Pantanal

A spectacular tour of the world's largest wetland. The Pantanal covers 81,000 square miles in the middle of South America, extending over parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. About half the size of California and 20 times the size of the Everglades, the Pantanal flood plain is the largest wetland network on Earth. Pantanal reveals the abundant wildlife and beauty of this remarkable eco-system, home to some of the most spectacular concentrations of flora and fauna on the planet. The text explains the Pantanal's ecology, its people, plants and animals, presented in five chapters: The Pantaneiro: People of the Pantanal Wetlands Grasslands Forests of the Pantanal Caiman: the comeback crocodile. The book also examines the impact of deforestation, overfishing and overhunting in the Pantanal and the efforts by conservationists to protect this magnificent region for future generations. Pantanal is a superbly photographed tour of one of the most memorable regions on the planet. (200512)

Bolivia in Pictures (Visual Geography. Second Series)

An overview of Bolivia's geography and history, along with an exploration of the political, economic, and cultural landscape of this South American nation. As part of the new, completely revised and redesigned second edition of the highly acclaimed Visual Geography Series®, Bolivia in Pictures takes readers across this landlocked nation, known for its Andean peaks and world famous Lake Titicaca. Learn more about the rise of Leftist populism in Bolivia, where voters elected Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, in 2005.

Marching Powder

Rusty Young was backpacking in South America when he heard about Thomas McFadden, a convicted English drug trafficker who ran tours inside Bolivia's notorious San Pedro prison. Intrigued, the young Australian journalisted went to La Paz and joined one of Thomas's illegal tours. They formed an instant friendship and then became partners in an attempt to record Thomas's experiences in the jail. Rusty bribed the guards to allow him to stay and for the next three months he lived inside the prison, sharing a cell with Thomas and recording one of the strangest and most compelling prison stories of all time. The result is Marching Powder.This book establishes that San Pedro is not your average prison. Inmates are expected to buy their cells from real estate agents. Others run shops and restaurants. Women and children live with imprisoned family members. It is a place where corrupt politicians and drug lords live in luxury apartments, while the poorest prisoners are subjected to squalor and deprivation. Violence is a constant threat, and sections of San Pedro that echo with the sound of children by day house some of Bolivia's busiest cocaine laboratories by night. In San Pedro, cocaine--"Bolivian marching powder"--makes life bearable. Even the prison cat is addicted.Yet Marching Powder is also the tale of friendship, a place where horror is countered by humor and cruelty and compassion can inhabit the same cell. This is cutting-edge travel-writing and a fascinating account of infiltration into the South American drug culture.

When Invisible Children Sing

Expecting to treat some mildly ill children from the streets of Bolivia on a quick "service trip," an idealistic young medical student gets more than he bargained for when he takes a year off from Harvard Medical School to work at an orphanage in La Paz. As he comes to know the children, and sees how they live, Chi Huang is drawn deeper and deeper into their complex and desperate lives. The doctor soon realizes that to truly help these children, he will have to follow the example of Jesus: live among them, love them in spite of their brokenness, and cling to his faith in God's goodness, even when it appears it is nowhere to be found. A true story that will inspire and challenge readers to greater faith and action. The book includes a Foreword by Harvard professor and world-renowned expert on the moral and spiritual development of children, Dr. Robert Coles.

Andean Folk Knits

With these attractive ethnic patterns from the Andes, knitters not only expand their design repertoire, they literally knit a connection with other cultures. The fabulous selection of 25 projects includes vibrant bags and other accessories based on the rich traditions of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Knit fingerless mittens and a purse from Peru’s Ollantaytambo region. A wonderfully functional Argentinean felt bag fits around the waist and is perfect for holding money and other small belongings; a matching hat makes for an attractive ensemble. Or try making a chic and simple Chilean striped bag and scarf, or an adorable Bolivian purse in the shape of a llama. Every chapter offers interesting facts about the Andean people, history, and culture, too.

Old Colony Mennonites in Argentina and Bolivia

Old Colony Mennonites in Argentina and Bolivia : Nation Making, Religious Conflict and Imagination of the Future (Religion in the Americas Series) (Religion in the Americas Series) by Lorenzo Canas Bottos Published in 2008 by Brill

Ancient Tiwanaku (Case Studies in Early Societies)

Nearly a millennium before the Inca forged a pan-Andean empire in the South American Andes, Tiwanaku emerged as a major center of political, economic, and religious life on the southern shores of Lake Titicaca. Ancient Tiwanaku synthesizes a wealth of past and current research on this fascinating high-altitude civilization. In the first major synthesis on the subject in nearly fifteen years, John Wayne Janusek explores Tiwanaku civilization in its geographical and cultural setting, tracing its long rise to power, vast geopolitical influences, and violent collapse.

Understanding Bolivia

Bolivia is an isolated, land-locked, sparsely populated country--a land that has Amazon jungle, snow covered mountain peaks and every ecological niche in between. Within the country's borders are the world's most dangerous roads, highest navigable lake, richest silver mine and largest salt lake. "Understanding Bolivia" is a traveller's history that reveals the backbone of local cultures from the Tihuanacans and Inca to present day Aymara and Quechua. The book describes what made Bolivia the second poorest country in the Americas and how it disposed of almost 200 presidents in the same number of years. It shows an indigenous, rural economy struggling inventively and sometimes successfully with the global economy--McDonald's (three outlets!) gave up on Bolivia, much better and cheaper food being available from salteAa stands. Bolivians successfully fought American corporate control of their water and gas supplies. The book is also a history of travellers. Some, like Colonel Percy Fawcett and his quest for the lost mines of the Muribeco, come to Bolivia with impossible dreams. A magnet for adventureseekers, the country's isolation has also attracted those on the run--the "Butcher of Leon" Klaus Barbie, revolutionist Che Guevara and bank robbers Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid all sought haven in Bolivia. "Understanding Bolivia" takes over where the rest of the guidebooks end, offering visitors and armchair travellers a fascinating story of rich cultures and colourful characters in a land of extremes.

Andean Tragedy

The year 1879 marked the beginning of one of the longest, bloodiest conflicts of nineteenth-century Latin America. The War of the Pacific pitted Peru and Bolivia against Chile in a struggle initiated over a festering border dispute. The conflict saw Chile’s and Peru’s armored warships vying for control of sea lanes and included one of the first examples of the use of naval torpedoes. On land, large armies using the most modern weapons—breech-loading rifles, Gatling guns, and steel-barreled artillery—clashed in battles that left thousands of men dead on the battlefields. Eventually, the warring parties revamped their respective military establishments, creating much needed, civilian-supported supply, transportation, and medical units. Chile ultimately prevailed. Bolivia lost its seacoast along with valuable nitrate and copper deposits to Chile, and Peru was forced to cede mineral rich Tarapaca and the province of Arica to the victor. Employing the primary and secondary sources of the countries involved, William F. Sater offers the definitive analysis of the conflict's naval and military campaigns. Andean Tragedy not only places the war in a crucial international context, but also explains why this devastating conflict resulted in a Chilean victory.

Valley of the Spirits

In a secluded valley high in the Andes Mountains, long before the time of the Incas and the Aztecs, the empire of the Aymara rose from the shores of Lake Titicaca and flourished for nearly a thousand years. The secrets of the Aymara civilization, one of the first great empires of the Americas, have only recently been deciphered from the haunting ruins of their splendid temples, among which their contemporary descendants still live and work today. In Valley of the Spirits, Alan Kolata takes us deep into the mystical world of the Aymara, where past and present come together and the spirits of ancient ancestors still speak to shamans in the voices of mountain springs. Kolata's unique knowledge of the Aymara is based on 17 years of research at the site of the ancient empire. Its crown jewel was the dazzling ancient capital of Tiahuanaco, whose gold and silver-appointed temples and "monumental stone sculptures intensified the mythic aura of the city, imbuing it with a quality of the supernatural." From A.D. 400-1100, it was the spiritual center of the Andean world. According to Aymara myth, the creator god Viracocha brought man to life from the springs and rocks of Tiahuanaco's sacred landscape. The city's rich symbolism linked man inextricably to the majestic plan--and the cyclical fates--of nature. Royal priests performed elaborate animal and human sacrifices and buried human trophy heads and the mummified remains of Aymara kings in lavish religious pageants. So impressive was the legacy of Tiahuanaco that the Inca rulers claimed descent from the Aymara kings more than 500 years after the empire's mysterious catastrophic demise. Kolata deciphers the mysteries of the ancient monuments, from the massive Akapana pyramid, the symbol of sacred mountains, and of fertility and abundance, to the imposing archway known as the Gateway of the Sun, among the most exquisite artistic monuments of the ancient Americas. And he takes us into the contemporary world of the Aymara as well, where shamans recite the names of ancestral spirits in a hypnotic protocol of remembrance and homage to Lady Earth and Lord Sky. "To anyone fascinated by the total experience of humans, to anyone who wishes to go beyond the familiar world, to anyone wanting to push the envelope of their own perceptions, a sojourn into the mind and history of the Aymara is disturbing, exhilarating, and ultimately unforgettable."--Alan Kolata, in his Introduction to Valley of the Spirits

Art of the Andes

This wide-ranging survey has established itself as the best single-volume introduction to Andean art and architecture. Now fully revised, it describes the strikingly varied artistic achievements of the Chavín, Paracas, Moche, Chimú, and Inca cultures, among others. Their impressive cities, tall pyramids, shining goldwork, and intricate textiles constitute one of the greatest artistic traditions in history. For the second edition, Rebecca Stone-Miller has added new material covering the earliest mummification in the world at Chinchorros, wonderful new Moche murals and architectural reconstructions, the latest finds from the Chachapoyas culture, and a greater emphasis on shamanism. Throughout, Stone-Miller demonstrates how the Andean peoples adapted and refined their aesthetic response to an extremely inhospitable environment. 185 illustrations, 35 in color.

Andean Worlds

This broadly gauged, synthetic study examines how the Spanish invasion of the Inca Empire (called Tawintinsuyu) in 1532 brought dramatic and irreversible transformations in traditional Andean modes of production, technology, politics, religion, culture, and social hierarchies. At the same time, Professor Andrien explains how the indigenous peoples merged these changes with their own political, socioeconomic, and religious traditions. In this way European and indigenous life ways became intertwined, producing a new and constantly evolving hybrid colonial order in the Andes.After beginning with a study of Tawintinsuyu on the eve of the Spanish invasion, Andrien then presents the salient topics in Andean colonial history: the emergence of the colonial state; the colonial socioeconomic order; indigenous culture and society; Spanish attempts to impose Roman Catholic orthodoxy; and Andean resistance, rebellion, and political consciousness. By drawing on his own research and the contributions from scholars in many disciplines, Kenneth J. Andrien offers a masterful interpretation of Andean colonial history, one of the most dynamic and creative fields in Latin American studies. "This is a clearly written, comprehensive, and well-balanced account. . . particularly in discussions of the often vexed and central question of Spanish versus Native American issues."--Peter J. Bakewell, Edmund and Louise Kahn Professor of History, Southern Methodist University