The seizure of Yarur factory on April 25, 1971 marked the beginning of a tumultuous struggle for socialism in Chile. Salvador Allende, of the popular unity party, ran on a platform that sought to unify the working population. Allende's vow to guide Chile down the democratic road to socialism is one of his greatest legacies. The democratic road to socialism was paved, at least symbolically, with the efforts of the working class. The failures and successes of Allende's travel through la "via Chilena" hinge on whether "the Chilean revolutionary process was of and by the workers or merely for the workers." Allende would die the death of a martyr: machine gun in hand in an enflamed national palace that had been besieged by a hostile coup. If Allende died the death of martyr, to whom was he a hero? Inconsistent with traditional revolutionary ideology Allende feared a rampant revolution. As a self-proclaimed Marxist his views irked both capitalists and the middle class. El presidente compañero, regardless, was a president for the people. His core constituency demanded a revolution from below and thus complicated the revolution from above that Allende attempted to impose. With these conflicts in mind Peter Winn analyzes the extent to which Allende (a socialist) both failed and succeeded as a revolutionary.

I agree with the last reviewer, except for her\his curious reference to this being a "Trotskyist" view. What I like about this book is the way one can see the dilemnas and perspectives of different actors within the coalition that backed Allende. Less an endorsement of any one tendency's political line, this book brings out the tragedy of various democratic revolutionary factions all trying to do the right thing and unable to unite the face of repression. Best of all, it links the perspectives of ordinary workers with the difficult choices face by leaders.

Winn's book gives a detailed (and Trotskyist) account of a "revolution from below" that transpired during Allende's "revolution from above." It depicts the struggles of textile workers as they grew conscious of their class standing, became unionized and, ultimately, siezed control of the nation's most prominant mill. In the end, however, Winn demonstrates how the Yarur workers and the Popular Unity government imagined different Chilean roads to socialism, and how this divergence brought the social revolution and the Ex-Yarur mill to a tragic conclusion. It is a well-crafted and readible book...a "must" for any student of Latin American history, social revolution or Marxist theory.

This book was written by an honest and perhaps naive young woman and mother of two babies who with her husband sailed off on a true adventure as a family. Set in the early seventies, they left Gibraltar and sailed across the Atlantic ocean, the Caribbean, the vast Pacific Ocean to Australia and back to England through the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn. With two babies on board their 30 foot catamaran. The reader is taken along for the ride and shares their love, respect and awe of the Ocean. They may have started out perhaps a bit naive, but the reader can cetainly see how the family grows and learns together and share their adventures, joy, fears, illness, and much happiness. It is a happy book.

This book is charming, a bold adventure with two babies aboard a 30' catamarn sailed by an unassuming couple getting their feet wet for the first time. Europe to Australia and back by way of Cape Horn. A pleasure to read.

And she continues to solve mysteries -- but not by herself. This series, one of my favorites, seems unfortunately to be losing a little of its identity. As the character loses her independence, she's surrendering some of the feistiness that made the series what it is. In this entry, she starts taking direction from her future husband and, as she does so, she's losing me as a devoted fan. The book is also about 50 pages too long; during the long middle section, I kept finding myself setting it down and doing other things, restless for the book to get on with it. I wouldn't say I was really disappointed, because she's a great mystery writer. Rather, the book isn't faithful to what the series started out to be. I can't fault the author for wanting to take the character in a new direction -- it's up to us whether to follow or not. But, darn it, I really enjoyed the first books in the series. I hope the fun comes back in future books in the series.

This installment of the China Bayles mystery series brings China up against a killer who somehow killed a chili cook off judge. This sets her off on a quest to solve the murder while at the same time looking into allegations of abuse at the Manor, a rehabilitation/nursing home. Her fiance, McQuaid, is recovering at the Manor from being shot in an earlier story. Together they sort through the myriad of clues and false trails while sorting out their own personal life. As always, Ruby is there to assist China, I love her fiestiness and attitude. The mystery in this book almost takes second place to the story of McQuaid and China deciding what their future will be, but a slam bang finish wraps all the loose ends up in a surprising twist. I love visiting China's Texan world, to soak up good cooking and the fabulous Texan Hill country. A good read and good recipes!

An exceedingly clever Texas cozy mystery, featuring China Bayles, former lawyer turned herb shop owner, in what is about the middle of a series of books by Ms. Albert. The characterization and interaction of characters is exceptionally inspired and the reader really feels she knows these folks before the book is finished - they live and breathe - well, all except the corpse, who doesn't survive the chili tasting contest and who no one is particularly sorry to see go. While the writing is well above competency, the plot does meander quite a bit. The chili / chile trivia throughout the book was interesting enough that the spousal unit took heed, and the recipe for cake with cayenne pepper was also a huge success! I particularly appreciate that not only do I have more China Bayles books to look forward to, but also a very fun website to visit these new old friends. Not only did I learn a lot about herbs and what you can do with them, I'm also learning about chili/chile and thoroughly enjoying the work of an exceedingly talented and smart writer.

If you like books with recipes, and have exhausted this series, let me suggest and recommend WORLD OF PIES (also set in Texas) and the Dianne Mott Davidson books. And the wilder women out there, might want to try the two Sweet Potato Queen books.

I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Reding earlier this year, and as I chatted with him over some drinks, I was really struck hy the though, "This guy has led a really amazing life!" As a result, I went out and grabbed this book and as I read it, I became even more amazed.

Nick tells the story of his experiences in the Chilean Patagonia in a way that draw you in to every moment. The vividness of his writing and the beauty of some of his comparisons made this quite an enjoyable read. His attention to detail leaves the reader with a feeling that they are right there staring over Nick's shoulder as he goes about life in a very different part of the world.

Nick has that knack that some of the best writers have of being able to see the common thread that exists between very different experiences and places. This book is also extremely well researched with a lot of attention to historical detail, but this detail is not integrated in a dry textbook like manner. Instead when Nick feels it is neccessary to illuminate the reader about a particular piece of history to provide context for an event, he explains that history without distracting from the main storyline.

Overall, this is an excellent piece of writing and I look forward to future books by Nick (he assures me at least one more is on the way).

Nick Reding's book is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It gives the reader a well researched perspective on the power of modernization upon the isolated world of the gauchos in Chilean Patagonia. But it is more than a sociological study. It is also a very human story of a family that embodies the dissolution of a culture. This family brings both comedy and tragedy to the unraveling of this piece of history. I found myself so invested in these people by the end of the book that I didn't want it to end.

This is simply the best book I've read all year. It's the story of a guy who goes to Chile to work as a fishing guide and stumbles on an entire culture of people that history has overlooked--the Chilean gauchos. Most people would have thought, "Wow, that's pretty cool" and left it at that. It's a good thing for us that Nick Reding is a writer with an incredibly sharp and curious mind.

Reding returns to live among the gauchos (a cattle-herding people) in remote Chile, where he is exposed to their unique language, culture, and way of life. He stays with a family of five who come to represent many of the different stresses that the modern world places on a poor, rural people--depression, alcoholism, loneliness, desire for material comfort, etc. But Reding gets underneath a lot of this stuff to reveal the spirit of these people who have lived solitary lives in harmony with the stunning landscape for hundreds of years.

But don't think for a second that this is some dry sociological account. Reding is first and foremost a writer, and he focuses on the characters he meets and the many tiny plots that connect people and make up the narrative of a whole culture. He does an amazing job of drawing you in, making you care about the people in the book. He goes on harrowing cattle drives, travels to the mountain hideaways of a known criminal, and documents the way that the modern world is changing the gauchos' way of life.

Having just returned from Chile with this book as my primary reference guide, I found myself continually borrowing other guidebooks. Simply put, it contains too little information. I also found some of the authors' opinons a bit stronger than what I care to have when travelling an unfamiliar country. The two standards, Footprints and Lonely Planet, remain for me the best guides to South American travel. I regretted carrying this one along enough to have donated it to a hostal in Punta Arenas.

Admittedly, the guide takes a fun approach, and has interesting and readable content. However, because it lacks the depth of more veteran sources, I recommend this guide only as a supplemental reference.

Of all the guidebooks I read to prepare for a two week trip to the southern part of Chile - this one had me the most enthused about going. The descriptions in the book compel you to go to out of the way places I would have missed otherwise. It is not as detailed as the Rough Guide - but sometimes the zen for travel can be lost in the details. These authors have an obvious enthusiasm and love of this country. This feeling did not come across in many of the other guide books.

I bought a number of books for my trip to Chile and found this one to be the most helpful by far. I only had a few weeks and I needed some good input on how to spend my travel time. I appreciated this guide because it gave opinions and recommendations.

I think the authors and I have the same expectations for travel -- we seek out interesting places but also good food and comfortable (not necessarily fancy) lodgings. I'm definitely an indepedent traveler who likes to seek out new experiences. This guide led me perfectly along the way.

The boy was so funny and it kept it real .The boy was so true because man are just like she say . The book was just like the movie Two Can Play That Game just like the it kept it real .over all the book is funny and good.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. At last, someone gave us some serious commentary on what it is like to be Black in America. Let us never forget that there are factors bearing on African Americans that do not exist for any other race of people in America. Now, no one expected that this book would be a know-all, tell-all but it sure did cover a lot of areas.

What I would like to see this book and any other book by these authors-convey Iife seen from the Black point-of-view. Trust me, one needs to always know what the other may be thinking. How are you going to know if you do not read and study about them. In America, the society is structured to reveal what the majority in our society think and have not given much serious thought to what other may also be thinking. Woo is he.

Millner and Chiles took on an awesome task of travelling where no man had travelled before. Their tome is insightful, informative and creative. What is needed now is for other African Americans to get up off their butts and write and create that masterpiece that they are sitting on and share it with America. The time has truly come for them to take the driver's seat in designing their own destiny.

I GRABBED THIS BOOK FROM MY AFRICAN AMERICAN FRIEND, AS I WAS CURIOUS AND IT LOOKED FUN!! THIS BOOK IS HILARIOUSLY FUNNY AND CLEVER!! ANYONE CAN RELATE TO THE MALE/FEMALE RELATIONSHIP OBSTACLES IN THIS BOOK. ALSO, THE BOOK IS POLITICALLY CORRECT, CLEVER AND URBANE!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL WOMEN/MEN STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER!! 5 STARS!!!

Even though I believe that the Aubrey-Maturin series is one of the great works of prose fiction of the 20th century, the latest (and 20th) book in the series, Blue at the Mizzen, is a disappointment. Indeed the last few books in the series (starting with the Wine-Dark Sea, have gotten progressively weaker, but even they have always had many compelling pages. The great humor, the exciting naval action, the lovely historical feel, but above all the wonderful language and psychological acuity are missing here. The female characters are, no surprise, mere plot devices. (Both Sophie and Clarissa barely figure, and the smart and beautiful Mrs. Wood, who Maturin falls for, makes little sense as a character.) But the subordinate characters in general lack interest, even the prominently featured midshipman Hansen, the bastard son of the Duke of Clarence. The local color in early 19th century Chile seems washed out, insubstantial. Worst of all, the two principals are presented pro forma, as if O'Brian is just tired of them. While there is a satisfying (finally) move up to Admiral for Aubrey, the story (with no more Napoleonic foes, and no more money worries) has run out of gas. Is this the last of the novels? Aubrey-Maturin fans will be disappointed that we have lost track of Pullings, Babbington, Mowett, and Martin completely-what happened to them? Where oh where is to Aubrey's illegitimate son, Sam Panda, last seen in nesrby Peru-and why do Jack's thoughts never run to him? This is, of course, a must-read for Aubrey-Maturin fans, but compared to the invigorating, full-blooded novels in the series, this one reads like the weak, lukewarm tea that Jack and Stephen so detest.

The Hundred days read like a ghost-written book based on O'Brian's notes. The scene in the desert listening to lions was O'Brian's voice, pure and sweet. The rest was cloudy. I advised friends -don't waste your money.

Blue at the Mizzen (an Adm of the Blue broad flag flying at the mizzen - a squadron commander -as opposed to a "Yellow Adm " a passed over reject) is a saga worth buying. The sweet digressions are closely edited and battle scenes longer - this book sounds more like Alexander Kent than O'Brian.

From the wretched Hundred Days, a glow remains in the hearth. At his worst - and this certainly isn't - O'Brian is miles ahead of the competition.

The grief over a lost friend and (a little bit) a wife gets a mention here - response to the astonished reaction to the blaise reaction in the previous book?

I hope this is the last, before the embers die out completely. This is still O'Brian - not at his best - but still in the game.

The jacket cover picture is the best of the series

The Twentieth (and Final) novel in the Aubrey/Maturin series finds our heroes engaged in a solo night raid against the Spanish viceroy in Peru. The goal, as it has been for the last several books, is to help Chile gains its independence from Spain. On the personal side, Stephen Maturin is reconsidering marriage while Jack Aubrey dreams of finally becoming an Admiral. But as readers of this series are well aware, just because one of these books heads off in a particular direction is no guarantee it will ever reach any given destination.

I finished "Blue at the Mizzen" a week before the death of author Patrick O'Brian, having spent the entire summer reading the Aubrey/Maturin series from start to finish. There was speculation when the book was published that it might make the end of this most remarkable series because of O'Brian's failing health. However, the author was apparently well into his next novel when he passed away.

In hindsight it is certainly remarkable that "Blue at the Mizzen" will be the final book in the series. The series does indeed a high water mark of a sort and I must express my wish that O'Brian had picked a different title in regards to that particular point. The novel begins with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, which is also significant, for Jack Aubrey is very much a creature of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Although Aubrey and his particular friend Stephen Maturin had never been in the forefront of the war effort, it was against that larger backdrop that O'Brian set his novels. Whatever adventures lay ahead, they would most surely have been of a different cut of cloth. Consequently, while I will miss the novels that would have been followed this one, I am satisfied that there is a completeness to the epic.

To underscore this idea I ask you to read the final chapter of this novel and to recognize the inherent rightness in the final words of Jack Aubrey upon the printed page.

Final Note: While I give this particular novel 4 Stars the entire series. Remember: YOU MUST READ THESE NOVELS IN ORDER. This is not Horatio Hornblower.

Its springtime and relationship novels are in full bloom and overabundance. Denene Millner and Nick Chiles have decided to dun their non-fiction hat and give us a "He Say, She Say" storyline.

Meet Randy & Mikki Murphy. A young married couple...who're not very happy with each other. Randy, an advertising executive, is on a three-month temporary assignment in Paris while his wife, Mikki, feels left behind in NYC. Of course, she could have been in Paris with her husband but she decided to stay behind and run her bridal boutique. While Randy is in Paris he has asked his best friend, Marcus, who's divorced, to look out for his wife Mikki. Marcus and Mikki form a vicarious bond. Additionally, while Mikki is worried whether her marriage will survive she also has to contend with the crumbling marriage of her parents. For Mekhi life is one lesson after another of "why did I even wake up today."

LDLHA is a well-written book but it wasn't very compelling. The characters seemed stiff and lifeless; and they weren't very likable. From page one it was obvious that Randy & Mikki didn't belong together. So when things started to spiral out of control it was difficult to feel any type of emotions for either of these characters...and easy to say "Enuf Already." And then there was Marcus...I wish his character was more flushed out. I knew who he was but I didn't understand why he did the things he did. It was like he appeared and disappeared in the same instance without any explanation as to his reason for being.

LDLHA is for anyone who's an avid fan of relationship novels...for those who want a more compelling and engrossing read...one that covers different territory... then this might not be the book for you.

Love Don't Live Here Anymore. We have heard the song of woe and pain. Another man, another woman feels they have been abandoned in their relationship. This novel captures the essence of a love and marriage gone sour and the path that has brought it to this point.

Husband and wife authors Milner and Chiles, who are known for their nonfiction- he said/she said books on love and relationships, employ the same technique in their first novel. We hear from Randy first, who is in Paris as an advertising executive. He left his disgruntled wife Mekki, a dress designer, back home lonely, frustrated, and dissatisfied. Meanwhile Mekki finds solace in the arms of Marcus, Randy's best friend. A trip to Paris to try to repair the damage that has already been done proves to be disastrous. Can this marriage be saved?

I loved the writing, style and the voices of Randy and Mekki. We got to see their less than perfect personas. All of their fears, dreams, and fantasies were revealed. I didn't always like these characters. In fact, I spent a great deal of time cursing Mekki under my breath. Randy is an overachiever yet he has insecurities and sensitivities that most men will not admit to. I often wondered how these two got together in the first place (he wants children, she does not) because it seemed there was little communication to begin with. A secondary story line involving Mekki's parents' crumbling long time marriage is also a lesson about how precarious and vulnerable our relationships can be.

For me this was a mature read though the protagonists were in their late 20s, early 30s. It methodically detailed a message that was conveyed throughout the novel. Most couples do not put enough time and energy into making a marriage work (divorce statistics prove that). I enjoyed the glimpses of Paris and the differences in work ethics of the French and the Americans as well as the office politics. The one blight for me was Marcus and his reasons for stabbing his best friend in the back. I felt his character was underdeveloped because I had to make assumptions as to why. I gave this book a 4.5 rating but because of this detail I didn't feel comfortable rounding it up to a 5 for this review.

Dera Williams
APOOO Book Club

This novel gives the account of a couple different viewpoints on their marriage. The big question is whether or not their marriage can survive a long distance relationship when Randy is sent to Paris by the ad agency he works for. This leaves Mikki at home thousands of miles away. She's scared and she's lonely and she needs comforting. Now, add infidelity into the mix, then what happens?

Both characters have different viewpoints on what is happening to their marriage, which has been shaky, even before the separation. I think the authors did a great job of getting the reader into the heads of the characters and letting the readers in on the thought process of both characters.

Not only are Mikki and Randy interesting characters. They have some good secondary characters with Angelou and Zaria. Mikki's parents have their own interesting story. Altogether these people will keep you interested and wanting to know more in this thought provoking book.

Chilean Kitchen: Authentic, homestyle foods, regional wines, and culinary traditions of Chile

By Ruth Van Waerbeek-Gonzalez

Reviewed by Liz Waters Copyright 1999, All Rights Reserved

Touted as the first comprehensive, contemporary cookbook of Chilean cuisines, this book proves that there is a lot more to Chilean cuisine that sea bass. Like other South American cuisines, Chile's is complex as it is a fusion of European, American and native American cuisines, utilizing native ingredients and the traditions of the many cultures whose explorers visited this land that lies between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Tastes from the mountains and the seacoasts merge in many unique and exciting dishes.

The book also recommends exquisite Chilean wines to accompany the meals presented in it. Ms. Waerbeek-Gonzales has definitely opened some culinary doors with this exciting new book

I preordered this a few months ago, while looking for books on Chilean cooking. It was a very pleasant surprise when the book arrived this week.

I cannot over emphasize how good this book is! While my wife brought several cookbooks from her native Chile, we've frequently been challenged to find many ingredients here in the US. With this book I can now prepare all of my Chilean favorites. THANK YOU to Ruth Van Waerebeek for this stellar work!

To be clear: this is far more than just a book full of recipes. Wonderfully organized and illustrated, each recipe includes engaging stories about the culture and culinary traditions of Chile. Special sections provide great detail on the unique ingredients and cooking techniques of Chile, and let us norteamericanos know where to find these foods (or close substitutions) in our local markets.

This book is a pleasure to read; the recipes are well detailed and easy to follow (with ingredient names in English and US measures); full of compelling stories. This is the only cookbook that I've ever read cover to cover.

Ruth Van Waerebeek-Gonzalez beautifully combines her affection and passion for Chile with her talents as a top-rate chef and foods author to deliver the definitive English text on Chilean cuisine. I plan to buy several more copies to share with my friends and family, to further introduce them to delicious Chilean cooking.

I have also read _Three Generations of Chilean Cuisine_ by Mirtha Umana-Murray. While this is a good book, _The Chilean Kitchen_ is by far the better work.

VIVA CHILE!

Delicious, rustic, unpretentious, heartfelt, real. Those are some of the adjectives that Ruth Van Waerebeek-González's The Chilean Kitchen brings to the mind of this non-chef reader. The love of the land and of the people seems to have led the author to the wonderful flavors found in the family kitchens where food is shared "in the Chilean style, celebrating their simplicity and serving them with a big heart." The recipes are easy to follow and authentic; they invariably evoke in me vivid images of wonderful meals around my grandmother's table as they bring up the hearty and delicious flavors of long ago. Chilean cuisine sometimes requires quite a bit of patience, yet other times a delicious dish can be produced with little effort. Whatever the case, the gustatory results are beautifully rewarding.

Van Waerebeek-González acknowledges that no two Chilean cooks will agree on any one way to prepare certain dishes, but her recipes do get to the heart of the real Chilean cuisine. I thought the book was, in its own way, an ode to the Chilean kitchen as Neruda's Odas Elementales are to bountiful vegetables and to "caldillo de congrio," a translation of which is found on pp. 114-115. I love the introductions to each recipe: They prepare your senses while providing you with cultural as well as emotional involvement. The sections on Chilean fruits and wines-"the fruits of the vine"-are very informative and provide yet another avenue to cultural appreciation of a country of majestic mountains, prodigious gardens, and generous Pacific waters. This extraordinary lady from Ghent, Belgium, found in Chile the land she had never known but had always loved and wanted to go back to. The Chilean Kitchen is the fruit of that love.

I'm a chilean young. I read "Mala Onda", when I was 17, I thinked that so cool. After that, I followed the Fuguet's suggestion about to read "The Catcher in the Rye".It's his "Bad Vives"' inspiration. Can you get something more with Bad Vives? I don't think so... This year, I'm 21, I read Ch. Bukowski. Fuguet is just a bad copy of Salinger and Bukowski. I think he took classes with them to learn to write. (If you have read Salinger or Bukowski it isn't so new) I don't wanna read Fuguet's book anymore. You will know: Salinger+Bukowski ==> Fuguet. But he (Fuguet) will never be like one of them (the american Masters).

OK. first than anything, i got to say that Alberto (the author), have an exelent style on his writing and you can see it on Bad vibes, and if you know spanish, you also can read Bad vibes on this idiom. The name of the book?... MALA ONDA.

When i say that Alberto Fuguet have an exelent narrative, if you want to, i mean that he writes as he wants, not following any rules of the chilean literature, and that is something cool for the young people of this country, and my opinion is based on my own experience as a chilean teenager reading somebody that speaks as any person of my age, making the book easy to understand. I also think that the idea to edit the book for the "gringos" was cool 'cause it deserves it, i mean that the message in the book, as i see it, is an x-ray of the damn culture of those years here, in chile, and gives you an idea of somebody like Matìas Vicuña, trying to live a complicated life, doing it in the wrong way sometimes but giving that perfect example for the people that read Bad vives to make a meditation of his own life. that is my vision, that is the main idea of my comment, not forgeting to tell'ya that this book is very fun too. Read it, if you are not chilean, it will be a lot better, if you look to expand your vision of the world, the life, the people...i don`t know. Bye.

I lived in Chile two years ago and the book everybody was reading was Alberto Fuguet's MALA ONDA or Bad Vibes. I'm so excited i's finally coming out in English. It's a very cool, contemporary politcal story told by this rich kid who hates disco music, dances during the curfew, hangs out with surfers, snorts his dad's coke and reads american books and magazines. Bad Vibes is a fresh hurrican to come out of the typical magical realistic Southamerican landscape. This book is hip, real, funny and emotionally compelling. It's quite american and, on the other hand, it's so chilean. It's wierd how a dictatorship can affect a teenager's view. Matías Vicuña (the narrator) is still a teenage though, no matter what he sees. He just has to cope. I really recommend it. Ralph Anderson, Tucson, AZ