Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina

Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina, was by far the best book I have ever read on the subject of Juan Peron. It was so refreshing to read a well researched book on the facts, rather than innuendos and/or propaganda. I have read every book ever written, in English, on Juan and on Eva Peron, but nothing came close to this book in raw unbiased knowledge on the subject. The book is written by a Harvard professor, and I wouldn't describe it as an easy read, but a great read on the subject. If you have any interest in Evita, Juan Peron and/or Argentina this book is a must read. I wish this book was only volume one in a ten volume series, that's how much I enjoyed it.

I have read most of the biographies available on Juan Perón, and I must say that this is by far the most culturally sensitive one I have ever found. This author helps to dispel many of the misconceptions about Juan Perón, who he was, and what he accomplished in Argentina. This book says that many of Juan Perón's failures and successes were pre-determined by his culture. The author then traces that culture back to its genesis with the Castile in Spain. This author's description of the Castile value systems and customs is very insightful and eloquent. This book has so much breadth and depth and cultural understanding that it is amazing. This book has helped me greatly even in my own personal life because, though I am not Argentine, I am a part of the Hispanic Creole tradition that the author says Juan Perón belonged to, and this culture is often misunderstood. My Grandfather was from Mexico. The confusion that occurred in Argentina in regard to the Peróns is the same confusion that I have dealt with all my life. This book says that there are largely two worlds at work in Argentina: the Hispanic Creole world, and the Anglo world. I have lived within these two worlds myself, though I have done so in the United States. The misunderstandings that can occur between these two worlds, the lack of communication, can often be very painful and difficult. This book has truly helped me to understand and resolve many conflicts and confusions, including understanding my own father. This book has given me deep insight into myself, and has helped me understand and identify the common themes that run throughout all of Hispanic cultures and countries.This author uses Evita herself as an example of cultural misunderstandings, and says that her legacy and behavior was often misinterpreted. He says she lived and died as a testimony to "the inability of one ethos truly to understand another." Even Evita's dying in public was an aspect of the Hispanic Creole preoccupation with death and the splendor and dignity associated with it, it was a public confirmation of devotion to her people. Those outside of this tradition did not hold this view of death and looked upon Evita's public dying as merely a sickening and morose political ploy, a desperate and offensive last-ditch cry for political propaganda. The author refers to such misunderstandings as "the legacy of incomprehension." It is this "lacuna," this cultural misunderstanding, that led to many other grossly inaccurate "projections" onto Perón and Evita by their opposition and foreigners. The most common of these "projections" being the belief, still held by some, that Perón and Evita were fascists and nazis, thus: "Peronism was not fascism . . ." [page 220]; "Peronism was not nazism . . . 'there is less anti-semitism in Buenos Aires (in the 1940s) than in New York City'" [page 221]; "The names of Perón and Evita were everywhere . . . (t)he domestic opposition to Perón found all of this distressing, and so did general o

The book commences with a retrospective analysis -- thorough and complete -- of Argentina's history from viceroyalty to Peron. It traces the deep social roots of Spanish conquest and creole development within Argentine society. These concepts build upon one another in an outstanding work that explains Peron, his politics, his psychology, his return to the Casa Rosada from exile, and his country. There are too many historical/political characters for the first-time Latin American history reader, but definitely recommended to all interested in the region's past which somehow lingers on.