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The Paraguayan War: A Captivating Guide to a South American War Called the War of the Triple Alliance between Paraguay and the Allied Countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay

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Explore the captivating history of a war that often isn’t mentioned in US textbooks.

The Paraguayan War of 1864–1870 was the bloodiest war between nations in South American history. Discover how tiny Paraguay had a tyrant with a giant ego and the largest army on the continent and how and why he invaded Brazil and Argentina. Learn about the biggest naval battle in South America’s history and about the Paraguayan fortress called South America’s Gibraltar.

You’ll also learn about how the king of Portugal moved to Rio de Janeiro with his court to escape Napoleon and how he declared Brazil to be co-equals with Portugal. Learn how his son and grandson became emperors of the independent Empire of Brazil.

Find out about Eliza Alice Lynch, the woman from Ireland who was a tyrant’s lover and owned more property than any other woman in the world. You’ll be captivated by her outrageous love for a murderous tyrant and how she followed him to his death, burying him and her oldest son in a grave she dug in the mud with her bare hands.

In this book, you will learn about the Jesuit missions to the Guaraní, an independent theocracy unique in history;Dr. José Gaspar de Francia, or El Supremo, who required foreign visitors to stay in Paraguay for the rest of their lives;Carlos Antonio López, El Excelentisimo, who grew so fat he could not ride a horse;Francisco Solano López, El Mariscal, who thought firing squads were a waste of bullets and had executions done by bayonet or machete;How Uruguay and Paraguay survived being bordered by superpowers;How an army of boys and old men continued a war for more than a year;How Paraguay managed to survive despite 90 percent of its men being killed in the war;And so much more!
Click the “add to cart” button to learn more about this relatively unknown but thoroughly interesting war!

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2023

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Captivating History

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Stian.
50 reviews20 followers
December 2, 2024
Since this one doesn't have a review yet, I'll give it a go.

Its a simple (simplistic) little guide into what the Paraguayan War/The War of the Triple Alliance was all about, with an historical build-up that gives some context to the region/time period.

These guides are sold on the cheap or given away for free and for me acts as a quick read on a subject when I don't have the time to sink my teeth into a full book on a subject (yet).
However the writing quality leaves a lot to be desired and the trust-ability is below that of a Wikipedia article. In fact, the writing is below that of a Wikipedia article, I would say that it reads like a paper submitted by a high-schooler at times.
I'll give you an example:

"The Allies had grossly underestimated the Paraguayans. Paraguay’s best general, José Díaz, was in command. Díaz had no military experience before the war began, but he emerged as an aggressive and canny commander. Instead of the anticipated victory, the attackers were shot to pieces as they made attack after attack. The battle was made worse by Díaz’s poor leadership."

Huh? Which is it?
Is Díaz a talented, canny commander or is he a poor leader?

Other times the author(s?) refers to mere rumours, I found these to be somewhat annoying and distracting, as there were too many of them in the text.
Stick with the facts please, less rumour and tabloid.

So, my expectations were rather low going into it, it cost me little and I got away with more knowledge than before, so that's OK=2*.
Profile Image for Jarrod Keeling.
13 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2023
Very easy read (less than 100 pages), but the book is a Wikipedia page in print. You could use this as a broad introduction to the War of the Triple Alliance, but take some of the information with a grain of salt.

If you are just looking for an outline of the war to guide deeper research, save yourself the money and read the Wikipedia page.
Profile Image for Tom Sweeney.
Author 1 book
February 28, 2026
Informational and Engaging

This is a quick, easy to read history book written in an engaging way. The author offers multiple accounts of how some events may have happened, rather than picking one way and presenting it as fact. I will definitely check out some of the author's other books in this series.
97 reviews2 followers
April 3, 2024
Engaging coverage of yet another tragic and senseless loss of life for a vast proportion of Paraguays population. Yet another example of power hungry elites seeking domination and fortune at the expense of the masses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
269 reviews1 follower
May 24, 2023
Interesting

Honestly I knew nothing about this conflict so this book was all new material for me. Now I want to learn more about it
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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