Duke University Press offers yet another book in the series that lends itself to teaching about Latin America through case studies of specific countries. The Bolivia volume is comprised of 12 chapters, arranged in chronological order for the colonial period and in mainly thematic order for much of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century coverage. This is a carefully curated book of primary sources, with a few secondary source exceptions. Emphasizing primary source excerpts enhances the usefulness of the volume for the classroom. Importantly, this represents the first time that many of these excerpts have been made available in English.
The table of contents represents a creative and intentional approach: to offer a variety of genres, authors, and voices. Notably, the early sections decidedly downplay “Spanish conquest,” instead grouping the Inca state along with the Spanish in a section on conquest, which reframes traditional narratives of the 1500s. In keeping with this aim, the volume includes throughout the indigenous and non-elite, through oral tradition as well as indigenous political declarations. These are balanced with colonial and elite voices such as Spanish chroniclers and a twentieth-century United Nations report. Excerpts focused on the highlands are balanced with those from the Amazonian region and Santa Cruz.
The overall message afforded readers here is that Bolivia's history and culture can be read from a pluralistic set of voices across time and space. This book proves that the issue was not that these voices were nonexistent but rather that they had not been privileged sufficiently. Elite voices do dominate Chapter 5, “Market Circuits and Enclave Extraction,” mainly focused on the nineteenth century. All other chapters are roughly equal in terms of indigenous and non-elite coverage, with the best coverage of women present in the second half of the volume. Thus, this critical collection decolonizes narratives of Bolivian history and acknowledges its cultural and geographical diversity.
The remarkable variety of genres represented in the book is likely a product of the editors’ intention to represent a plurality of voices. Students can learn about colonial gender norms in Bolivia through a father's letter to his daughter on the eve of her wedding. Newspaper and radio advertisements provide context for the impact of neoliberalism. Lyrics of Aymara hip-hop shed light on the integration of art and politics in contemporary indigenous culture. These unique sources are joined by oral tradition and oral histories, political speeches and essays, poems and novels, and memoirs and diaries. The selection of sources does justice to the “history, culture, politics” subtitle of the volume and makes for a dynamic read.
The approach to themes is equally innovative. For example, in Chapter 8, titled “Revolutionary Currents,” the focus is much more complex than merely 1952. Its chronological span of sources ranges from a 1923 petition over property ownership by caciques to 1969 critiques of the revolution's failures by Sergio Almaraz Paz and Fausto Reinaga. The events of 1952 are present as well, of course, with Juan Lechín’s early morning victory speech, a report by the then British ambassador, and a letter by a young Che Guevara, an eyewitness.
Some minor elements of the collection deserve better integration. For example, the third chapter offers specific coverage of Potosí. Given the significance of Potosí in global history, this preeminence makes sense. The chapter, however, also includes sources about the Jesuits. The role of the Jesuits in Bolivia is a theme of utmost importance; however, here it feels tacked on, at the end of a chapter titled “The Rich Mountain.” Likewise, the reader could use more analytical guidance with the eight beautiful color plates.
English-speaking audiences now have a rich resource for in-depth study of Bolivia. It is the perfect book for courses on Andean history and Latin America, as well as hemispheric courses on power, culture, politics, and economy in the Americas. Overall, this book is indispensable for university and college libraries. To put it simply, there is no comparable volume.
