Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of The Pillage of a Continent

Amazon's delivery was super slow on this one. i guess good things do take time. the print quality is pretty neat for a paperback book, good page quality as well. However i am not sure if the binding is that good or not, i handle my book with care due to that fear. but overall for the physical qualities, this publisher is safe to purchase from.

This will surely leave a lasting impression n the reader and awaken you to the farce of the developed worlds interventions in South American economies...This one is a must read for anyone interested in SA...It is a bitter classic !!

Great historical account of abuses comited by the Spaniards in their Latin American colonies. A story that sadly repeats itself over the centuries. I also highly recommend his book Mirrors.

'The division of labor among nations is that some specialize in winning and others in losing.'With that opening line, the late Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano leaves the reader in no doubt about what will follow: an unsentimental, unsparing analysis of the plight of Latin America. Combining social history, political economy and literary flair, the Open Veins of Latin America is possibly the best book ever written about any continent.The title wittily points to the dual theme that constitutes the main subject of the tome: the natural wealth of the land (exemplified by the easily tapped mineral veins) and the general misery of the people (symbolized by their bleeding veins). It is the connection between these two - and how the former led, ironically, to the latter - that is at the root of the tragedy of Central and South America - in stark contrast to the success of North America. To his credit, the author does not shy away from comparing the two and drawing the necessary conclusions.Open Veins is very well organized. It consists of an introduction, followed by five chapters, (each having multiple sections with sub-headings) in two parts, and concludes with a third part that was added a few years after its initial publication. The first part covers the various commodity booms and busts that ultimately shaped Latin America's economy and society into a set of export-oriented, dependent enclaves, instead of internally-oriented independent nations. Its first chapter deals with the eradication of the continent's indigenous civilizations by the conquistadors and the exploitation of its gold and silver; the second with the role of sugar, cocoa, cotton, coffee and other cash crops in the region's underdevelopment, and the third chapter with the various other mineral commodities that Latin America supplies in abundance, but profits little from.The second part concerns the issue of economic development: the fourth chapter considers various attempts at independent development that came to grief or were subverted by the élite; the fifth reveals how these economies continue to be looted in the guise of industrialization. Of particular interest, is Mr. Galeano's depiction of 19th century Paraguay: his account is very different from the typical Anglo-American narrative, and leads one to suspect that the latter has been very 'economical with the truth'. Open Veins concludes with a survey of the grim juntas of the 1970s - and contains a highly pertinent analysis of the role of terror in subjugating society.The author's brilliant ability to combine intellectually stimulating subjects with a lively writing style, makes Open Veins a joy to read: though the matters it deals with are often quite gloomy and gruesome. Mr. Galeano does not spare the reader the details of the toxic work of the tin miners of Bolivia, the sadistic slayings in Colombia, Guatemala and elsewhere, or the social and environmental wreckage left by the petroleum industry in Venezuela. Those who prefer delightful illusions to dreadful realities need not read this book.Of course, it is precisely the author's willingness to explore and explain dreadful realities that makes Open Veins such a valuable tome. There are three lessons that strike me as being highly relevant to those of us in Asia:1) Commodity booms bring temporary prosperity and lasting poverty. The fate of the gold and silver mining regions in Latin America's past provides an important reminder of the perils of relying on one or two primary products. This is of particular relevance to the energy exporters of OPEC, whose black gold may condemn them to a similar future.2) Income inequality undermines industrialization. Great disparities of wealth result in a two-tier society whose well-off members crave foreign luxuries whilst its have-nots cannot even afford the products of domestic manufacturers. In order to develop, a country usually needs a substantial internal market for its industrial products - and this is not possible if wages are kept low. This is, ironically, of special importance for Communist China, given its high income inequality and consequently, its current challenge in rebalancing the economy.3) Foreign investment often amounts to multinationals buying a country's firms with its own savings. The ease with which international corporations can borrow gives them a distinct advantage over local rivals; it not only enables them to drive the latter out of business, but also to simply buy out domestic companies and effectively siphon off the profits from these ventures back to their headquarters, (whilst passing down obsolete machinery as 'technology transfers'). This lesson is one that we Indians need to bear in mind - especially given the tendency of our comprador media to treat foreign investment as some sort of panacea.After reading Open Veins of Latin America, one cannot help but be amazed at the ability of Central and South Americans to maintain an easygoing, cheerful disposition, despite all they've suffered. Thankfully, because Eduardo Galeano not only reveals how much they suffered, but also why they suffered, we have the opportunity to learn from their experience by reading and reflecting on his work. By doing so, we can ensure that the agonies of countless millions will not have been in vain.

An interesting book on the history of Latin America from the arrival of Europeans to the 1970s, organised sort-of thematically. It's very ashamedly not a pleasant read in terms of the brutality inflicted on the region - although the victimhood aspect, and placing blame entirely on external factors is arguably taken a bit too far. There is apparently more beneath the surface of the story than the author has revealed.It should also be said that the book is let down by the strong bias of the author, who mentions adoringly his meetings with people like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Liberal or right-wing governments are automatically branded brutal, capitalist, murderous; left-wing governments are depicted as heroic, brave, compassionate (even when suppressing the population). Violence and oppression directed against innocent people is conspicuously ignored or glorified as necessary if perpetrated by socialists, yet openly criticised and described in graphic detail when enacted by non-socialists. The free market is clearly a bad thing, except when undertaken by left-wing governments when suddenly it is a good thing. The US and Europe are simultaneously berated for asset stripping and neglecting the region, and for heavily investing in and supporting the region.

If you want to understand why Latin America is as it is this book is indispensable. Galeano describes how native Amerindians and slaves from Africa were systematically exploited by the conquistadores for their own enrichment. 19th century independence did nothing to change this as it was granted to the imperialist elites, not the native inhabitants. He documents in sometimes excruciating detail the extent of this pillage. It made Europe rich and Latin America poor. The legacy remains in that the self same elites own the vast majority of the assets and continue to dominate politics.Galeano was a committed Marxist until his final years which gives the book a polemical style that ultimately becomes exhausting. One can only put up with so many crimes against humanity, but the central thesis is persuasively argued.

This book provides an interesting insight to the history of Latin America, from the 17th century onwards. It's a history that is rarely discussed, so the book has great potential. Unfortunately, it is ruined throughout with a significant bias. I'm not disputing the majority of the facts in the book, it's more of how they're portrayed by the author. There's a great dislike towards first Europeans, and later Americans, and the book refuses to acknowledge any benefit provided by them, rather focussing on any negative aspects. There's also an obvious bias towards the left, instantly branding any government on the right as brutal or dictators, and praising any on the left.Further, the book is hardly a page-turner, taking great time to go through the chapters, littered with smaller sub-chapters.The history of Latin America, and the undoubted 'pillage' is a story that needs to be told, however it needs to be told in a fair and open way, taking into consideration the benefits of foreign investment and the admittance of local failures, and unfortunately this book fails to do this regularly.

An excellent book! one of my favourites and in my my opinion a must read for all Latin Americans. Very good and very thorough, however it is a sad book to read as time and time again he outlines the poverty and barbaric treatment endured by the poor and dispossessed in relentless and lyrical detail."The most heartening response came not from the book pages in the press but from real incidents in the streets. The girl who was quietly reading Open Veins to her companion in a bus in Bogotá, and finally stood up and read it aloud to all the passengers. The woman who fled from Santiago in the days of the Chilean bloodbath with this book wrapped inside her baby’s diapers. The student who went from one bookstore to another for a week in Buenos Aires’s Calle Corrientes, reading bits of it in each store because he hadn’t the money to buy it. And the most favorable reviews came not from any prestigious critic but from the military dictatorships that praised the book by banning it." (Afterword by Eduardo Galeano)An important book and one I'd recommend to everyone, read, learn and understand.

Amazing book, incredibly well written. Explores political and economic conflict in Latin America through a Marxist perspective but with a poetic prose.