A History of Latin America

By: George Pendle

Narrated by: Fred Williams

An authoritative and concise introduction to an area of such great economic potential is certainly needed. This history has been written by a specialist who was closely connected with Latin America for over 40 years. His text emphasizes how many races and classes have contributed to the civilization of this great land-mass, with its vast mountain ranges, rivers, prairies, forests, and deserts: Indians, European conquistadores, priests, planters, African slaves, caudillos, liberal intellectuals, and commercial pioneers.©1963 George Pendle (P)1995 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A beginner's guide to the continent....Lively and full of anecdote." (Financial Times)

fantastico! a brief overview, but plenty of detail

fantastico! a brief overview, but plenty of detail
I appreciated the way the author kept neutural while still contextualizing the recent events

Great overview of the last few hundred years

I read it while on my trip throughout Peru and really enjoyed connecting the places I was seeing to their past.

good but stopped early

Would you try another book from George Pendle and/or Fred Williams?

great history on the continent. It is a lot to cover, but it covers it well. I was a little upset that it didn't go past the 1970s. I would like some contemporary history. It was good though.

BIASED AND OUTDATED, YET...

What did you like best about A History of Latin America? What did you like least?

Mr Pendle's approach to Latin American history is thoroughly Anglo. By this I mean that, in his view, Great Britain played an overwhelming role in the wars and independence of the Spanish colonies and in their further development throughout the XIX and XX centuries. (?) Moreover, and possibly owing to the fact that this seems to be a 1963 edition, the language used to describe specific human groups such as the Spaniards, the "Criollos" and the Natives is very frequently plagued by politically incorrect monickers such as "ignorant", "slow", "lazy" "slothful" and even "stupid"!! (One point for British arrogance; zero points for British intellectual sensitivity).

In spite of the aforesaid, one must recognize there is a genuine desire to be comprehensive and incorporate as much as possible of Latin American history in the space available.

If you’ve listened to books by George Pendle before, how does this one compare?

N/A

How could the performance have been better?

Mr Williams rendering of the book is outrageously tedious, in spite of the fact that the man possesses a very fine and silky voice. His inclination to a monotone and lethargic reading makes it quite difficult to follow him without falling asleep. I honestly must say that I am a regular listener of audiobooks and therefore pretty well trained in listening skills, but Mr Williams nevertheless is a very trying experience,

Was A History of Latin America worth the listening time?

See my previous comments.

Any additional comments?

Time for a newer version of Latin American history in your Audible options.

boring

struggled to finish and it was boring, maybe because its old but it was boring