A readable, not-too-scholarly story of a significant moment in South American history.
A solid new history of the Peruvian Indian revolutionary lays out the roots of his rebellion and its bitter legacy.
Historian Walker (Univ. of Cal., Davis; Shaky Colonialism: The 1746 Earthquake-Tsunami in Lima, Peru, and Its Long Aftermath, 2008, etc.) admits that a “torrent of studies” exists on the Tupac Amaru rebellion, although most in Spanish and outdated. His straightforward account looks beyond the death of the rebel leader, on May 18, 1781, barely seven months after the start of the uprising, to the subsequent and bloodier foment led by his cousin Diego Cristobal and others during the next year. Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera (1738–1781) descended from the royal line near Cuzco; his forebear and namesake, Tupac Amaru, was executed by the conquering Spanish in 1572. His royal ancestry proved a galvanizing force to his leadership among the Quechua people, who believed that another Incan chief was destined to reappear. Inheriting the role of kuraka, or indigenous tax collector, from his father, he was a landowner and trader, educated and a speaker of Quechua and Spanish alike; he was well-liked and accepted by all classes. Yet, he was deeply sympathetic to the Indians, crushed under the Spanish taxes. Married to Micaela Bastidas, who was a full partner to Tupac’s enterprises and eventually a proficient logistical leader of the rebellion, Tupac became radicalized after being defeated in the courts. Walker stresses the important role of the church leaders. While Tupac did not present a revolutionary platform, he underscored the injustice of the Spanish administrators and never deviated from his views that he acted on behalf of King Charles III. Ultimately, there was a total crackdown on the indigenous population and near obliteration of its language and culture.
A readable, not-too-scholarly story of a significant moment in South American history.Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-674-05825-5
Page Count: 376
Publisher: Belknap/Harvard Univ.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
A copious account of the modern American experience with terrorism that substitutes descriptive detail for thoughtful analysis. Although the book's title implies a comprehensive history of terrorist activity in America, the text covers the period from 1776 to the 1950s in less than 30 pages. The narrative proper develops after 1968, which Simon, editor-in-chief of TVI (Terrorism, Violence, Insurgency Report), pinpoints as ``the beginning of international terrorism as we know it today.'' He explores three central themes: the growing frequency of terrorist acts; the presidential role in countering terrorism; and the potential for terrorists to exploit sophisticated weaponry and technology. Using interviews with terrorists, hostages and other victims, government officials, and, most effectively, former presidents, Simon conveys the personal drama inherent in these often tragic events. These episodes, however, are frequently mired in excessive detail and lacking in critical analysis. Simon accepts the ``endless nature of terrorism,'' and thus falls into a pattern of describing individual incidents without considering their larger causes or their common linkages. For instance, Simon does not discuss the relation between America's economic, political, and social ties to Israel and its increasing position as a target of terrorist activity. Thus the connections among the 197981 Iranian hostage crisis, the 1983 bombings of the US embassy and marine barracks in Lebanon, the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, the Persian Gulf War, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (to which he devotes significant space) are never drawn. Simon deserves credit for broaching such a broad and overwhelming subject as terrorism—a subject he has obviously studied at great length. Though he may understand the manifold definitions of ``terrorism,'' however, these distinctions are not clearly identifiable for the reader. Despite its various limitations, the book proves a worthwhile read on a thorny and highly sensationalized topic. (45 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-253-35249-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Indiana Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
Though she has a superb story, Solinger never quite finds the voice with which to tell it. Despite these rough edges, well...
Solinger's (Wake Up, Little Susie, 1992) biography of abortionist Ruth Barnett introduces us to a compelling character and to the underdocumented history of illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade.
Between 1918 and 1968, Ruth Barnett performed some 40,000 abortions in Portland, Oreg. Her life story reveals as simplistic the popular stereotype of illegal abortionists as unscrupulous, predatory opportunists indifferent to women's health and safety. Although Barnett lived well and flamboyantly, she was also motivated by a profound desire to help those in need. All her life, she acknowledged that her work was illegal but insisted that abortion should be a woman's personal decision. Indeed, she could not turn down women and girls who had no other options. Barnett's skills—she never lost a patient, and medical complications from her operations were extremely rare—were well-known to doctors throughout the Northwest, who frequently referred patients to her, and her antiseptic offices with up-to-date-equipment were hardly the dangerous, infection-ridden sites of current "back-alley'' mythology (though such outfits certainly did exist). Solinger manages to thoroughly engage the reader in Barnett's life without excessively lionizing her or retreating into revisionist polemics. This groundbreaking work should encourage further research on—and popular interest in—the pre-Roe abortionists. Unfortunately, Solinger's prose is inconsistent: at times too dry, at times overwritten and melodramatic. A plethora of mixed metaphors muddy the text, and awkward phrasing disrupts the narrative throughout.
Though she has a superb story, Solinger never quite finds the voice with which to tell it. Despite these rough edges, well worth the attention of anyone interested in the history of women's reproductive rights.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-929865-2
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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