Facundo: Or, Civilization and Barbarism

Ostensibly a biography of the gaucho barbarian Juan Facundo Quiroga, Facundo is also a complex, passionate work of history, sociology, and political commentary, and Latin America's most important essay of the nineteenth century. It is a study of the Argentine character, a prescription for the modernization of Latin America, and a protest against the tyranny of the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1835-1852). The book brings nineteenth-century Latin American history to life even as it raises questions still being debated today--questions regarding the "civilized" city versus the "barbaric" countryside, the treatment of indigenous and African populations, and the classically liberal plan of modernization. Facundo's celebrated and frequently anthologized portraits of Quiroga and other colorful characters give readers an exhilarating sense of Argentine culture in the making.

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Author: Domingo F. Sarmiento
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 10/01/1998
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.20w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780140436778
Audience: Young Adult

About the Author
An writer, educator, and activist, Domingo F. Sarmiento was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874.

Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and the author or editor of numerous books.