Description
Book SynopsisPresents a history of Colombia's "long twentieth century," from the civil wars of the late nineteenth century to the drug wars of the late twentieth. This book explains Colombia's political history, discussing key leaders, laws, parties, and ideologies; corruption and inefficiency; and the paradoxical nature of government institutions.
Trade Review“Marco Palacios’s comprehensive, skilled narration of Colombia’s turbulent ‘long twentieth century’ is the best one-volume history of that country we have. There is nothing else available in English that provides even a shadow of the complexity and completeness of Palacios’s book.”—Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, author of
Dulcinea in the Factory: Myths, Morals, Men, and Women in Colombia’s Industrial Experiment, 1905–1960“A skillful historian, Palacios gives the public a sharp, broad and yet very complete view of Colombia’s twentieth-century history . . . . Students of Latin American studies will benefit greatly from this valuable account of Colombia’s history. Anyone interested in Colombia and its history will find this a most valuable and complete history guide. The author is an authority in the field and his own life experiences have permitted him to step outside the turmoil and violence of Colombia to produce a book that gives an intellectual, organized, and logical order to its turbulent history.” -- Debora Cordeiro-Rosa * The Latin Americanist *
“Marco Palacios’ account of Colombian history is a must-read for historians, economists, political scientists, and geographers. It is an intricately woven story that highlights the complexities of Colombian history. . . . A rich interpretation of Colombian history is presented with the expressed intent of revealing how the past affects current thinking and events.” -- Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres * EIAL *
Table of ContentsTables viii
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue to the Second Colombian Edition xi
1. From Liberal Decay to Regeneration 1
2. Liberal Economics, Conservative Politics 48
3. From the Expansion of Citizenship to the Plutocratic Elite 93
4. In the Shadow of the Violencia 135
5. An Elusive Legitimacy 170
6. Great Transformations within Continuity 214
Epilogue 246
Bibliographical Essay 269
Index 293
