Review by Choice Review
This is a meticulous, almost day-to-day account of the extensive, vengeful behavior of the Chilean military under General Augusto Pinochet (1973-89). Besides the systematic destruction of Communist and Socialist party leadership, Ensalaco describes the fate of smaller parties, including the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) and the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front. Courageous, if often circumvented, efforts by human rights organizations are described from early on in the dictatorship. One little slip: Socialist leader Ricardo Lagos is included as among the "disappeared." Lagos is now president of Chile and pressing hard to clear up the military's "night and fog" to bring more killers to trial. Fortunately, the author's skepticism about "the extent of possible justice in Chile" may be misplaced. Mary Helen Spooner covers similar territory in Soldiers in a Narrow Land (CH, Oct'94). Recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above. E. M. Dew; Fairfield University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
