This book provides the emotional component that all other books about Evita lack. Yes, all the other books can give you endless detail about Eva's life, but none leave you feeling like you've just met Evita. For an insight into what went on in the heart and mind of this incredible woman, I highly recommend this book!

I got this book from the library along with about 20 others for a research project on Eva Peron and her links to the women's movement/feminism. I started skimming and ended up reading every word. Carlson demonstrates a strong command of information, along with a gift for writing that makes it all very interesting to read.

This is one of the few books I've read that deals with the Argentinian side of the conflict that I can find in English. The numerous interviews the author conducted with members of the Argentinian Armed Forces lend an excellent personal touch; a 'must have' for your personal library

In this fascinating book, Kevin Foster looks at the ways in which Britain experienced the Falklands war. He makes sense of the vast number of accounts, and of the various themes rehearsed.

The Thatcher Government portrayed its decision to fight, and its conduct of the campaign, as expressions of the essential national character, the 'true Britain'. The mass media at once swung into line. In fact, the war primarily served a purpose hostile to the nation, Thatcher's political survival.

Government and media equated Argentina's initial recovery of the Islands with the Nazi invasion of Poland, as they immediately identified the war with the Second World War, and Thatcher with Churchill. They saw the Falklands as the image of Britain, a ravished island Eden. They ignored the harsher similarities, of economic dependence, under-investment and social inequality.

The media depended on the military for information, which turned the journalists into what one called 'troopie groupies'. The media became a single, responsible voice speaking for 'our common cause'. According to their account, 'our' Government never faltered, 'our' flawless heroes carried out a perfect campaign. On the other side, their corrupt, undemocratic Government and its murderous thugs waged a campaign of Latin incompetence.

The war was supposedly unavoidable. There was no alternative; the British Government, guileless innocent in a naughty world, was forced into war by the Satanic enemy. Our supreme temptation was the serpent 'appeasement', diplomacy a cunning trap set by wily foreigners. Peace demonstrators were described as pro-fascist, dissenters as collaborators. In practice, this meant rejecting in principle all ceasefire proposals and negotiations; it meant war without compromise. The only acceptable ethical outcome was the enemy's total surrender.

Government and media celebrated the war as the source of national salvation, even, in Thatcher's memoirs, of world salvation. War was rebirth, welfare, humanitarianism.

This presentation of the Falklands war has become the media model for all subsequent wars. Kevin Foster's book is a model of sanity; its publication now is especially timely.

What an enigmatic country Argentina is: a South American country with a largely Spanish and Italian-descended citizenry that looks to France for cultural inspiration in architecture. A country that was poised at the beginning of the 20th century to take its place as a true world power, only to have its economy collapse and looting break out in its urban centers this last year. "The failure of Argentina as a nation," said The New Republic in 1978, "is the biggest political mystery of this century."

And now the puzzle that, counter to the anti-Freudian backlash that has swept the United States over the past two decades, the works of Sigmund Freud are largely gospel in Argentina. Anyone who questions the existence of the Oedipus complex, the author notes, may be treated by "Portenos" (citizens of Buenos Aires) the way a man questioning the virginity of Mary might be treated by the Pope. Argentine love for psychoanalysis has even spilled out into all of Latin America, and the "Argentine psychoanalyst" is so common in Madrid and Barcelona that it has become a stereotype. How did psychoanalysis become so entrenched in Argentine culture that budgeting for sessions is as reasonable to the average citizen as budgeting for food? It is the difficult task of this book to explain the development of this unexpected phenomenon.

Well-written, though a tad dry in some places, this book is the first of it's kind - the first to explore the emergence of the work of Freud as a central cultural force in Argentine thought, speech, and even newspaper editorials. And it is therefore indispensable to anyone interested the culture of this colorful country. Most interesting is the description of the governmental reaction to the spread of psychoanalysis; repressed during the first Peronist eras, the language of psychoanalysis was recently used by generals in addressing the nation regarding the state of the "disappeared" of the Dirty War of the late 70s and early 80s; he spoke of working through the grief process and the trauma that had been done to the Argentine "collective unconscious." The author notes that even some military men are now known to lie on a coach and talk about their dreams.

The is the English version of Ferrer's "El Siglo de Oro de Tango". He categorized the hundred years of tango history into 8 periods, from the genesis of tango, through the development of various "orquestas tipicas", to the modernization of the music and the current popularity of its music and dance. Each period and its prominent musicians and poets were nicely described and at the end of each period, Ferrer listed the major compositions of that time. Some of these lists seem somewhat tedious for leisure reading, but they are very useful if you want to look up some particular information.

The book is also beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs of the major orchestras and dancers as well as the wonderfully decorated covers of the sheet music. If you are interested in the history of tango music, this is a very good introduction and reference. This is particularly true for people who can't read Spanish fluently. Yes, it took me almost 3 months to receive my copy. But it is well worth it!

Finally, just a brief biographic note on Horacio Ferrer. He was the lyricist for Astor Piazzolla for a very long time. His most famous lyrics included "balada para un loco", "Chiquilin de bachin", and "Maria de Buenos Aires" (an operita). He is currently one of the foremost tango scholars (among others such as Jose Gobello, Maria Susana Azzi, and Simon Collier).

Being an Argentine, this book is a true treasure for me. As I was going through its pages, all my memories from home and my city came back to my mind as the scenes from a movie. It is so vivid, colourful, and passionate that it made me move, cry, laugh, miss home, and want to read more. I definitely recommend it to everybody who loves good literature, particularly people who are far from home and want to recover some of their roots.

Horatio Luro was a Grand Senor, treated his horses with thought and good care. He had great ideas and waited til the horses 'peaked' then would run them in back to back races. It is hard to figure if we have horses like that now or if we have trainers/owners who will take that step. Are we ever going to have a Triple Crown winner again??? If so, did that trainer know Horatio Luro and did he read this book?? I will be asking that question for sure. It is a Grand book about a Grand Senor and if you can find it READ IT!

I have studied the Argentine Dirty War for over 20 years, and if I were to recommend one book to anyone to read on the subject it would be this one. There are two things that Lewis does which really set this book apart from the literature on the subject so far.

First, Lewis describes and makes sense out of all of the background starting with Peron that led up to the Dirty War. This really helps place the Dirty War in its proper context so the reader can comprehend why such terrible things occurred later. He then gives a full account of all the atrocities committed by the Argentine military. In this way he does not exonerate or excuse the Dirty War, but does make sense of why things happened the way they did.

Second, Lewis points out that there really was a war going on. The guerrillas were active, were powerful, were committing acts of terrorism and were seriously threatening to destabilize the Argentine state. A lot of anti-military sources try to portray the security threat posed by the guerrillas as a figment of the military's imagination. This was simply not true. There was a real war going on and Lewis shows that this was the case. Lewis does not excuse the ways the military chose to deal with the guerrilla threat, but does explain why rational and normal men would choose to commit such horrorific acts. In their mind they were in a desperate life and death struggle, and they acted accordingly. In retrospect they made some very bad choices, but Lewis helps explain how it all seemed rational and necessary at the time.

This book is balanced, honest and cuts through a lot of the cherished popular myths. It is fair to both sides of the conflict. Finally it is well written and flows well. I got through it in two days. This book will become a classic text on the Argentine Dirty War.

Feminism in the spanish theater is well articulated against the backdrop of everchanging political landscape in the countries. Readers are left to interpret for themselves, is the theater true reflection of politics or the idealistic illusion of feministic political movement?