Synopses & Reviews
Ostensibly a biography of the gaucho barbarian Juan Facundo Quiroga, Facundo is also a complex, passionate work of history, sociology, and political commentary, and Latin America's most important essay of the nineteenth century.
Synopsis
Written in political exile by one of Argentina's greatest statesmen and intellectuals and long known to English-speaking readers as Life in the Argentine Republic in the Days of the Tyrants, Facundo (1845) is ostensibly a biography of the gaucho "barbarian" Juan Facundo Quiroga. Combining history, sociology, and political commentary, Sarmiento explores the impact of Argentine geography on the life of the gaucho; chronicles the often bloody political and military adventures of Facundo; examines the reign of the tyrannical ruler Juan Manuel de Rosas; and ponders the future of Argentina. This edition includes an informative introduction and a chronology of Sarmiento's life and times. It also restores the original author's note that was dropped for the 1868 English-language edition - and that is crucial to our understanding of Sarmiento and his views.
About the Author
Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and the author or editor of numerous books.
Table of Contents
Translated by Mary Peabody Mann with an Introduction by Ilan Stavans Introduction
Chronology
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text
FACUNDO: OR, CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM
Appendix: Author's Notice from the 1845 Edition