Review by Choice Review
A colorful life-and-times biography of the Argentine dictator, Juan Per;on, written by a man whose primary career experience has been in the public sector as a corporate legal counsel, and in private law practice. Crassweller uses a mixture of primary and secondary sources. He has relied heavily on despatches from the US Embassy in Buenos Aires available in the National Archives, as well as post-1955 materials made accessible through the Freedom of Information Act. Crassweller's writing style is chatty and descriptive as he details Per;on's career from his rise to power in 1943 through his death in 1974. There is little sophisticated analysis. Per;on is explained thinly as a product of his civilization, shaped by Hispanic traditions and the heritage of the pampa. Most suitable for public libraries. High school students and some undergraduates may benefit, mostly from the complete and up-to-date bibliography.-R.M. Levine, University of Miami
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Argentina is a society unique to itself; Crassweller sees its peculiarities reflected in, typified by, sustained by the most significant of all that nation's chief executives, Juan Domingo Pern (who wore the presidential sash from 1946 to 1955 and again from 1973 to 1974). Pern's successes, his failures, his and his wife Eva's place in Argentine legend are all considered in this intense probing of the man's relationship with the Argentine people. An impressive thinker and writer, Crassweller achieves an exacting and elegant assessment of what Pern meant to his country and vice versa. List of Argentina's presidents appended; sources; to be indexed. BH. 982'.062 Argentina History 1943- / Peron, Juan Domingo / Argentina History [OCLC] 86-5298
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
The author, a retired businessman, has brought the same biographical skills to Juan Peron used in his previous work on Trujillo. This book is likely to be compared with Joseph Page's outstanding Peron ( LJ 8/83). Crassweller's study, written in a lively, lucid style, complements Page's earlier biography. He stresses the cultural sources of Peron's personality more than Page, attributing his political behavior to a complex mixture of gaucho, pampa, and Hispanic values he labels as creole. The author successfully captures the essence of Peron in the larger context of Argentina, offering many insights during his years in exile and last term in office. Highly recommended. Roderic A. Camp, Latin American Studies Dept., Central Coll., Pella, Ia. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A combination history of Argentina and political biography of Juan Domingo Peron, from the author of Trujillo: The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator. After a brief rundown of the enigmas of Argentina (a nation that in 1928 ranked 8th in the world in per capita gross national product, but that today ranks 43rd) and of Peron (at once devious and straightforward: a mild-mannered man who could yet condone the greatest violence; a sober pragmatist who could yet be a bombastic orator), Crassweller looks at the first 400 years of Argentine history. Over it all, he defines a great rift that runs throughout--whether it be the dichotomy between the liberal democrats and the corporatist tradition, or that of modernism vs. traditionalism, or nationalism vs. internationalism, or--in Peron's case--the rift between liberalism and national populism. Peron, Crassweller notes, though he might be overshadowed in legend by his second wife, Evita, is still somewhat of a god-figure in Argentina (and one whose name will long be invoked for political purposes there). The author sees Peron's rise as a continuum with Argentina's history. It was, he writes, ""a renunciation of spiritual kinship with Europe and a cry for the truly indigenous, for Creole reality and Creole myth. . ."" (Evita he sees as ""the Ignatius Loyola of Peronism, a one-woman Jesuit Order. . .""). One of the better treatments of Peron and the land that spawned him. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
