<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A Grassroots View of the Violence in Colombia
Review: "Killing Peace" is an outstanding book. Garry Leech provides a front row seat to the surreal violence in Colombia. Moreover, he explains why a just and enduring peace is so difficult to attain. The author is a superb journalist who documents how the flames of peace have been doused and the drums of war have been amplified. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Grassroots View of the Violence in Colombia
Review: "Killing Peace" is an outstanding book. Garry Leech provides a front row seat to the surreal violence in Colombia. Moreover, he explains why a just and enduring peace is so difficult to attain. The author is a superb journalist who documents how the flames of peace have been doused and the drums of war have been amplified. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: short, clear intro to an important and confusing conflict
Review: Leech has done the confused observer of Colombia's tragedy a great service with this short, pocket-sized introduction to the reality behind the sporadic news reports on Latin America's most violent, dysfunctional country. The book provides a clear and concise history of modern Colombia with particular emphasis on the causes of the armed conflict that has raged there for decades. Leech examines Colombia's civil war and how it differs from yet is intertwined with the drug war, while avoiding the common pitfall of completely muddling the two topics.The book also traces the gradual U.S. entry into the fray of the Colombia's conflict, from early forays into combatting marijuana production to the current strategy that closely resembles Reagan-era strategies in El Salvador, albeit with the additional complication of Colombia being a leading cocaine and heroin supplier. Leech's answer to the uncomfortable question, "Is the drug war working?" is an emphatic "No." He explains how the U.S. drug war is failing on all of its own terms, while at the same time detailing the disastrous human toll of increased U.S. aid to the undisciplined and extremely compromised Colombian military. The role of the various guerrilla and paramilitary groups is explained, and there are also interesting new insights into the relations between the Colombian army and the rightist paramilitaries. This book should be of particular use to those who seek to quickly learn more about the country and conflict that are fast becoming one of the primary U.S. foreign policy concerns. Its brevity and breadth should prove especially appropriate for high school and college classes focusing on current events, foreign policy, Latin American affairs, and history. A good, short read on a truly important topic.
Rating:
Summary: Now I understand
Review: This book satisfied my need for a clarification of the conflicts in Colombia. I feel like I finally have an understanding of the history and everything is VERY up-to-date. Leech does an amazing job of simplifying this political quagmire. Before reading this, I would have guessed that one would need to invest a great deal of time in order to understand what is really going on in Colombia. It's fascinating. It's the first book that I've read in a long time that has inspired me to write to my political reps. This book is certainly worth the money!
Rating:
Summary: one night book!
Review: This is a good book for someone who wants to get a glance of Colombian Conflict. Leech tells a brief but accurate story about Colombia - US relationships. First he gives a good introduction to the conflict and then he goes into the interests behind Plan Colombia and the War on drugs.
Interesting summary, sometimes scary. For instance, it was amazing to see the "Pablo Escobar era" summarized in few paragraphs. Those of us who lived in Medellin during that time experienced it quite different.
Killing Peace is a good introduction to Colombia or a good tool to organize the thoughts of those that know more or that simply lived it.
Rating:
Summary: one night book!
Review: This is a good book for someone who wants to get a glance of Colombian Conflict. Leech tells a brief but accurate story about Colombia - US relationships. First he gives a good introduction to the conflict and then he goes into the interests behind Plan Colombia and the War on drugs.
Interesting summary, sometimes scary. For instance, it was amazing to see the "Pablo Escobar era" summarized in few paragraphs. Those of us who lived in Medellin during that time experienced it quite different.
Killing Peace is a good introduction to Colombia or a good tool to organize the thoughts of those that know more or that simply lived it.
Rating:
Summary: KILLING PEACE is a quick, concise must-read
Review: To my mind, the expanding civil war in Colombia is the biggest story in the Western Hemisphere -- but no one seems to be paying much attention to it. Good thing, then, that we have Garry Leech, a talented reporter and writer whose book explains it all, from the start of the trouble over fifty years ago to the U.S.'s involvement today with more and more money, guns, and soldiers. If George Bush gets his way, Colombia is going to be the next bloody battle in the "war on terrorism." Americans need to get wise to what's going on before we sink any deeper into Colombia and a world of hurt and regret. Step one: Read this book!
<< 1 >>
| 
