Popular South American Historical Books
Find historical books written by authors from South America for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (29)
11.
Country: South America / 
Uruguay
Uruguay
Description:
“An epic work of literary creation . . . There could be no greater vindication of the wonders of the lands and people of Latin America than Memory of Fire.” —The Washington Post Eduardo Galeano’s monumental three-volume retelling of the history of the New World begins with Genesis, a vast chain of legends sweeping from the birth of creation to the era of savage colonialism. Through lyrical prose and deep understanding, Galeano (author of the celebrated Open Veins of Latin America) recounts creation myths, pre-Columbian societies, and the brutality of conquest, from the Andes to the Great Plain... continue
12.
Hippie by Paulo Coelho EN
Country: South America / 
Brazil
Brazil
Description:
A journey to the past. A map for the future. After hitchhiking from Brazil to nearly halfway around the world, Paulo stumbles across Karla, a young Dutch woman and like-minded soul, in Amsterdam’s famous Dam Square. Together they decide to take the fabled hippie trail across Europe to Nepal, aboard the Magic Bus, in search of self-discovery. So begins a life-defining love story that will set the course for the rest of their lives. Drawing on the rich experience of his own life, Paulo Coelho relives the dreams of a generation that longed for peace and challenged the established social order.
13.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney EN
Country: South America / 
Guyana
Guyana
Description:
This wide-reaching volume shows how Africa developed before the coming of the Europeans up to the 15th century, and shows Africa's contribution to European capitalist development in the pre-colonial period. Colonialism is then shown as a system for underdeveloping Africa.
14.
I the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos EN
Country: South America / 
Paraguay
Paraguay
Description:
I the Supreme imagines a dialogue between the nineteenth-century Paraguayan dictator known as Dr. Francia and Policarpo Patiño, his secretary and only companion. The opening pages present a sign that they had found nailed to the wall of a cathedral, purportedly written by Dr. Francia himself and ordering the execution of all of his servants upon his death. This sign is quickly revealed to be a forgery, which takes leader and secretary into a larger discussion about the nature of truth: “In the light of what Your Eminence says, even the truth appears to be a lie.” Their conversation broadens in... continue
15.
It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo EN
Country: South America / 
Venezuela
Venezuela
Description:
Told with gripping intensity, It Would be Night in Caracas chronicles one woman’s desperate battle to survive amid the dangerous, sometimes deadly, turbulence of modern Venezuela and the lengths she must go to secure her future. In Caracas, Venezuela, Adelaida Falcon stands over an open grave. Alone, except for harried undertakers, she buries her mother–the only family Adelaida has ever known. Numb with grief, Adelaida returns to the apartment they shared. Outside the window that she tapes shut every night—to prevent the tear gas raining down on protesters in the streets from seeping inWhen lo... continue
16.
Country: South America / 
Chile
Chile
Description:
Pablo Neruda has been hailed as the greatest poet of the 20th century & was a Nobel laureat. In these memoirs he also recounts his distinguished career as a diplomat & politician, during which he came to know iconic figures including Gandhi, Che Guevara & Mao Tse Tung.
17.
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado EN
Country: South America / Uruguay
Uruguay
Description:
In October 1972, Nando Parrado and his rugby club teammates were on a flight from Uruguay to Chile when their plane crashed into a mountain. Miraculously, many of the passengers survived but Nando's mother and sister died and he was unconscious for three days. Stranded more than 11,000 feet up in the wilderness of the Andes, the survivors soon heard that the search for them had been called off - and realise the only food for miles around was the bodies of their dead friends ... In a last desperate bid for safety, Nando and a teammate set off in search of help. They climbed 17,000-foot-high mou... continue
18.
O mundo é bárbaro by Luis Fernando Verissimo PT
Country: South America / Brazil
Brazil
Description:
Passados 508 anos, o ser-humano parece inviável, segue ateando fogo à Terra e nada indica que um superbombeiro se aproxima para a apagar o incêndio. Do meio ambiente à política, passando pela economia e pelo comportamento bárbaro das pessoas no dia-a-dia, sobram argumentos para os pessimistas. Mas nem tudo está perdido. O planeta é habitado pelo humor de Luis Fernando Verisimo e sua salvação está nas crônicas reunidas no livro O Mundo é Bárbaro. Escolhidas num universo de 500 textos, entre os melhores que o autor escreveu nos últimos oito anos, elas discutem a ascensão chinesa, a guerra contra... continue
19.
Oblivion : A Memoir by Héctor Abad EN
Country: South America / 
Colombia
Colombia
Description:
Now the basis for the acclaimed film Memories of My Father, directed by Fernando Trueba. "An irreplaceable testimony of the struggle for democracy and tolerance in Latin America." —El País Héctor Abad's Oblivion is a heartbreaking, exquisitely written memorial to the author's father, Héctor Abad Gómez, whose criticism of the Colombian regime led to his murder by paramilitaries in 1987. Twenty years in the writing, it paints an unforgettable picture of a man who followed his conscience and paid for it with his life during one of the darkest periods in Latin America's recent history.
20.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez EN
Country: South America / Colombia
Colombia
Description:
One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.