No comments about Paraguay, a gallant little nation: The story of Paraguay's war with Bolivia.

No comments about British Tanks 1914-45 / Suez 1915 / P38 Lightning / Kiev 1941 / Science v. U-Boat / Chaco War (War Monthly, Issue 15).

No comments about The Chaco Canyon Tapes.

No comments about Politics of the Chaco Peace Conference, 1935-1939 (Latin American Monographs : No.19).

1 comments about Bolivia’s Radical Tradition: Permanent Revolution in the Andes.

1. This book, by one of the most important scholars of Latin America working in North America, has radicals abuzz on three continents. Professor John's history of Bolivia is the first of its kind, telling the full story of Bolivia's Indian working class in the 19th and 20th centuries, right up to the time of Evo Morales. Making great use of unique source material and his own interviews with participants, Johns explores the struggles of the miners in depth--their fights against the mining companies and a series of repressive regimes, their encounter with communism, including their special relationship with Trotsky. The revolution of 1952, in which the Indian miners took the central role, is a focal point of John's study. And as he traces the extent to which their revolution did and did not erase the old repressive order, the author also demonstrates a moving sensitivity to and appreciation of Indian culture. For even as the miners embrace such a modern "European" philosophy as Leon Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution, they draw strength from their own culture--their Indian languages, music and folk ways.
   
   If North Americans think of Bolivian radicalism at all, they tend to think of Che Guevara's failed guerrilla war of 1967. John notes that a young Che Guevara was a witness to miner militancy at the time of the 1952 revolution. But John explains (and this is also shown in the recent movie "Che" by Steven Soderbergh) that when the revolutionary guerrilla leader went to Bolivia in 1967, he did not understand its radical traditions. He placed himself in the Southern mountains, far from the revolutionary miners and the peasants who follow them. What few peasants he encountered in the desolate area in which he chose to operate were easily intimidated by the government's U.S.-back counterinsurgency efforts. The miners were sympathetic, and even went on strike in support of Che. They saluted his courage and spilled their blood in solidarity, but they understood that then as now, the struggle would be won not in the wilderness but in La Paz, Cochabamba, Potosi, and the other heavily Indian cities and towns of the Altiplano.
   
   For those who want to understand Bolivia and the radical ways of its extraordinary, combative working class, this book is a must.

1 comments about Son of Man.

1. After reading about the military operations in the Chaco War, I wanted to know further and read contemporary literature of both beligerents. Son of a Man is much more, it is itself a brief history of the generation to be involved in that bloody war, that bled white both paraguay and bolivia's populations. Son of a Man is the story of common people, and through their lives the history of a country is knit.

5 comments about The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935.

1. An "Editor's Choice" in the Winter 1997 "MHQ Review." Editor-in-Chief Robert Cowley writes: "Think of World War I as scripted by Mad Max: The result might be the Chaco War....Farcau strives admirably to make sense of a struggle that was basically senseless."



2. The author provides a very nice overview of a war that many people have never heard about. Considering that many readers (myself included) may not have an complete grasp of early-mid 1900's South American politics, the author has done remarkably well providing background information for the reader. The text is well textured but to the point, and gives one valuable insights into the motives and actions of the people involved and of the war as a whole. Excellent reading on an obscure topic.



3. In 1932, Bolivia and Paraguay went to war over a large, flat, sparsely watered plateau called the Gran Chaco. Over the course of three years, the two armies, exhibiting constant bravery and periodic stupidity, dueled, generating at least 90,000 deaths. In this book, Bruce Farcau does a masterful job of educating the reader on what happened during those three unhappy years.

   Sadly, this book (I read the 1996 edition) misses being the masterpiece it should have been. First of all, as with too many recent works, it is riddled with typographical errors. (For example, the very first page of the preface (the first page of the book) says, "In this book I have tried to pain [sic] a human face on a decidedly inhuman war.") Secondly, this book contains only one map, a map reprinted from a magazine, and its color-coded illustrations sink into near meaninglessness in the black-and-white reproduction.

   That said, though, this is a great book, and well worth reading for anyone interested in learning about the Chaco War. With a quick proofreading, some better maps, and maybe a few pictures, a second edition of this book could be a masterpiece in fact. So, I give this book an only somewhat qualified recommendation.




4. The author lavishly details each little skirmish of a war few have heard of and fewer have any interest in. Truly a war of unknown soldiers, from private to general, each dies in his own little patch of a parched hell known as the Chaco. After three years the body count reaches 100,000, fully 40% of the total combatants...and they may have been the lucky ones.

   If ever there was a war of futility;started by miscalculation,maintained out of pride and stubbornness, and finally ended by the absolute exhaustion born of the knowledge that there were no more men left to submit to that meatgrinder that was the Chaco.The final indignity for all concerned was that the war could not even be ended until a Nobel Peace Prize had been guaranteed to the "honest broker" called upon to mediate the differences between the two countries.

   The winners gained nothing; the losers lost everything.

   Yet isn't this war in a nutshell.Futile,miserable,degrading.
   Yet there are lessons to be learned from this outrage and of all the lessons, the most important seems to be that it is the "little wars" amongst the most feeble powers that incite our worst bullies to begin the bigger wars that consume millions.

   Upon seeing that the League of Nations could or would do nothing about the War in the Chaco,Musellini attached Ethiopia;Hitler bullied Austria and the Japanese became sure that nothing would be done about their incursions in Korea and China.If the League could not stop the most feeble and timid, what harm would they attempt if the aggressor was bold and powerful.

   The author shows the full horror of the Chaco to remind us that the "Great Wars" do not come of their own volition but as a result of the vacuum created when good men fail to act to save our most vulnerable...from themselves.




5. I like Farcau as an author because he brings to light the little known conflicts of South America. Obviously he has a special link to this area as his wife and father in law are Bolivian. Of his two works, The War of the Pacific is by far the better. In the Chaco War, he details the military and political battles that led to Bolivia and Paraguay going to war over worthless semi arid land. This war resulted in 100,000 deaths and pointed to the incapacity of the League of Nations in controlling conflict.
   Farcau does a good job in showing why the Bolivians lost even though they had more money and people. The Bolivians fought between themselves. The military fought the politicians. The generals fought other generals. Paraguay had a unified system where the politicians supported the generals. The result was a win by Paraguay of huge tracks of worthless land.
   As a previous reader has already noted, this book is riddled with typos. Also the one map did not help the reader in understanding how the military forces were moved. There should have been ten maps in this book, detailing the moves of the various campaigns. I felt lost reading of the movements without having a map to consult. Otherwise a fairly decent read.

5 comments about Aircraft of the Chaco War 1928-1935.

1. These is one of the best ever released books related to aeronautics. It has much relevant information about, as it's title said, the aircraft of the Chaco war. Nothing else can be added to this review, except one thing. Congratulations Tony, you've done a great job. Paul McCartney/ Victor Amarilla



2. These must be the best ever released book related to aeronautics. It has much relevant information about, as it's title stands, the aircraft of the Chaco war. I, as the author, live in the peaceful country, which is the place where the war was hold in those years, and I can assure that this title has the most complete information about the past golden age of the Paraguayan air force. Just one more should be added, congratulations Mr. Tony, you've done a great job. Victor Amarilla/ Paul McCartney



3. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THIS NOT SO WELL KNOWN MODERN CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO ESTABLISHED NATIONS, BOTH WITH AIR FORCES AT THAT TIME, THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ. BESIDES THE SPECTACULAR TEXT, THE PICTURES ARE GREAT!!!!!!



4. In 1932, Bolivia and Paraguay went to war over a large, flat, sparsely watered plateau called the Gran Chaco. Over the course of three years, the two armies, exhibiting constant bravery and periodic stupidity, dueled, generating at least 90,000 deaths. In this book, Dan Hagedorn and Antonio Sapienza look at the war from the angle of the use of airpower during the war. The individual types of aircraft used by the combatants are reviewed, as are their operational uses.

   This book makes an excellent companion for The Chaco War by Bruce Farcau. The author of that book almost completely ignores the air war component of the war, while this book focuses on it. Also, unlike the other book, this one is awash with maps and pictures from the war. Therefore, if you are interested in the Chaco War, then you should read this book.




5. As an earlier reviewer noted, this work very ably fills the pictorial void in Bruce Farcau's otherwise excellent history of the Depression era Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay. Despite its focus on air operations - which is obviously not a fault, but the intended scope of the book - Hagedorn & Sapienza's collection of photographs and related information are certainly the quickest way for 21st century readers, and especially foreigners who have little conception of the Gran Chaco region, to get a feel for the time and place of this war.
   
   If there is any fault, it would have to be the book's hefty price. But realistically, that is to be expected with the excellent glossy paper used and the fine photo reproduction of the publisher, combined with the rather limited sales appeal of such an obscure military history.
   
   Alas, obscure is not irrelevant. The photos of modern engines of war in such an unpopulated and remote place, the barren look of the landscape and the overall verdict of history - that this was a completely unnecessary war - all reminded me of today's smoldering standoff between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
   
   A very worthwhile book, virtually a mandatory supplement to Farcau's work.

2 comments about The Green Hell: A Concise History of the Chaco War Between Bolivia and Paraguay 1932-35 (Spellmount Military Studies).

1. Sometimes a book can be filled with to much detail and lose control of the big picture. It fails to grab the readers attention and concentrates excessively on details of small troop units of whom we care little about or find absurdly hard to follow. Although not much has been written about this war there really is no reason to buy this plodding book.



2. This book is not a broad general study of the Chaco War. Rather it is a detailed two pronged study. The first is an analysis of the diplomacy leading up to and continuing during the war. Particularly, the war's impact on the League of Nations. The second prong is a very detailed tactical analysis of the war. This portion of the book will only appeal to those readers with a strong interest in how battles are fought. Therefore, I strongly recommend this book to only serious students of military history, war gamers and or anyone with a deep interest in the diplomacy of the inter-war period.