Viva South America! by Oliver Balch
Simon Bolivar once inspired a continent to rise from its serfdom and throw off the shackles of Spanish rule, setting the course for independence, freedom and equality. "Viva South America!" sets out to discover if that dream lives on. Is it fair to describe a land as 'independent' while poverty still enslaves millions, where violence lurks in the shadows and where lawlessness gnaws away at progress? Did the Liberators fail? Or are leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales resurrecting those long-ago ideals?Armed with a reporter's notebook and an open mind, the author hits the road in search of answers. With the ghost of Bolivar as guide, the quest takes the reader off the tourist trail and into the weird and wonderful worlds of South American culture and society. By stepping into people's homes and into inmates' prison cells, by climbing onto dance floors and over road blocks, Oliver Balch unearths untold stories from the front line of South America's contemporary fight for freedom.
Oliver Balch works as an independent journalist in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he writes regularly for the Guardian. His articles have also appeared in the Financial Times, the Telegraph, the Observer and Fortune magazine. Away from his laptop, he has had jobs as a labourer in Peru, a Bollywood extra in India, a missionary in Bolivia and an English teacher to exiled Tibetan monks. This is his first book.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780571237036 |
| ISBN 10 | 0571237037 |
| Title | Viva South America! |
| Author | Oliver Balch |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year published | 2009-03-19 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |