight into what it means to be an icon for the entire world.

People become attached to a player and don't want to admit that it is possible that someone greater must come along. When Pele played the game it was slower and there was nowhere near the sophistication in the defenses that you see today( look at France 98!). If you simply watch film of Pele and then watch film of Maradonna you will see who is the true God of soccer. This book captures the life of the Greatest soccer player the world has yet to see.