A Short History of Guatemala

by Ralph Lee Woodward Jr.

In A SHORT HISTORY OF GUATEMALA, Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr. (Ph.D., Tulane University, 1962) briefly synthesizes the exciting history of Guatemala from its ancient Maya heritage to the present. Based on nearly a half-century of research on the history of this Central American republic, the work highlights the political, economic,and social evolution of Guatemala, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With keen insight into the struggle for economic and social development since national independence in 1821, Woodward offers a new interpretation of the country's past and present.

Genres: History

206 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2005

Reviews

[Jan Notzon]

I found this to be a quite serviceable general history of Guatemala. It didn't go into a lot of detail or sociopolitical analysis but it was, in my opinion, reasonably objective, without a lot of tendentiousness.

I guess I would have appreciated a bit more analysis of the psychosocial effects of Spanish conquest and the rather rigidly hierarchical social system it imposed. But then it was a "short" history of Guatemala and, as such, on the mark.

[Jonathan Colan]

A perfectly serviceable quick reference. I read it in advance of my first visit to Guatemala and I’m glad I got a chance to learn a little about the country. But it got bogged down in too much political minutia when more attention to broader themes and events would’ve been more interesting and helpful.

[Jordan Neben]

A concise yet informative history of Guatemala starting with pre-Columbian civilizations and working all the way to the mid 2000's. This book is an excellent way to get your foot in the door when it comes to learning Guatemalan and Central American history.

[Kayla K]

This book is just kinda confusing , I don’t find myself wanting to read it

[Kristīne Līcis]

My numerous travels to Guatemala are reflected in numerous books on Guatemala that I've bought in the last 10 years. This one is a very short history, and unbalanced at that, skimming over the Mayan period in barely 10 pages, as if the real history started with the Spanish conquest. Also, the text is unstructured and somewhat chaotic, at times repetitive and even contradictory.

But the book does give the rough time-line (Mayan period, the Conquest, the Federal Republic of Central America, the Republic of Guatemala) other books will help to fill, and some of the observations are very interesting. The one I found most relevant was on the city-state structure of Mayan society (as opposed to strongly centralised state the Inca had), which, on the one hand, helped Maya resist the conquest for much longer than Inca or Aztecs could, but, on the other hand, since "the Maya worldview is oriented toward family and community, not toward the nation, which is alien to him or her" and "Each village is a complete unit, with only secondary ties to other places and to the national structure", it has resulted in "cultural barriers that separate them from “modern” Guatemala". This division persists into 21st century.

"The enchanting Central American country of Guatemala is at the same time both unique and remarkably representative of Latin America."

[Raul]

xcellently written: Mr. Woodward breezes through the history of Guatemala, highlighting not just events but the currents and influences that shaped these, producing a highly readable document, one that adds substantially to the understanding of the country as it exists today. It is ideal for students, travelers, and businessmen who are both new to the subject and don't have the interests of a scholar, but for those who wish to delve further, he supplies and in-depth bibliography. However, for those who have read other histories of that country, they will either admire or resent his neutrality. In writing his history Mr Woodward is trying to explain how things happened, rather than prove a point. For example, his section on the American overthrow of the government of Arbenz provides an excellent review of the context that led to this American intervention, but refrains from expressing judgments - he lets the reader decide for himself.

[Jack Lindgren]

I read this before and during a ten day trip to Guatemala last summer. It's a little (read "very") dry and focuses a lot on economic development through the centuries (which I admit I find incredibly boring), but if you want something more in-depth than the History section of your Lonely Planet guide, this is pretty much the only game in town (surprisingly). It gives less attention than I would have liked to the twentieth-century (I would have liked to know more about what it was like in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, but that's my own pet-interest bias) and more than I could handle to the colonial period (again, not a bad thing if you're into that). It does have illustrations, which is nice, and it's short (less than 200 pages) and it's very readable (no wasted words).

[Bethany Stoelting]

True to its word, this is an excellent SHORT history of Guatemala. The summary offers much clarity and great background for those desiring to delve deeper into Guatemala's fascinating history. It lacked detail in some areas that I found most crucial (such as the civil war and contemporary years post-la violencia), but the concise nature of the piece makes it easy to understand the basics before exploring more on your own. Woodward's extensive knowledge of the colonial years shines through in this history.

[Julia]

Decent, though a bit heavy in what I feel were unnecessary details.

[John Rymer]

Just ok.

[Jenee Antoniu]

Very good overview...a hard (boring) read with lots of names, but informative.