Product Description

In 1976, at age twenty-five, Stephen Kinzer arrived in Nicaragua as a freelance journalist--and became a witness to history. He returned many times during the years that followed, becoming Latin America correspondent for the Boston Globe in 1981 and joining the foreign staff of the New York Times in 1983. That year he openedthe New York Times Managua bureau, making that newspaper the first daily in America to maintain a full-time office in Nicaragua.

Widely considered the best-connected journalist in Central America, Kinzer personally met and interviewed people at every level of the Somoza, Sandinistas and contra hierarchies, as well as dissidents, heads of state, and countless ordinary citizens throughout the region.

Blood of Brothers is Kinzer's dramatic story of the centuries-old power struggle that burst into the headlines in 1979 with the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship. It is a vibrant portrait of the Nicaraguan people and their volcanic land, a cultural history rich in poetry and bloodshed, baseball and insurrection.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183322 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 450 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this well-written survey, the former New York Times Managua bureau chief analyzes the roles of the Sandinistas, the Catholic Church and the Reagan administration in modern Nicaragua. Illustrated.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Kinzer served in Central America first in the 1970s as a freelance journalist and later as a New York Times bureau chief in Managua (1983-89). An eyewitness to events, he interviewed members of the Somoza, Sandinista, and contra hierarchies. As a result, he provides a highly objective and balanced assessment of events that led to the fall of the Somoza government in 1979. Kinzer avoids ideological bias, but he does note that the Sandinistas came to power because "those most likely to shed blood are the most likely to triumph." Yet despite their many shortcomings, he concludes "the Sandinistas at least provided a basis upon which a genuine democracy could be built." An example of public affairs journalism at its best, his book will stand as the definitive study of Nicaragua in the turbulent 1980s. It belongs in every public and school library.
- J.A. Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Because he spent as much time in the streets and villages as he did in embassies and restaurants, Kinzer was able to understand and report the many levels of reality generally hidden behind fogs of ideology, public statements and political rhetoric...Blood of Brothers is a must-read for anyone who hopes to understand the continuing need for a more enlightened U.S. foreign policy in Central America.
--Bill Kovach, Curator, Neiman Foundation at Harvard University

A comprehensive and enthralling account of how the Sandinistas triumphed in the destruction of 'an old and unjust order,' but failed to make over Nicaragua in their own austere and militant image. Stephen Kinzer, an eyewitness to it all, does justice to both triumph and failure in this even-handed and readable book.
--Tom Wicker

An example of public journalism at its best, his book will stand as the definitive study of Nicaragua in the turbulent 80s. (Library Journal )

By the former New York Times Managua bureau chief, this is a well-written, information-rich survey of modern Nicaragua. (Publisher's Weekly )

Customer Reviews

Blood of Brothers
An excellent recent history of the struggles and conflicts in Nicaragua. It clarified the situation there. Even having been in Nicaragua, it seemed most difficult to get to the factual source of conflict there. It is a difficult subject for Nicaraguans to speak about as they try to unify and uplift life for their people.

The civil war in Nicaragua
I am a fan of Steve Kinzer. This is my fourth read from him. I have previously read his books on Guatemala, Turkey, and Iran. I have yet to read his book Overthrow, but I own it. He has a good conversational writting style and I find his books interesting. I understand he is now stationed in Chicago.

This is the second book Kinzer authored. I think he describes the conflict in Nicaragua well. Although Steve is a correspondent for the N.Y. Times, there was a slant to his writing. However he describes the fall of Somoza and the rise and fall of the Sandinistas well. Both groups were dictators. The conflict of the contras, FSLN, the Catholic Church, and the American government of Reagan was the last of the Cold War. Kinzer is critical of the FSLN as well. There many problems resulted in them being voted out of office in 1990. All of this is related in his biography of the conflict.

This is a great read. Kinzer does a nice job with each of his books. I recommend this author.

A Thrilling Journey of a NYT Reporter
Being a refugee who left the country as a child I never got an unbiased look at what really happened until I read this amazing book. It starts off before the takeover of the country by the communist Sandinistas to after the stunning election over a decade later. Stephen Kizer describes thrilling journeys where bombs go off at news conferences and clandestine stumblings into a contra camp. This book has humor (Rice for Peace?!), sadness (the 30,000 faceless people who died in the middle), to the mystical (a fair and poignant treatment of the Miskito Indians). Also the books details the visit of the Pope to Nicaragua which would headline news for various reasons as well as singer Kris Kristofferson (!) lending support to the Sandinista regime whose leaders soon afterwards head off to friendly nations of Libya and the Soviet Union. This book could almost be descibed as the definitive encylopedia of information but it's so much more: If my family hadn't lived through it it would almost read as a spy novel. There is also plenty of photos showing the major players of the conflict as well as personal photos of the author.