Born in Blood and Fire 3rd Edition Chapter Summaries

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 · 1,941 ratings  · 161 reviews

Start your review of Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America

Quick notes:

1) This book has several editions. I read the first edition, published in 2001 - a copy from my library. There are now three subsequent editions. This (likely) has little bearing on the 100+ years historical events, but the final chapters (the last 40-50 years) are undoubtedly more detailed - SO much has happened in these regions since 2000.

2) This book is written and intended as a university textbook. Chasteen is an engaging writer and makes the history interesting, but in textbook

Quick notes:

1) This book has several editions. I read the first edition, published in 2001 - a copy from my library. There are now three subsequent editions. This (likely) has little bearing on the 100+ years historical events, but the final chapters (the last 40-50 years) are undoubtedly more detailed - SO much has happened in these regions since 2000.

2) This book is written and intended as a university textbook. Chasteen is an engaging writer and makes the history interesting, but in textbook form, there is very little in the way of resources and citations. I was disappointed by that, but did see that in 2011, he published a sister guide focusing on primary sources and #ownvoices. This is a great addition for a classroom, and I plan to seek it out too.

3) The subtitle of this book is "A Concise History of Latin America", and at 352 pages for 500 years of history, it is definitely CONCISE. Chasteen states upfront that there will be broad sweeps, and he focuses on the major players (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina) with notable references to Chile, Colombia, Peru... but Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela, and even the expanse of Central America barely get a nod, only in later chapters with neocolonialism and US interventionism, and even then, brief.

For a basic history, this is a good place to start. Chasteen covers a lot of ground, and manages to integrate aspects of indigenous studies, women's history, labor history - and I imagine this has just increased with each new edition.

I will be digging deep into South American history, literature, and culture starting in 2019, so this was a solid survey text to begin that project.

3.5 stars - a .5 star deduction for the lack of bibliography, end notes, and further reading!

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Obligatory terse review, as things are still hectic around here.
I waffled and wavered all over this. First, inclined for a four, then a two, so going for a three. Why? It's concise, clear, non-pretentious prose, not without its bias but not heavily so. It offers the usual summary of political and historical events in Latin America (for Brazil is discussed almost as much as the Hispanophone countries), with a few moments where the author clears up a few things that either are misconceptions or wh Obligatory terse review, as things are still hectic around here.
I waffled and wavered all over this. First, inclined for a four, then a two, so going for a three. Why? It's concise, clear, non-pretentious prose, not without its bias but not heavily so. It offers the usual summary of political and historical events in Latin America (for Brazil is discussed almost as much as the Hispanophone countries), with a few moments where the author clears up a few things that either are misconceptions or what he considers to be so.
The reason I couldn't give it a full raving review is that I believe it's geared to be used as a text, and this man doesn't cite his sources. Ever. Yes, I know, Doris Kearns Goodwin and all that, but I simply couldn't put this in front of my students and say "yes, this is allowed." As a matter of fact, I fight them yearly on the issue.
A section at the end of each chapter highlights a particular phenomenon, and there are black and white photos at the beginning of each chapter and each of these end segments, with some good charts interspersed. ...more

It's a decent political history of Mexico, Central and South America but it wasn't very satisfying because he just can't do justice to 500 years of history in 20 countries, even if as a region they often mirrored each other, in 400 pages.

Also, there's no liking the US after this one. Not that I've ever been a fan of the US involvement in Latin America but yowsers, Chasteen in harsh.

It's a decent political history of Mexico, Central and South America but it wasn't very satisfying because he just can't do justice to 500 years of history in 20 countries, even if as a region they often mirrored each other, in 400 pages.

Also, there's no liking the US after this one. Not that I've ever been a fan of the US involvement in Latin America but yowsers, Chasteen in harsh.

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Three and a half stars. Deals as a sweeping introduction to those that are new to Latin-American history, and a thin but broad base to those whose knowledge of it is patchy.

When I started reading it, it gave me pause that the history of South America pre-latinization, is so sketchily drawn, but I then realized that the book is titled "A Concise History of LATIN America" - and on that the book delivers. It covers most of Latinized America, from the conquest by Europe to more or less the early-is

Three and a half stars. Deals as a sweeping introduction to those that are new to Latin-American history, and a thin but broad base to those whose knowledge of it is patchy.

When I started reading it, it gave me pause that the history of South America pre-latinization, is so sketchily drawn, but I then realized that the book is titled "A Concise History of LATIN America" - and on that the book delivers. It covers most of Latinized America, from the conquest by Europe to more or less the early-ish millenium. It is concise, and on top of that, a pleasantly conversational easy read that flows fast.

It also gave me a foothold from which to pursue further reading on those aspects of South America that I needed more in-depth information on.

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Dec 19, 2016 Mark Taylor rated it really liked it

While I generally pride myself on being a well-rounded individual, I will readily confess that knowledge of Latin American history is one of my blind spots. For whatever reason, I don't remember learning much about Latin America throughout my educational journey. Now that I'm teaching World History to 10th graders, I decided I needed to learn more about this part of the world, and a fellow teacher recommended John Charles Chasteen's Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. I r While I generally pride myself on being a well-rounded individual, I will readily confess that knowledge of Latin American history is one of my blind spots. For whatever reason, I don't remember learning much about Latin America throughout my educational journey. Now that I'm teaching World History to 10th graders, I decided I needed to learn more about this part of the world, and a fellow teacher recommended John Charles Chasteen's Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. I read the second edition, published in 2006, but the most recent edition is the fourth, which just came out in June, 2016.

Chasteen's book is an excellent overview of Latin American history from 1492, when the Old and New Worlds first collided, to the present day. As an overview, it certainly helped me to understand more about the historical trends of Latin America, and the difficult journey that many countries in the region have faced since winning their independence nearly two hundred years ago. There were many people and events that I wanted to learn more about-for example, Simon Bolivar, who gets the briefest of mentions in the text, or Getulio Vargas, the longtime President of Brazil who committed suicide in office in 1954. It would have been nice to get a little more insight into some of these leading players, but I understand the difficulty in recapping five hundred years of history for more than twenty countries in less than 350 pages.

If you're looking to start learning about the rich and vibrant history of Latin America, Born in Blood and Fire is a very good place to start.

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This book was the required reading for a Latin American history class I took in college. I found it a fascinating read, and I spent much of time comparing and contrasting our own American history (U.S.) with that of Latin American. From conquest, to the Castas race hierarchy, to Latin America's fight for independence, and Latin America's consequential emergence onto the would stage, I found it very interesting.

Unfortunately, the latter half of book was peppered with the author's own leftist vie

This book was the required reading for a Latin American history class I took in college. I found it a fascinating read, and I spent much of time comparing and contrasting our own American history (U.S.) with that of Latin American. From conquest, to the Castas race hierarchy, to Latin America's fight for independence, and Latin America's consequential emergence onto the would stage, I found it very interesting.

Unfortunately, the latter half of book was peppered with the author's own leftist views and the hero worship of Castro in the chapters on Cuba was almost unpalatable.

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A Eurocentric history that shades into one focusing heavily on the role of the United States as the author moves through the time, this book could have benefited greatly from an expanded focus on the indigenous and African peoples of Latin America (the mestizos get some representation, though perhaps not enough). Also largely absent are voices of peasants, as this is definitely a top down history. History is more than a recounting of the actions of great men, though credit is due to the author f A Eurocentric history that shades into one focusing heavily on the role of the United States as the author moves through the time, this book could have benefited greatly from an expanded focus on the indigenous and African peoples of Latin America (the mestizos get some representation, though perhaps not enough). Also largely absent are voices of peasants, as this is definitely a top down history. History is more than a recounting of the actions of great men, though credit is due to the author for including brief passages on women and also dipping his toes into cultural waters with discussions of Latin American novelists and poets, though a multitude of other cultural practices are ignored. Overall, Born in Blood and Fire reads like an introductory textbook to Latin American politics that, while deftly tracing the history of Latin American government and to a lesser extent economy, leaves out important components of the large regions history in the form of groups and topics that do not fit Chasteen's chosen focus. ...more

Aug 17, 2010 Malonie rated it really liked it

This is exactly what I wanted, a basic framework history of Latin America. This truly is a concise history so if you are looking for a more in depth analysis then this is not the book for you. I thought this book did a good job of tracking trends throughout Latin America and it left me wanting to find out more.

A history of a continent and a half cannot be contained in 329 pages (plus sources), but Chasteen gives it his best shot. This a fine introductory text, and more enjoyable to read than Kiernan's Viet Nam, but it lacks nuance or detail.

Chasteen traces two major narratives through the many nations of Central and South America. The first is their tripartite cultural heritage, combining in various ways Iberian colonizers, Africa slaves, and indigenous people. The second is swings between conservativ

A history of a continent and a half cannot be contained in 329 pages (plus sources), but Chasteen gives it his best shot. This a fine introductory text, and more enjoyable to read than Kiernan's Viet Nam, but it lacks nuance or detail.

Chasteen traces two major narratives through the many nations of Central and South America. The first is their tripartite cultural heritage, combining in various ways Iberian colonizers, Africa slaves, and indigenous people. The second is swings between conservative and modernizing forces. Conservative politics, whether Catholic or based around a cuadillo strongmen, lead to stagnation and revolt. The modernizers, whether early 19th century nationalist revolutionaries, 20th century nationalists of both liberal and Marxist stripes, and 21st century neoliberals, make grand promises that never seem to pan out for the rural majorities of these countries.

I get the difficulty of writing a synthetic history covering millions of square miles and hundreds of years in a reasonable page count. And there are some things which I like, like short "counter-narrative" chapters that showcases countervailing trends. But I have little sense of South America as informed by its history.

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I read this book for a Latin America history course. At times, the author rambled on a lot without being able to cut to the chase. The reading was moderately entertaining, but this is not your typical history book. It offers explanations in layman's terms for dense subjects, so it isn't very wordy. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. I read this book for a Latin America history course. At times, the author rambled on a lot without being able to cut to the chase. The reading was moderately entertaining, but this is not your typical history book. It offers explanations in layman's terms for dense subjects, so it isn't very wordy. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. ...more

This is a very readable history. It is perfect for those new to the subject. I will use this in class into the future.

Thoroughly readable. If I ever wind up teaching the high school Latin American history summer course that they have threatened to ask me to do, this will likely be the text.

Nov 28, 2007 Sara rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: middle schoolers and no one else

First of all, the second edition is riddle with typographical errors and annotation errors. That aside, the last chapter of the book (which deals with the most recent events--the 90's) is so skimpy! It's as though Chasteen simply got tired of writing and let the book sort of dissolve.

It's decent as the barest survey. It's written to be read and understood easily, but Chasteen glosses over a lot of key event. That, and his bias is all over every page.

I read it for a college history class and wa

First of all, the second edition is riddle with typographical errors and annotation errors. That aside, the last chapter of the book (which deals with the most recent events--the 90's) is so skimpy! It's as though Chasteen simply got tired of writing and let the book sort of dissolve.

It's decent as the barest survey. It's written to be read and understood easily, but Chasteen glosses over a lot of key event. That, and his bias is all over every page.

I read it for a college history class and was really quite disappointed with it. It was laid out well (time period wise), but seemed like a mediocre effort in general.

2 stars.

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Clean and concise, this enthusiastic history is a handy summary of Latin America's colorful and tumultuous journey over the past half millennium. Of course, as the author hints at in the introduction, the task at hand is an impossible one--five hundred years of a continent's history can hardly be fitted into such a small space--and the text does often feel a bit too glossy. But this is a worthy and useful venture none-the-less, providing a great jumping off point for the uninitiated. Clean and concise, this enthusiastic history is a handy summary of Latin America's colorful and tumultuous journey over the past half millennium. Of course, as the author hints at in the introduction, the task at hand is an impossible one--five hundred years of a continent's history can hardly be fitted into such a small space--and the text does often feel a bit too glossy. But this is a worthy and useful venture none-the-less, providing a great jumping off point for the uninitiated. ...more

May 07, 2017 Brian rated it it was amazing

Assigned reading for Latin American History at Augusta University, and I know have a much better appreciation for the history and cultures of the Latin American people. I also have a better idea of the suffering and hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by American interference. Administrations, CIA coups, State Department sanctioning of the deaths of thousands...mostly due to our war against communism. An eye-opening history of an often belittled people.

Really great, very concise, history of Latin America. The author does a great job of tying several centuries of complex economic, political, and social history together to bring us to the end of the 20th century. The book doesn't pull any punches from his take on the European and Western influence and how this has (and continues to) affected the stability today. Really great, very concise, history of Latin America. The author does a great job of tying several centuries of complex economic, political, and social history together to bring us to the end of the 20th century. The book doesn't pull any punches from his take on the European and Western influence and how this has (and continues to) affected the stability today. ...more

Overall, a really good overview. Sometimes the book shoots off into tangents and hops around abruptly, but honestly that might be the by product of trying to synthesize nearly a millennia of history into a little over 300 pages.
Definitely a good introduction into the development of Latin and Central America.

Sep 04, 2014 Zahraa rated it it was ok

Haven't really finished all of it since we were reading excerpts for a class.
I don't think it is possible to read and understand it with no prior knowledge of the topic or no one to explain/discuss the events.
Very helpful source for papers though. Haven't really finished all of it since we were reading excerpts for a class.
I don't think it is possible to read and understand it with no prior knowledge of the topic or no one to explain/discuss the events.
Very helpful source for papers though. ...more

Really interesting backstories, summaries, and leaders in Latin America. All the kids are reading this one.

Most engaging history book I've read in years. Great prep for a trip to South America. Most engaging history book I've read in years. Great prep for a trip to South America. ...more

This work gives an overview of Latin American history and is remarkably readable. It is an excellent starting point for anyone new to the study of Latin American history.

Apr 23, 2016 Audrey Gibson rated it really liked it

Very well-written, Chasteen jumps around a bit but he does a great job explaining the social and political history of Latin American countries.

Oct 19, 2021 Marissa rated it liked it

3.5/5

This book took me 5ever to finish. I learned a bunch of new things. For instance, I did not know that the bulk of enslaved people that were taken out of Africa arrived on Latin American shores. I read about Zumbi dos Palameres who stood up in resistance against slavery in Brazil. (I will 100% be checking out his statue when I am there.) Within Latin America a sort of caste system was created that was essentially correlated to your race (more intersectional with race and how that tied into w

3.5/5

This book took me 5ever to finish. I learned a bunch of new things. For instance, I did not know that the bulk of enslaved people that were taken out of Africa arrived on Latin American shores. I read about Zumbi dos Palameres who stood up in resistance against slavery in Brazil. (I will 100% be checking out his statue when I am there.) Within Latin America a sort of caste system was created that was essentially correlated to your race (more intersectional with race and how that tied into wealth). The liberation of Latin America from Spanish rule was expedited by cowboys and patriots joining forces. The book unfortunately didn't mention more than a page or so on Simon Bolivar which I personally think is kind of disappointing considering what a big role he played in the liberation of Colombia, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela.

I briefly learned about US corporations' exploitation turning some Latin American countries into "banana republics" within my Chicano Studies class during college. Essentially, US corporations made some Latin American countries dependent on certain exports that were "limited-resource products" such as bananas. This helped keep government officials in "deep corporate pockets". I also learned about the "white man's burden" in my Chicano Studies class which is where in the past white people felt they had to take on the "burden" of "civilizing" native and non-European people.

I also learned about some Latin American countries joining the allies in World War II but receiving pretty much no financial support with the Marshall Plan. Pretty whack considering that most of the financial help went to our enemies. (Yes, I totally understand that we wanted Europe to be on our side considering it was closer geographically to Russia but still soooo whack.)

All in all, it's pretty cool to learn about Latin America while traveling around Latin America. I went on a tour in Comuna 13 - Medellin which used to be the most dangerous city in the world and learned about the history of the community. The following week I read the chapter about the history of Comuna 13. I mean how cool is it to have a live history lesson and then read about it!!

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Sep 18, 2019 Debbie rated it liked it

All together this took me a year to finish so that might tell you something about the book! Actually there is just so much material covered and so much I did not know which I think slowed me down. I know very little about South America and this book is a really good summary of the history of each of those countries plus the countries in Central America and Cuba, Haiti, etc. The format is somewhat reminiscent of a textbook (it was used in one of my daughter's classes) but I think it is a very goo All together this took me a year to finish so that might tell you something about the book! Actually there is just so much material covered and so much I did not know which I think slowed me down. I know very little about South America and this book is a really good summary of the history of each of those countries plus the countries in Central America and Cuba, Haiti, etc. The format is somewhat reminiscent of a textbook (it was used in one of my daughter's classes) but I think it is a very good intro to the complete history of Latin America. ...more

This book says "concise" in the title and so I feel wrong for faulting it. It's too short on the narrative, on the economics, on the heroes and villains of Latin America, and largely focuses on the racial issues at hand. You'll learn things from this book, but not too much; and when you do hear a name dropped or a big happening you'll find yourself feeling you weren't taught much. It's nice to know a little about the racial issues of Latin America but good grief -- this isn't the MAIN thing we n This book says "concise" in the title and so I feel wrong for faulting it. It's too short on the narrative, on the economics, on the heroes and villains of Latin America, and largely focuses on the racial issues at hand. You'll learn things from this book, but not too much; and when you do hear a name dropped or a big happening you'll find yourself feeling you weren't taught much. It's nice to know a little about the racial issues of Latin America but good grief -- this isn't the MAIN thing we need to know. Low-brow SJWs will probably find this book deep. ...more

Jun 24, 2020 Lisa rated it it was amazing

This is a very readable textbook with great integration of women, minorities and the arts. It might be a good replacement for my current textbook in that it takes the history up to the present day. But it can only do so much and is quite "thin" so should be combined with other reading.

Apr 06, 2021 Samuel Pratt rated it really liked it

Great history book! It opened my eyes to many issues and events in Latin American history and was engaging unlike many other history books.

Read it for school. A good solid book about Latin America that doesn't hold back on the atrocities that the indigenous people faced. Chasteen often made his opinion known which I believe some people don't like in nonfiction/textbooks, but, uh, I think it was warranted this time. Despite being concise, Chasteen still does a good job going over 500 years of history in a way that makes you feel like you're getting a good picture of multiple countries having a varied, but similar, history. Good book Read it for school. A good solid book about Latin America that doesn't hold back on the atrocities that the indigenous people faced. Chasteen often made his opinion known which I believe some people don't like in nonfiction/textbooks, but, uh, I think it was warranted this time. Despite being concise, Chasteen still does a good job going over 500 years of history in a way that makes you feel like you're getting a good picture of multiple countries having a varied, but similar, history. Good book if you want an introduction to Latin America. ...more

I've assigned this book for my first semester teaching Latin American History on my own. When I team-taught the subject two years ago, we used the second edition, and I liked it then.

Chasteen's narrative is very readable and is a great introduction to the history of Latin America. In 10 chapters, he arranges the history of Latin America's large number of societies into chronological themes like colonial society, independence, post-independence struggles, and the liberal age of Progress (Chapters

I've assigned this book for my first semester teaching Latin American History on my own. When I team-taught the subject two years ago, we used the second edition, and I liked it then.

Chasteen's narrative is very readable and is a great introduction to the history of Latin America. In 10 chapters, he arranges the history of Latin America's large number of societies into chronological themes like colonial society, independence, post-independence struggles, and the liberal age of Progress (Chapters 2-5).

A major theme is how the "original sin" of the Spanish and Portuguese conquests and the white-dominated societies that they set up has affected the history of the region. Societies with few rich people with great power and privilege, many poor with seemingly little chance to improve their lives, and a small middle class are the rule in the region, while economic opportunity and real democracy have been rare.

Chasteen pretty clearly favors the left-of-center welfare states of the twentieth century as an important part of the solution to these problems. But while these states often moved toward embracing the cultures that had grown up among the average people of Latin America (a move away from the embarrassment with which many Eurocentric liberal elites regarded Latin American populations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), these governments had pretty unimpressive economic records.

Latin America is a fascinating region, and Chasteen tells its story well. There is also a companion book called Born in Blood and Fire: Latin American Voices with a lot of literary sources from the period. It looks quite good.

Another book to look at that has a different take is Forgotten Continent by The Economist's Michael Reid.

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Born in Blood and Fire 3rd Edition Chapter Summaries

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