CAPTAIN OF THE ANDES

by Margaret Harrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 8, 1942

This is a biography of Jose de San Martin, the Argentine leader of the Revolution in the South, and the biographer pictures him as unselfish, ascetic, reserved, self-denying -- a ""saint of the Sword"", while Bolivar is pictured as selfish, egotistical, bombastic and crafty and directly responsible for San Martin's withdrawal from leadership and his retirement from public life and eventual exile, driven by slander and political attack to France, where he lived his last years, poor, embittered, misunderstood. The outline of his life -- son of a Captain in the Spanish Army and brought up in Spain, going back to South America at personal sacrifice at the age of 34 to aid. In the Revolution and becoming the foremost leader of the armies of the South, until such time as he felt it necessary, for the cause, to relinquish this leadership to Bolivar -- all this is thinly etched, while the emphasis is put on general historical, social and political background. Fairly good reading, though one could wish for a more rounded picture of the man.

Pub Date: Feb. 8, 1942

ISBN: 1605209139

Page Count: -

Publisher: Richard R. Smith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1942

Categories: NONFICTION