I have always admired Romulo Betancourt from what I have read and heard about him. I decided it was time to read a biography, funny enough I was looking for one in spanish without any luck in the web (I found later that Manuel Caballero wrote one), but I found this one in English. What I liked the most about the book is that it is very well documented and facts are well supported. I liked also the structure and how the author chose what issues to write about and dedicate special attention. One thing to keep in mind is that the author was friends of Romulo, so I am wondering if this biased a little the approach of some of his conclusions. I am eager to read another biography and research on some of the bibliography he is referencing to, then I can draw my own conclusions.

Other than that, the book is very well written with so much information in it that I had to read some parts twice to digest it properly.

A deep and dramatic treament of one of the world major weave. A professional, and at the same time hearted, approach with great a level of concern.

After reading this book I understand why Chavez did what he did, and why people still want change.

I recommend this book to anyone who will be spending considerable time in Venezuela. It is useful for a tourist, but essential for someone going there to live! I spent 18 months in Venezuela very recently and I read this book before I went. It helped to cushion the CULTURE SHOCK and make it humorous instead of shocking.

If you are planning on visiting Venezuela or if you are just interested in finding out about the Venezuelan culture, I would reccomend this book to you. It is a perfect account of what my experience was like. However, if you are a wild spirit and you wish to have an untainted experience of the country...then I would not reccomend this book to you. Because it is so accurate, it might spoil the fun of your adventure. I enjoyed this book very much. It helped me to understand the people and why they are how they are.

I spent eight months teaching English in Caracas two years ago. I spent nearly as much time trying to find a guide to the country that would tell me what I needed to know as a foreigner. I picked up this book out of curiosity and perhaps out of snobbery... I had been there, so what could a mere book tell me? I was wrong. I learnt a lot and found myself smiling in agreement at some of the situations it described as I had been through them myself. While I could have done without the history section, the rest of it was right on the button. An excellent guide to a country that is very alien to a Northern European person like myself. Excellent.

This book provides an iron-clad explanation for the failure of oil exporters - especially developing nations - to use their raw material blessings as a lever for improvement. The author provides outstanding comparisons among oil exporters, along with amazing parallels to the Spanish empire. There's an important point here about how human nature and government limitations often doom these "blessed" countries to failure. Call it the King Midas effect...

On the downside, her point is clearly made in the first 50 pages. In the remainder of the book the author goes into too much detail regarding the political evolution of Venezuela. And she fails to end with a reader-friendly synopsis or a glimpse of the future.

With today's troubles in the Mideast, this book could have been a lay-reader best seller. Unfortunately the author's writing is aimed more toward Political Science professors than the general public. Still worth the purchase, however.

"[A]fter benefiting from the largest transfer of wealth ever to occur without war, why have most oil-exporting developing countries suffered from economic deterioration and political decay?" In her long-awaited study, Karl offers a sophisticated cross-cultural reply to this question, focusing on the capital-deficit countries of Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Finding inadequate the existing explanations that focus almost exclusively on economic disruption (the "Dutch Disease"), she notes the deep social and political roots of the problems and adds these much-needed dimensions to the discussion.

Her complex argument boils down to this: oil booms (like all commodity booms) put enormous power in the hands of the state that suddenly has vast sums at its disposal. "How these states collect and distribute taxes, in turn, creates incentives that pervasively influence the organization of political and economic life and shapes government preferences to respect to public policies." In other words, "the origin of a state's revenues influences the full range of its political institutions." What appears to be a chance to do almost anything, it turns out, is in fact a very circumscribed choice.

Though a Latin American specialist, Karl understands the Algerian and Iranian encounters with oil and has insights to offer all those who study Middle Eastern oil states-as well as those who lead them.

Middle East Quarterly, December 1997

This book is a good contribution to the scholarship of one-good exporters, such as oil for many Middle Eastern countries and Venezuela. The author focuses on Venezuela, with occasional reference to other countries.

The main thesis is that aside from the traditional Dutch disease of such intense exporters, there is an organizational component in the downfall of such plenty. For example, she argues that a large self-serving infrastructure and bureaucracy is built around the "pot of gold". She argues this may be one of the main causes that coutnries squander such valuable resources without ever refocusing them on the development of people (health and education) or the country's economy (such as through the extension of value-added activities).

Overall, an interesting proposition, though I am not sure this is a phenomenon unique to countries faced with the plenty of oil or other products. It is a strong case that inefficiencies are added through bureaucracies, but I still believe much of the damage is caused by the traditional Dutch disease.

This is a book which warrants reading twice. This is because the first time you find yourself so anxious to learn the outcome of its human drama that you don't thoughtfully absorb the vivid descriptions of rural Venezuela.

"The Hacienda" is a memoir that reads more like fiction than the actual experiences of a young woman. The author's naivete and the reality of her husband, and the other central characters both seem implausible and from another era; one could imagine this story being written by Emily Bronte. It is hard to believe that a contemporary from London could have gotten herself into such a situation, and I found myself checking several times to verify that what transpired actually occurred in the '70's. Additionally, it was hard to imagine that any part of Venezuela would remain this feudal, much less an affluent, "aristocratic" family largely anchored in Caracas.

This is a tale of ongoing abuse, brutality, resilience, and survival. One gets the impression that the author must be made of granite; however, the reader also feels incredible frustration that she could have allowed herself to remain mired for so long in such an oppressive, primitive, and menacing environment. The author depicts her daily plight through oblique correspondence to her mother in England, and reveals a stoic, pragmatic approach of day to day coping, while ignoring and indirectly enabling the ugly brutality of her schizophrenic husband. Perhaps this is primarily a memoir of how victims sustain the conditions which subject them.

Her descriptions of "el gente" at Hacienda Santa Rita are a fascinating glimpse of feudal rural Latin America. This is an interesting book, but a tense read. It is interesting and rivetting, but not a relaxing experience.

I do live a very few hours away from where the action of this book takes place. Since I read it I have not checked the place out but found some people that actually corroborated part of the story. This is why I reluctantly give it 5 stars. In spite of a certain inconsistency through the book, a few misplaced left leanings comment, a hard to believe naivete, the books stands firm as a good representation of Venezuelan rural mores, and a heartfelt memoir. Now, I do not want this to mean that Lisa Saint Aubin de Teran is an accurate reporter. She tries her best and only God knows how difficult it is to understand Venezuelan society. However she is very successful at conveying the spirit that moves things there, for good or bad. She is at her best when she shows how in spite of every hardship that falls on her, the country slowly gets into her and she cannot help but love it. I can relate with that, she is not making it up. And last but not least, in light of recent political turmoil in Venezuela, I can recommend this book highly: it will explain why a phenomenon like Chaves came upon Venezuela better than any long political analysis you might find around. Although Ms Saint Aubin kept her patrician acquired Teran she was unto something when she describes the "absentee landlord" mores of Venezuelan old elite families. Her comments on them are rather damming. But the reader needs not to worry, this is still a very strong personal memoir, that can also serve as a political memento.

This is a modern version of the ancient story of blue beard to me. A woman doesn't want to see the obvios signs of danger, and decides she wants to live her fantasy anyway: an handsome and welty man promises the life of queen to Lisa. The thruth is much different from her dream. But there is no escape, and she is forced to act, to become the care-taker instead of been taken care, and this is a tremendous story for any woman of any time. Despite her difficoulties she becomes not just a woman but a sage in dealing with life. I actually know Lisa personally and I can say she is one the most positive and strong person you can meet, and her account is absolutely real. This is what makes the book great, because the author has really lived the experiences of her book.

This is a decent story telling book, completely subjective. It leaves a lot to be desired and a more factual OBJECTIVE anthropology book would be necessary to understand the yanomamo indians because the author tells her story but doesn't explain the signifigance of myths, rituals, and customs.

HOnestly, I enjoyed this book. It was just that I read it when I was about 16 years old. It was fun, yes. Yet I got the strange feeling that I could have written that book after just my intro to anthropology course in my freshman year in college. I could excuse myself to the readers that I was not going to use orthodox anthropological methods, and then let my imagination run wild. So much for the power and luck idea. All tough CAstaneda readers like myself might find themselves a bit disappointed. The Yanomamo is indeed one of the best studied groups in the world! You could watch an educational video and write a review with some made up moments with a similar result true for this book that it was made through dreaming. So, all teens, go buy the book. Some cool sex with the natives. Some drugs. THat is all. Dn't fall in love with it:)Hey, I am not arguing that the information is false, just the way it is presented looks kinda phoney... well, the gal did a good job, but could have been better, she is a sorcerer after all! But I guess they do not make the witches the way they used to anymore.

Although I found the book interesting and very readable, I was often reminded of Carlos Castaneda. I knew nothing about Ms. donner previously so I was surprised to find that she was acquainted with Mr. Castaneda. The book probably is fairly accurate as far as the cultural anthropology is concerned but there are many areas that are not believable. I would recommend this book as a light read about the Yanomamo.

I liked this book! After reading other anthropological works that mainly concentrate on the male aspect of tribal living, this book shows the other side of the coin.

This lengthy narrative, rich in detail and allegory, will benefit anyone with an interest in cross cultural thought. If we can trust Biocca's telling of Helena Valero's "displaced" life among the Yanomami, then we have with "Yanoama" something truly unparalleled. But it's virtues may pass unnoticed among the "professionally trained" in cross-cultural studies. Many anthropological texts, these days, navel-gaze through interpersonal thickets of this or that "other" modernity, extending a Western "cosmopolitanism" upon peoples who often do not share our sensibilities. Biocca's book by contrast offers a refreshingly descriptive account of the intercultural life of a young girl, age 11, who was captured by Yanomami indians, only to live with them and learn their customs, differences, and political tensions before returning to "the West" some twenty years later. Although her story is by now quite old (she was kidnapped in the 1930's), and the Yanomami now live an entirely different way of life, the reader will find Valero's "ethnographic" upbringing an essential supplement to any anthropological or philosophical understanding of Yanomami life. If you doubt the descriptive quality of this book, look no further than N. Chagnon's contemporaneous (1968) but still-celebrated "Yanomamo" to see a real straw-man depiction of these particular Brazilan and Venezualan peoples.

Yanoama tells the story of a young girls coming of age in a world apart from civilization as we know it. Helena Valero was taken from her parents by the native Yanoama Indians of Venezuela while a preteen girl. She struggled to learn their language and strongly gave her own opinions to those who whished to keep her as their property. Helena lived on her own in the tropical rainforest, was bitten and chased by large snakes, survived poisoned arrows, beatings, and starvation. Her will to survive above all else kept her alive. The Yanoama are what we would call primitive peoples who practice indocanibalism, take more than one wife, wear no clothes and practice rituals that seem unreal to people of the "civilized world". This is the true story of Helenas capture and eventual escape. Life in the rainforest was not east for Helena along the Rio Negro, but as she grew older and had children her resolve strengthened to survive and escape with those whom she loved into a better life where the Yanoaman tribes would not constantly be threatening to kill them. While this is an excellent source for anthropology it is more important as the documentation of the human will to survive.

I have had the opportunity to work in Venezuela for many years and what the author describes here is unaccurate. I have never seen or feel any kind of racism in that country. However, there exist a clasist separation. But, that is not even close to the racism that exists in USA.

Being a native and also someone who has lived outside of the country, I can say that this book digs deep into the ambiguous relationship between class and race in Venezuela. Racism isn't an outright problem, classism is, but color does tend to relate to class, a way of thinking that is still inherited from colonial times. I just wish the book gave a closer look at modern times. Maybe one day there will be a sequell. A good book that must be read in the context of the country and realize that racism in North America cannot be used as a litmus test for racism else where since each region has its own heritage. If you read it with racism in the United States in mind, then you will miss the meaning and conclusions of the book. The book examines the almost forgotten but still unconsciously practiced bias that skin color plays in a Latin American society.

As a student soon to graduate with degrees in Spanish and Latin American Studies and as one who lived in the Dominican Republic for some time, this book is fascinating. It discusses the very serious and prevalent issues of identity, "race", and "racism", that exist in many parts of Latin America on some level. It is a perceptive and intelligent look at a very real topic that is usually not found in detail about places such as Venezuela, or Latin America in general for that matter. I found it to line up with all of my study regarding Latin America as well as my experiences in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. I learned from this book, and so will you.

We normally swear by Lonely Planet guides (to southern Africa, Central America, SE Asia), but this one to Venezuela is far and away the most inadequate: Sometimes I wondered if the author had even set foot in the country, or if he just called up his buddies who in turn passed along 2nd-hand information. For starters, many of his write-ups are meant for people traveling in private cars; this is by no means a "back-packer's" guide. Sometimes, for example, we'd be interested in a particular place the author described, only to be disappointed that the place was accessible only by private vehicle or you could walk to it but had to cross 6-lane highways (quite common in Caracas). Furthermore, this guidebook provides nothing that other guidebooks on the country provide: in sum, Lonely Planet Venezuela rides on the otherwise strong LP reputation; it's of no merit and could actually be the source of a lot of headaches. I hope for the upcoming edition the author actually visits Venezuela! LP should know better...

What ever happened to South America on a shoestring? Dydynski often sounds like he holds Venezuela in disdain as a dirty, dangerous, and messy little Third World backwater rather than someplace somebody might actually want to visit. He comes off like a gringo snob, and his personal hotel preferences obviously lean towards the five-star end of the spectrum. Missing here are all the excellent low-cost, unique, and out-of-the-way options I used to turn to Lonely Planet to find. No descriptions of night life or fun things to do, heavy on the historical landmarks. Here and there the book waxes useful when the location in question is someplace Dydynski seems to have liked, the rest of the descriptions are not helpful. Also: many of the phone numbers I have tried from the book are incorrect. I haven't compared this book to other Venezuelan guides, so can't truly make a comparison -- but I suggest you start with another guide first.

Venezuela is quickly changing. Prices one day may double the next day. Politics and society are in fervid change. All in all, Lonely Planet has not managed to produce a guide up to the standard of other Lonely Planet guides. Having said that, I do not know of any better guides on Venezuela, and this is still a book worth taking with you. Though you will have to take all its advice and contents with some care, not for granted.