The rise to power and subsequent presidencies of Evo Morales have fascinated the world, compelled by the story of the man who Linda Farthing and Ben Kohl dub “the most famous Bolivian ever” (p. 1). Socialist, anti-imperialist, and indigenous, Evo, as he is universally known, has intrigued observers both foreign and domestic, as he has set about implementing his plans for the complete reinvention of his country. This book recounts the recent history of Bolivia under Evo, exploring the goals, programs, and challenges of this reinvention. It is a book as compelling as the man it places at its center, highly readable and engaging. With its detailed reporting, multiplicity of voices, and balanced perspective, Evo's Bolivia will surely be considered the go-to text for understanding the transformations of Bolivian society under this charismatic and powerful president.

The book takes a historical approach to its subject, though this history is largely focused on the past ten years. The first two chapters provide the necessary background to understanding recent events in Bolivia, including a thumbnail sketch of 500 years of history, culminating in the emergence and ascent to power of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) under the leadership of Evo Morales. These chapters are followed by a consideration of some of the most difficult issues that faced Evo and the MAS government through its first two terms of office, including the often-contentious relationships with the social movements that brought the new government to power; the drafting and implementation of a new constitution for the “plurinational state” of Bolivia; and the efforts to deal with entrenched racism and the right-wing secessionist threat from the country's eastern lowlands.

Chapter 4, perhaps the book's most interesting, analyzes the MAS attempts to build a new “decolonial” state that honors the rights of indigenous peoples, women, sexual and other minorities, and the working class. Each of the book's remaining chapters provides a review of key issues that have confronted the regime, from resource extraction and development to agrarian reform, from the coca leaf to the international war on drugs. Taken together, these chapters provide a thorough review of the principal challenges that Evo and the MAS have faced during their years of rule, and outline their achievements and missteps along the way.

There has been a tendency among the international left to romance the idea of an indigenous president, but there is none of that in Farthing and Kohl's book. This text pulls no punches, documenting Evo's failures along with his successes and offering a critical insight into many of the most contentious issues surrounding his presidency. The authors explore the complexities and essential ambiguities that surround foundational MAS ideas like the concept of “Living Well,” which combines transnational notions of human rights with supposedly indigenous understandings of harmony, community, and equality. On the idea of “decolonization,” Farthing and Kohl observe that “considerable confusion” (p. 58) has accompanied its implementation, and that despite the talk of societal reinvention, the MAS state “tends to lurch from crisis to crisis” (p. 62).

The book is populated with alternative perspectives; especially useful are the frequent text callouts, drawn from interviews and publications, that interrupt the authorial voice and provide the viewpoints of politicians, scholars, and ordinary Bolivians. If one were to quibble, one might ask for a closer analysis of the role of Evo himself in his vision of Bolivia. At times the distinction between Evo and the MAS becomes blurred, and it can be hard to determine exactly what role Evo plays, or has played, in elaborating the policies and programs attributed to his government. Nor are the roles of other MAS officials made particularly clear; the treatment of Vice President Álvaro García Linera is the most prominent example.

But these issues pale in light of the book's overall achievements. Evo's Bolivia should be read as the definitive history of what has arguably been the most significant decade in the history of that country, and in that of the Andean region.