Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua

Rating:
Summary: A great book filled with insight on life in Nicaragua during
Review: ...the late 1970's-1980's period. I read this book after having spent time in Central America myself. I think Steven did a wonderful job of telling the truth about what happened in Nicaragua during the years he was there. He showed where the Sandinistas failed, and where the U.S. government failed the people of Nicaragua. Throughout the whole book he really made the reader aware of the stories that these people lived out; from a engineer from Portland, Oregon going down to help out, to the children in the hospitals suffering from war wounds. There is a large amount of history, personal experience, and cultural images to be gained from reading by book.

Rating:
Summary: Fairly objective look at revolution in Nicaragua
Review: Good comprehensive book on the causes and outcomes of Revolution in Nicaragua. Does a pretty good job of not taking sides. Kinzer was bureau chief in Nicaragua for the New York Times during the 80's. He sheds light on alot of the hypocricies and contraditions the CIA, Contras and Sandinistas were all guilty of.

Not for the Radical Sandinista or Reactionary Conservative

Rating:
Summary: excellent review of the revolutionary years
Review: I never felt like I understood what really happened in Nicaragua in the 1980's until I read this book. This book presented a wonderful overview of the key players in the region from the 70's to the late 80's. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Harsh truths for Sandinistas, Contras -- and Americans
Review: I was a foreign correspondent in Nicaragua for much of the period covered by Kinzer's book. Typically, American correspondents came and went every couple of years; Kinzer was there before the victory of the 1979 revolution and stayed to the end of a most bloody chapter in this country's history. I do not believe anyone has captured better the strange, almost surreal beauty of this land nor the full horror of the bloodbath it had suffered by the end of the 1980s. Those looking for finger-pointing and the moral of the story will be disappointed; but what Kinzer depicts is the truth, a harsh one for all involved.