Latin American Review of Books

Podcast 40: Trump's deadly distraction The work of John Mearsheimer suggests that, despite Trump’s violent Middle Eastern adventures, the US remains fixated on Latin America

The work of John Mearsheimer suggests that, despite Trump’s violent Middle Eastern adventures, the US remains fixated on Latin America. Listen to our podcast #imperialism #LatinAmerica #MiddleEast #Trump #Iran latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-40...

Asymmetric wordfare Iran’s ties with Latin America have been distorted by US and Israeli narrative terrorism. We review titles about the Islamic Republic's engagement with other targets of imperialism

Iran’s ties with Latin America have been distorted by US and Israeli narrative terrorism #imperialism #iran #latinamerica #middleeast #trump #israel #colonialism #neocolonialism latamrob.substack.com/p/asymmetric...

Podcast 39: The diplomacy of duplicity Claims about Cuban involvement in Ukraine expose European double standards

Claims about Cuban involvement in Ukraine expose European double standards #Cuba #Ukraine #Europe #MarcoRubio #imperialism #UnitedStates #Germany #liberalism latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-39...

The threat doctrine The legacy of Cuban internationalism in Africa still defies US hegemony. Review: Cuba and the Independence War in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, Víctor Dreke Cruz, by Gavin O'Toole

The legacy of Cuban internationalism in Africa still defies US hegemony. Review: Cuba and the Independence War in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde #Bookreviews #Caribbean #antiimperialism #Cuba #imperialism latamrob.substack.com/p/the-threat...

Border qualms Labour migration has posed significant policy challenges for Mexico. Books in brief: Caught in the Current, Irvin Ibarguen, by Gavin O'Toole

Labour migration has posed significant policy challenges for Mexico. Review: Caught in the Current, Irvin Ibargüen @UNC_Press #Mexico #migration #emigration #publicpolicy latamrob.substack.com/p/border-qua...

Vernacular neoliberalism The impact of the Tren Maya challenges academic narratives about Indigenous politics. Books in brief: Roads to Prosperity and Ruin, Fernando Armstrong-Fumero, by Gavin O'Toole

The impact of the Tren Maya challenges academic narratives about Indigenous politics. Review: Roads to Prosperity and Ruin, Fernando Armstrong-Fumero @UNC_Press #Yucatan #Mexico #indigenous #AMLO #neoliberalism latamrob.substack.com/p/vernacular...

Negative score US basketball coaches are exploiting Black Latin American youths. Books in brief: Basketball Trafficking: Stolen Black Panamanian Dreams, Javier Wallace, by Gavin O'Toole

US basketball coaches are exploiting Black Latin American youths. Review: Basketball Trafficking: Stolen Black Panamanian Dreams @DukePress #basketball #Black #sport #racism #exploitation latamrob.substack.com/p/negative-s...

The subversive flower A Fresno writer takes Chicana poetry in a new direction. Books in brief: Kadupul Flower, poems by Kimberly Vargas Agnese, by Gavin O'Toole

A Fresno writer takes Chicana poetry in a new direction. Review: Kadupul Flower, poems by Kimberly Vargas Agnese #chicana #poetry #environment #migration latamrob.substack.com/p/the-subver...

Podcast 38: Narco-narrative imperialism Bereft of ideas and in the grip of extremism, the US is obsessing about crime to legitimise its hegemony

Bereft of ideas and in the grip of extremism, the US is obsessing about crime to legitimise its hegemony. Podcast: Narco-narrative imperialism #podcast #LatinAmerica #imperialism #Trump #crime #gangs #ideology latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-38...

Melodies of resistance Music was a tool of survival for victims of Chile's dictatorship. Review: Music and Political Imprisonment in Pinochet’s Chile, Katia Chornik, by Gavin O'Toole

Music was a tool of survival for victims of Chile's dictatorship. Review: Music and Political Imprisonment in Pinochet’s Chile @kchornik @OxUniPress #Chile #music #Pinochet #coup #dictatorship #memory #leftwing #SalvadorAllende latamrob.substack.com/p/melodies-o...

Licensed to kill A history of police violence against Mexican Americans is timely in the era of Trump. Review: Brown and Blue, Brian D Behnken, by Gavin O'Toole

A history of police violence against Mexican Americans is timely in the era of Trump. Review: Brown and Blue, Brian D Behnken @UNC_Press #UnitedStates #chicano #MexicanAmerican #policing #racism latamrob.substack.com/p/licensed-t...

Blurred visions The quest to link oceans has driven Central America to distraction. Review: Canal Dreamers, Jessica M Lepler, by Gavin O'Toole

Gavin O'Toole's review for @latamrob.bsky.social shined a spotlight on the longer significance of my 1820s story.
latamrob.substack.com/p/blurred-vi...

The bigot’s deceit Historical fact is an antidote to the racist fictions about violent Mexicans used by Trump to justify US aggression. Review: A Brief History of Violence in Mexico, Pablo Piccato, by Gavin O'Toole

Historical fact is an antidote to the racist fictions about violent Mexicans used by Trump to justify US aggression. Review: A Brief History of Violence in Mexico latamrob.substack.com/p/the-bigots...

Podcast 37: No blood for oil The British left has sent a loud message of solidarity to Venezuela in the face of US aggression and warned the UK's cowardly political class that they must end their silence

The British left has sent a loud message of solidarity to Venezuela in the face of US aggression and demanded the UK's cowardly political class end their silence #podcast #Venezuela #imperialism #Trump #colonialism #socialism #UnitedStates #tradeunions latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-37...

The territorial turn The US attack on Venezuela confirms that imperialism is all about space. Review: The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space, Don Thomas Deere, by Gavin O'Toole

The US attack on Venezuela confirms that imperialism is all about space. Review: The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space, Don Thomas Deere @DukePress #Venezuela #UnitedStates #imperialism #colonialism #aggression #military #spatial latamrob.substack.com/p/the-territ...

Podcast 36: The dialectics of isolation Can 'uncontacted' Indigenous peoples offer the Latin American left theoretical insights?

Can 'uncontacted' Indigenous peoples offer the Latin American left theoretical insights? @Survival #Indigenous #Brazil #Amazon #racism #colonialism latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-36...

Pawns in print Press ‘freedom’ in Mexico has been shaped by elite ambitions. Review: Mexican Watchdogs: The Rise of a Critical Press since 1980, Andrew Paxman, by Gavin O'Toole

Press ‘freedom’ in Mexico has been shaped by elite ambitions. Review: Mexican Watchdogs: The Rise of a Critical Press since 1980 @APaxman @UNC_Press #Mexico #press #journalism #politicaleconomy #media #Marxism latamrob.substack.com/p/pawns-in-p...

Chile’s nightmare returns Kast’s election will open the country’s sores. Review: Tales from the Sharp End: A Portrait of Chile, Natascha Scott-Stokes, by Gavin O'Toole

Kast’s election will open his country's sores. Review: Tales from the Sharp End: A Portrait of Chile, Natascha Scott-Stokes #bookreviews #SouthAmerica #Chile #democracy #dictatorship #Pinochet latamrob.substack.com/p/chiles-nig...

The noise of liberation Settler colonialism oppresses every aspect of Mapuche life—including sound. Books in brief: Acoustic Colonialism: Acts of Mapuche Interference, Luis E Cárcamo-Huechante, by Gavin O'Toole

Settler colonialism oppresses every aspect of Mapuche life—including sound. Books in brief review: Acoustic Colonialism: Acts of Mapuche Interference, Luis E Cárcamo-Huechante @DukePress #Chile #Argentina #Mapuche #SoundStudies #LatinAmericanStudies latamrob.substack.com/p/the-noise-...

Khaki democrats Hard as it is to swallow, militaries have at times been the midwives of democracy. Books in brief: The Birth of Democracy in South America, Raúl L Madrid, by Gavin O'Toole

Hard as it is to swallow, militaries have at times been the midwives of democracy. Books in brief review: The Birth of Democracy in South America @Raul_L_Madrid @CambridgeUP #LatinAmericanStudies #democracy #history #Uruguay #Colombia #Argentina #Chile #politics latamrob.substack.com/p/khaki-demo...

Pilgrims and progress An ancient Oaxacan icon sheds light on the modern meaning of pilgrimage. Books in brief: Devotion in Motion: Pilgrimage in Modern Mexico, Edward Wright-Ríos, by Gavin O'Toole

An ancient Oaxacan icon sheds light on the modern meaning of pilgrimage. Books in brief review: Devotion in Motion: Pilgrimage in Modern Mexico, Edward Wright-Ríos @UchicagoPress #Mexico #religion #catholicism #Oaxaca #socialhistory #LatinAmericanStudies latamrob.substack.com/p/pilgrims-a...

Andean Sisyphus Peruvian nation-building has been characterised by unending frustration. Books in brief: Modern Peru: A New History, Paulo Drinot and Alberto Vergara (eds), by Gavin O'Toole

Peruvian nation-building has been characterised by unending frustration. Books in brief review: Modern Peru: A New History, Paulo Drinot and Alberto Vergara (eds) @paulodrinot @DukePress #Peru #politics #nationalism #history #LatinAmericanStudies latamrob.substack.com/p/andean-sis...

Podcast 35: Smoke and mirrors in the Caribbean US aggression towards Venezuela has little to do with drug-trafficking and is really about oil . . . but is that all?

Podcast: US aggression towards Venezuela has little to do with drug-trafficking and is really about oil . . . but is that all? #Venezuela #UnitedStates #imperialism #oil #drugtrafficking #China latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-35...

Women at arms Cuba’s revolution was not won just by bearded white men. Review: Clandestinas: Women in the Cuban Revolutionary Underground, 1955–1959, Carollee Bengelsdorf, by Gavin O'Toole

Cuba’s revolution was not won just by bearded white men. Review: Clandestinas: Women in the Cuban Revolutionary Underground @carolleebengels @DukePress #Cuba #revolution #women #patriarchy #guerrilla latamrob.substack.com/p/women-at-a...

Rocket men Cuba’s nuclear brinkmanship contains lessons about imperialism and internationalism. Review: The Fate of the Americas, Renata Keller, by Gavin O'Toole

The first review of my book is out!! 🎉 Many thanks to @latamrob.bsky.social for all the kind words! #History 🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/latamrob...

Rocket men Cuba’s nuclear brinkmanship contains lessons about imperialism and internationalism. Review: The Fate of the Americas, Renata Keller, by Gavin O'Toole

Cuba’s nuclear brinkmanship contains lessons about imperialism and internationalism. Review: The Fate of the Americas @UNC_Press #Cuba #Venezuela #antiimperialism #Revolution #socialism #SovietUnion
latamrob.substack.com/p/rocket-men

Podcast 34: Back to the future—ten books on Venezuela As Trump employs gunboat diplomacy to seek regime change in Caracas, we revisit books on the Bolivarian Revolution when Latin America's 'pink tide' was defying the empire

Podcast: As Trump threatens Caracas, we revisit books on the Bolivarian Revolution #Venezuela #UnitedStates #imperialism #LatinAmerica #Cuba #Revolution #antiimperialism #socialism latamrob.substack.com/p/podcast-34...

So grateful for this generous review of Canal Dreamers, which situates my “eloquent” and “expansive history” in recent context. 🗃️
@uncpress.bsky.social

Blurred visions The quest to link oceans has driven Central America to distraction. Review: Canal Dreamers, Jessica M Lepler, by Gavin O'Toole

The quest to link oceans has driven Central America to distraction. Read our latest review: Canal Dreamers @lepler @UNC_Press #Nicaragua #CentralAmerica #infrastructure #PanamaCanal #imperialism latamrob.substack.com/p/blurred-vi...

Soldiers of the sub-empire Brazil’s role in Pinochet’s coup has disturbing modern echoes. Review: Dictatorship Across Borders: Brazil, Chile, and The South American Cold War, Mila Burns, by Gavin O'Toole

Brazil’s role in Pinochet’s coup has disturbing modern echoes. Review: Dictatorship Across Borders: Brazil, Chile, and The South American Cold War @UNC_Press @LehmanCollege #LatinAmerica #Brazil #Chile #military #authoritarianism #dictatorship #ColdWar latamrob.substack.com/p/soldiers-o...