Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia / Edition 1

by Steven Dudley

Overview

In Walking Ghosts, Steven Dudley, a journalist who lived in Columbia for five years, expertly chronicles the life and death of the Patriotic Union (UP), the party established by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia's largest guerrilla group. Through stories of the politicians, drug kingpins, revolutionaries, and mercenaries who play key roles in Colombia's civil strife, Dudley maps out the complicated and murderous absurdity that is present-day Colombia, where daily life has devastating consequences: 30,000 murders per year, 75 political assassinations per week, 10 kidnappings a day. As the conflict gets bloodier, international pressure and influence mounts: Worried about the FARC's strength and its role in the drug trade, the United States has sent close to three billion dollars in aid to help the Colombian government fight the FARC. Steven Dudley seeks to make sense of this complicated conflict by focusing on the stories of key actors in the struggle, from the earliest days to the present. He has seen the civil war up close: dead bodies; paramilitaries; guerrillas; victims; and survivors. He has witnessed political parties grappling for power by any means necessary, and he's spoken to all sides and asked the difficult questions. Fast-paced and informative, with a new afterword by the author, Walking Ghosts presents a window into a conflict likely to shape the politics of this hemisphere for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415933049
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/13/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

For five years, Steven Dudley filed regular dispatches from Colombia for The Washington Post, National Public Radio and The Economist. His longer articles have also appeared in The American Prospect, The Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, In These Times and The Progressive. He now lives in Miami.

Table of Contents

Preface Prologue: The Martyrs 1. Fighting History 2. Desert Fox 3. The Master Plan 4. Guerrilla Politics 5. Black Vladimir 6. Too Much Tic 7. The Disposable Ones 8. A Moral Victory 9. The Return of Black Vladimir 10. The Perestroikas 11. The House of Castano 12. The Suiso 13. FARC-landia 14. Justice as a Memory 15. The Great Escape 16. Shades of Jaime 17. Leftovers

Editorial Reviews

"A brave, meticulously researched story of missed opportunities, treachery and revenge, and the burden of history on a country that has rarely known peace." — Scott Wilson, the Washington Post
"...an authoritative work of modern history which is also a nail-biting page turner ... Dudley writes with an appealing blend of passion and honesty, and his book is absolutely riveting." — Jon Lee Anderson, the New Yorker  
"Meticulously reported, Walking Ghosts...leaves the reader on the edge of his seat." — Juan Forero, New York Times
"...essential reading for anyone who wants to fully understand the causes of Latin America's longest-running civil war. A brave and unflinching book." — Joseph Contreras, Newsweek
"...an engrossing, sometimes hair-raising account of Colombia's bloody, overlapping conflicts." — Roane Carey, The Nation

From the Publisher

A brave, meticulously researched story of missed opportunities, treachery and revenge, and the burden of history on a country that has rarely known peace.

Washington Post