Description
Book SynopsisBrings together more than 200 texts and images in a broad introduction to Guatemala's history, culture, and politics
Trade Review“A lively, literate sourcebook on the politics, economy and society of Guatemala, with selections ranging from historical accounts to newspaper articles, essays, memoir excerpts and modern analysis. A volume in the excellent series of Latin American Readers, aimed at students, travelers and scholars.” -
Longitude: Recommended Reading for Travelers“With an appeal to travelers, students, and scholars,
The Guatemala Reader is a useful volume. As an introduction to the country and its people, it drives home some of the stark realities behind its beautiful facade.” - Ralph Lee Woodward,
The Latin Americanist“This latest volume in Duke’s excellent Latin American Reader series brings us more than 200 texts and images from Guatemala providing a rounded introduction to this fascinating Central American country’s history and culture. It is the perfect point of departure from which to begin exploring this diverse and often troubled society, and Duke has also issued the weighty text as an e-book, a splendid idea for travellers armed just with a backpack and a reader that will provide them with a valuable resource without weighing them down on the way…. But the menu is literally brimming with delicious fare and it is probably unfair to single out any section. Better, in fact, to get the book and read it from cover to cover.” - EC,
The Latin American Review of Books“
The Guatemala Reader is captivating both because Guatemalan history is so compelling, and because the editors have done a fantastic job of choosing the texts and images to include. Their selections offer great variety in terms of vision, perspective, and genre, and their introductions to those pieces are uniformly superb.”—
Steve Striffler, co-editor of
The Ecuador Reader“This excellent and comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary materials about Guatemala is a seminal addition to the literature. It is brilliantly put together and its usefulness is not only for students being introduced to that country but also as a reference source for Guatemalan scholars.”—
Beatriz Manz, author of
Paradise in Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror, and Hope“A lively, literate sourcebook on the politics, economy and society of Guatemala, with selections ranging from historical accounts to newspaper articles, essays, memoir excerpts and modern analysis. A volume the excellent series of Latin American Readers, aimed at students, travelers and scholars.” * Longitude *
“This latest volume in Duke’s excellent Latin American Reader series brings us more than 200 texts and images from Guatemala providing a rounded introduction to this fascinating Central American country’s history and culture. It is the perfect point of departure from which to begin exploring this diverse and often troubled society, and Duke has also issued the weighty text as an e-book, a splendid idea for travellers armed just with a backpack and a reader that will provide them with a valuable resource without weighing them down on the way…. But the menu is literally brimming with delicious fare and it is probably unfair to single out any section. Better, in fact, to get the book and read it from cover to cover.” -- EC * Latin American Review of Books *
“With an appeal to travelers, students, and scholars,
The Guatemala Reader is a useful volume. As an introduction to the country and its people, it drives home some of the stark realities behind its beautiful facade.” -- Ralph Lee Woodward * The Latin Americanist *
"The task of selecting just two hundred texts to represent six centuries of human history is daunting; nevertheless, in the hands of some of the top scholars of Guatemala, the result is tremendous. By simultaneously making a case for the study of Guatemala’s pasts and presenting key questions that are likely to determine its future, Grandin, Levenson, and Oglesby have created a resource that will be important for students of Guatemala for many years to come." -- Heather Vrana * Ethnohistory *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations xv
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction 1
I. The Maya: Before the Europeans 11
II. Invasion and Colonialism 39
III. A Caffeinated Modernism 107
IV. Ten Years of Spring and Beyond 197
V. Roads to Revolution 281
VI. Intent to Destroy 361
VII. An Unsettled Peace 441
VIII. Maya Movements 501
IX. The Sixth Century 545
Suggestions for Further Reading 625
Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources 641
Index 653