Breve Historia General de los Peruanos

by Fernando Rojas (Compiler), Various

Este libro resume con tono claro y apasionante la historia peruana desarrollada desde los primeros habitantes hasta nuestros días.

Narra inicialmente la formación de las primeras sociedades de América y cómo evolucionaron éstas en los Andes, y brinda un relato de la sorprendente conquista, por un puñado de hombres, del imperio más importante del Nuevo Mundo.

Desde el Perú colonial, que es la historia de mineros, hacendados, indios y esclavos que fueron sus principales protagonistas, hasta el nacimiento de una joven nación que labró su destino entre la ilusión y un sable, entre una tradición y una modernidad, el libro recorre varios siglos de turbulenta historia.

¿Cuáles son los desafíos del Perú en este siglo XXI? La respuesta sólo la encontraremos a través de su acontecer histórico, de sus grandes personajes y sus hechos históricos notables, que este libro consigue plasmar mediante una rigurosa selección de fuentes bibliográficas actualizadas que lo convierten en una verdadera obra de consulta.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

346 pages

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siempre que voy de viaje, intento comprar algún libro del país, ya sea de su historia o de alguno de sus autores. En este caso, este libro me lo regaló mi madre en una librería de la Plaza de Armas de Arequipa.

¿Por qué señalo esto? Porque mi conocimiento previo de las historias y los historiadores que las escriben -exceptuando casos particulares, y este no es uno de estos casos- no es muy amplio. Por lo que para mi, juzgar la capacidad de síntesis o de profundidad en la materia, se hace muy difícil al no tener conocimiento previo.

-Intermedio, increíble que sepa más de la historia de EEUU o de la Europa Occidental que la de un país vecino-

Con esto claro, es que me permito señalar que es un buen resumen de la historia política institucional del Perú -ya que estos libros, al tener acceso a internet hoy, se complementan con la propia investigación que hago al insertarme en el tema-, pero que carece de una prosa siquiera interesante. El escrito es tedioso a medida que avanzan las páginas, a la vez de registrar con muy poco interés la historia política más reciente del Perú -García, Fujimori, Toledo, García, apenas reciben atención-.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

En términos generales el libro cumple con la promesa hecha por su título, una introducción relativamente breve y asequible a la larga historia del Perú. Igualmente, fuera de una equívoca decisión editorial de defender el legado de Francisco Pizarro, Rojas llega a mantener una independencia de los conflictos de han caracterizado el estudio de la historia peruana y se limita a bosquejarlos y dar crónica de su auge y resolución. Finalmente, aunque hubiera deseado de un poco más de profundización en ciertas áreas, Rojas termina el libro dándole al lector una buena fuente bibliográfica con la cual continuar el estudio de la historia del Perú.

[Vaidas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Translation seemed awkward at times. Regarding the content, I think with the given material, the narrative could have been much more interesting. From the way that names, events and places keep popping up out of nowhere, it seems that either (a) the author assumes the reader already has some knowledge of Peruvian history, or (b) he has trouble narrating the story in a non-confusing way, or maybe (c) both of the above.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit difficult to follow as the content jumps around, various names are used for the same people and organizations. The sad part is that in the end, it seems that Peru has never enjoyed a stable government for any length of time.

[Peter A · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the benefits and joys for me of traveling to different locations is learning more about world we live in, and the history and cultures of the places and people we encounter when traveling. I try to learn more before and during a trip, about a place and its history.

Recently we visited Peru, with the goal of seeing Machu Picchu. We fortunately took our time getting there and getting back, thus seeing and experiencing more than the spectacular scenery of the Inca ruins. Regarding Machu Picchu I had already read the excellent book by Mark Adams, “Turn Right at Machu Picchu” (which you can find in many book stores and airports in Peru). When visiting the first bookstore (in Lima), in search of a “mystery” by any Peruvian author, I came across the current book, A Brief History of Peru.

Let me start with its strengths: It is a very clever idea of compiling content from different sources to give an overview of the country. The source materials seem to be solid. The structure of the book is also very good, based on five parts (and several sections in each part)
• First: An overview of the geography and cultures pre-Inca
• Second: The Inca history, myth, society, commerce
• Third: The conquest by the Spanish (1532), focusing a great deal on Francisco Pizzaro
• Fourth: Colonial Rule (until about 1820)
• Fifth: Independence to present (until about 2007) [This section consumes about half of the book]

For me, there were several interesting aspects (components) of the book: I gained an understanding of the Inca society and how it worked, and in many ways how there was plenty of food for all; and that the Inca civilization had adopted many of the strengths and beliefs of earlier civilizations (building, the belief system of bird, puma and snake to represent heaven earth and the underworld); the portrayal of Francisco Pizzaro was quiet sympathetic (I was surprised); and long story of 20th century politics, and in particular of one figure, Raúl Haya de la Torre, who emerged early (1920), helped found a key political party in Peru (American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA)) and only at the end was able to secure an election (1979) as president of the constitutional assembly, and signed on his death bed a new constitution. The book also talks about the oscillation between civilian and military rule, and about the oligarchy obstructing the progress of modernization (and engagement of the greater population). The book also covered the Shining Path movement and Alberto Fujimori presidency. It seems that persistence in Peruvian politics can pay off (note above Haya de la Torre, and also Alan Garcia Pérez (president twice) ….

The negatives:
First, there is some poor editing of facts (see page 157, where Napoleon invades Spain in 1880 – it was 1808).

Second, there are places where the translation could be improved (see page 243, next to last sentence of the paragraph).

Finally, there are places where some names are mentioned without context.

The first and third of these issues makes on pause about what one can believe about the facts conveyed in the book.

However, overall, I believe that this is a worthwhile read, given it gives a glimpse mostly into leadership of Peru over many centuries, into challenges that continue to face Peru, and of course, into its rich history.

My rating would be 3.5 if I could give it, but will give 4 stars.

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 4 out of 5]

About what you'd expect for something of that title and page number. Not the best historical book you're going to read, but if you choose this it's because you want the quick review and not an in depth study. This is sufficient for that purpose. It does focus more on the politico-economic history of Peru and I did feel like it was too brief in parts. We miss the infamous story about Atahualpa's capture, development of Peruvian art, music, and film as well as things as significant as potatoes which originated in the Lake Titicaca region at over 4,000 different types. I see some people complain about insufficient explanations for some of the figures named. I didn't feel that way, partly because the purpose is to be brief and if they were important we would get more and some probably got more than they needed. But also because I read this after being in Cusco for four months and seeing every museum so I'm already familiar with the names. It also has some English errors, being translated from Spanish, but none of the problems of the book really bothered me. I did appreciate the objectivity, where he frequently states that there is debate on the subject. I would've like more connecting to sources and talk about method. What shocked me about reading this was the ridiculous amount of dictators this country has gone through. Basically since the monster of colonialism left up to the 21st century, Peru cycled through coups and dictators like popcorn. That's like 200 years of constant turmoil. The book passes over each of these quickly so it might be easy to miss the tragedy each one posed, thankfully, they appear to be out of it for now and the terrorist group called the Shining Path is fading. Hopefully it stays that way.

[Adelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

My partner is Peruvian and I wanted a crash course in the national and cultural history. It definitely delivers that but the material is very dry and dense, and does not cover the topics evenly. The book is also translated, and I don’t think the translation was very refined - a lot of sentences were difficult to follow and occasionally misleading. Nonetheless it’s a perfect way-finding book for other Peruvian topics to explore. I found my greatest fascination was with the pre-colonial societies of the Inca and the Chimu, which were naturally very adapted to the unique terrain and climate of the region, and had impressive traditions of seafaring, agriculture, commerce, engineering, and social management. I also found the liberation/enlightenment period very interesting, the era for seeking to establish a modern, independent Peruvian identity, a goal which naturally gave birth to the nation’s first generation of homebred artists and intellectuals (homebred to varying degrees of course). The book also taught me terminology about the social classes of Peru and gave me new perspective and understanding on matters of race and class in both the Peruvian and global context. In summary, the book was very useful to me and I hope to learn more about Peruvian history and culture - it is a real honour and joy to be newly connected to it on a personal level.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read to learn about the diverse history of Peru. Like some of the Eastern European countries, Peru can mostly be considered an eternal country in transition. While this book was translated from Spanish, it did a good job in making it clear and keeping it in small chunks.

I was fascinated to read how much the country relied on guavo in the 1800s for their finances. Amazing to think how many tons of that the shipped out to the world. Then lots of military and dictatorship unrest, which I would expect.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho este libro. Me parece una muy buena primera toma de contacto con la historia peruana ya que recoge todas las fases importantes de su historia de una manera muy clara, breve y fácil de leer. Normalmente encuentro los libros de historia aburridos y difíciles de leer pero éste lo disfruté mucho.

[Karolis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of Peruvian history, but I found the text to be pretty stale and had to force myself to keep picking up this book. The facts and research are interesting and that's what kept me coming back, but the book lacked a good author's touch of making it a more enjoyable read.

[John Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry. Focused mostly on political activities, very little discussion on social issues except as they had an impact on politics. The author assumed that the reader has some basic knowledge of Peruvian history and geography.

[Lavinia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was too much like a boring school book. A drag to read, despite the fact that I love that country.