Life and Death in the Andes
On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries
گزارش تخلف
کتاب های مرتبط
- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
- دیدگاه کاربران
نقد و بررسی
September 14, 2015
Filmmaker MacQuarrie (The Last Days of the Incas) assembles an overly ambitious mix of travelogue, history, and anthropological study that tours the Andes mountain range through stories of well-known people who inhabited the region in the past. The hodgepodge of miniature historical accounts, which leap around in time and subject, is strung together primarily by geography. The figures include Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in the late 1980s and ’90s, naturalist Charles Darwin on his trip to the Galápagos Islands, famous bandits Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara during his last days in the Bolivian forest, among others. MacQuarrie interjects himself into the narrative, sometimes as a reporter (as when he interviews the colonel in charge of hunting down Escobar) and other times as a traveler (as when he recounts arguing with an elderly Chinese tourist about creationism while on a boat tour of the Galápagos). The time line of this personal subthread is never apparent and makes for a stringy, convoluted narrative that fails to create a comprehensive whole. Agent: Sarah Lazin, Sarah Lazin Books.
October 15, 2015
The Andes mountains chain, the longest in the world, is a treasure trove of history, culture, and people. MacQuarrie (The Last Days of the Incas) seeks to uncover some of the hidden stories of the people who lived in this distinct region. Focusing on various South American countries, the author combines history, folklore, and personal interviews to reveal what he considers "the most interesting stories." MacQuarrie engages as well as educates as he travels throughout the mountain range, intertwining past and present and incorporating political and cultural conflict while taking the reader on a journey that goes beyond geography or geology. Although endnotes for each chapter are provided, it can be challenging to determine the connections between the references and the text. Regardless, MacQuarrie spectacularly describes the Andes. VERDICT This is a well-written, immersive work that history aficionados, particularly those with an affinity for Latin America, will relish.--Susan E. Montgomery, Rollins Coll., Olin Lib., Winter Park, FL.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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