A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet (Norton Paperback)

A compelling read. As someone who is not especially a connoisseur of political books, I became fascinated with the workings of the Chilean government under the Pinochet political regime and the tactics it used to suppress any socialistic movements. I became interested after hearing about the recent trial in Florida of the man responsible for the torture and murder of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara back in 1973 as part of Pinochet's crackdown on socialists and would be communists. According to the book Victor Jara's only crime was of composing songs glorifying the working class. Interviews and testimonies from all sides are frequently used throughout the book to give it emotional impact. How does a supposedly civilized nation resort to becoming so divided that it resorts to unspeakable cruelties in order to suppress political opposition? The book takes the reader through its paces demonstrating how animosities had been brewing for decades in Chile between the elite, middle class, the military and the struggling working class. It all seemed to explode like a firecracker as thousands of so called socialists were hunted down, tortured, exiled or even killed because of their support for a socialist agenda that would have raised the living standards but seemingly threatened the interests of the elite and big international corporate powers as well as the interests of the United States. The book documents the participation of the United States government in the overthrowing of the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende in order to place Pinochet at the helm of what became one of the worst authoritarian witch hunting regimes. I recommend this book for those who are interested in real life stories of political intrigue. I also recommend the recently released movie "Colonia" which depicts how the Pinochet regime was able to commit the worst human rights atrocities without accountability for so long.

The authors seem much less appalled by the atrocities of the Pinochet regime than they are by the free market economic reforms, which fill the majority of the book. In fact, I think that if Pinochet had been a socialist, the authors would have been his biggest fans. Despicable. Of course, we have learned much since 1991. Chile, with the freest and most open economy in South America, is also the most prosperous. The reforms which the authors deplored, seem to have worked in the long run. Perhaps Milton Friedman knows more about economics than the authors of this book. The authors seem to idolize Castro and Marx. Their opinions have not aged well.

Does a decent job of laying out most of the important details in a mostly dry, journalistic format, but I can’t get past some of the neoliberal editorializing that is borderline apologetic to the fascist Pinochet regime at times, as well as largely passing over the degree to which the United States was culpable in the coup. At one point the authors literally use the phrase “both sides” to denounce both the violent resistance to, as well as the murderous fascist crackdowns on pro-democracy uprisings. As if the fascist secret police who were systematically disappearing hundreds of innocent civilians and the disappeared themselves were somehow on equal moral footing. A disturbing window into neoliberal attitudes in the U.S. at the time the book was written and how pervasive anti-left, pro-establishment thought still was (and is) post-Cold War.If you are interested in more of an objective look at the coup as well as a more in-depth look at U.S. involvement through declassified CIA documents, I’d recommend the Pinochet Files. If you’d like a more nuanced take on the Democratic Socialist Revolution that preceded the coup, I would recommend Conversations with Allende.

Vendor took pains to ensure that no damage to the book would occur during shipping. It had craft paper around book held in place with scotch tape; that was all encased in cardboard and shipping tape. Book was sold as used/very good. I don't think the spine was ever broken. It arrived flawless.

"A Nation of Enemies" has been a personal favorite of mine for years. At first I used it & "Bitter Fruit" as a short hand guide to America's often bloody involvement in Latin America, then as the war in Iraq picked up it was my go to when describing The School of the Americas. Now, however, I use it when referencing America's current economic problems. Having read the book years ago, I should have seen all of this coming, though short, "A Nation of Enemies," while describing the horrific process of economic decline the Chicago Boys let lose on Pinochet's economy mirror such things as the privatization and failure of American Schools, the bank bail outs, too big to fail, the decline of the standard of living, and the massive unemployment that America is facing today, but they also mention the steps that Pinochet took to address the problem, steps that neither party has even addressed today. This is a must read for anyone looking for the bigger picture.

This is a sad and stunning tale of a country overtaken by a military which was bent on remaking Chile in its own image: to be rigid; to be unbending; to enslave itself; to torture the soul and people of Chile. Pinochet ushered in an ugly period which the idle observer may discern as bringing order to disorder; however walk a step into the National Stadium and the other torture centers and you would have seen that only disorder and calamity could come of such extreme conditions. As a person who has studied and written about this time in Chile, I would recommend this book as a primer in understanding the basics of the Pinochet era. It may not delve in other aspects, such as what role the U.S. had (which was considerable) in bringing about and sustaining the Pinochet regime; it may not touch upon every aspect of Chile during this time; but it is a solid basis in understanding the nature of the Pinochet regime and their repressive aims.

Pinochet has become the Latin American version of Hitler in popular imagination and this book does nothing to address that point of view. Its premise is that dictatorships are by definition wrong and makes no attempt to contrast it with similar Latin American regimes which were as contemptuous of human rights but only interested in personal enrichment.Pinochet is generally regarded as the Latin American equivalent of Hitler. The core assumption behind this book is that dictators are bad and no distinction can be made between them. A cursory comparison with other Latin American dictatorships would have revealed that Pinochet had a justifiable mission to save the nation from chaos no matter how misguided his approach might have been, rather than enrich himself.Its strength is the quality of its research, both quantitative and qualitative, but its weakness is its failure to recognise the implications of both. Critics are quoted without comment, as are the statistics that demonstrate that his regime was concerned with revitalising a moribund economy and providing substantive relief to the poor.He presided over a period of stability and economic growth that healed social wounds and handed power peaceably to a new democracy making Chile the envy of most Latin America. The title, A Nation of Enemies, is what he inherited but not how he left it. He stayed too long and was responsible for human rights abuses that horrify the West, but were part and parcel of Latin American politics at the time. As a Chilean resident in the late 70's and early 80's Pinochet's Chile bore no resemblance to the 3rd Reich.A more nuanced and balanced viewpoint could have made an interesting book a classic.

A brilliant book about the Chilean coup, its sociological background, key figures and events. The destruction of the Allende government, the execution and torture of dissidents, the cowing of the population, the rise of Pinochet, the delight of the rich at the bloodshed, the interference by the CIA, all add up to a tragedy which stands as a warning against the worst forms of tyranny. We should remember what happened. An excellent book.

Excellent book

Ibid

Interesting and readable account of life in Chile under Pinochet.