Patria
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Summary
Lost Countries of South America is an adventurous, ambitious and dazzlingly original study of South America’s past that bridges travel writing, history and rich literary narrative.
Taking ten supposedly vanished and forgotten South American nations as his waymarks, journalist Laurence Blair travels to each in turn – an intrepid journey on foot and horseback, railway and river – delving into their unexpected histories and long, controversial afterlives.
From an unbowed Inca enclave in the mountains and sprawling ancient city-states in the Amazon rainforest, via a mighty Patagonian realm that humbled a global superpower, to an African guerrilla nation that fought slavery in colonial Brazil for a century, and the Black revolutionaries who marched over the Andes to overthrow an empire and forge a united continent, Blair brings to the fore rarely-told stories of coexistence, rebellion and resistance.
Drawing on rich archival sources, ground-breaking recent scholarship, and stunning archaeological findings – as well as encounters with drug lords, scholars, rebels, environmentalists, migrants, Indigenous leaders and urban activists – LOST COUNTRIES weaves a compelling narrative that speaks to universal themes of memory and national identity, placing South America at the centre of the history of the world – and its future.
Taking ten supposedly vanished and forgotten South American nations as his waymarks, journalist Laurence Blair travels to each in turn – an intrepid journey on foot and horseback, railway and river – delving into their unexpected histories and long, controversial afterlives.
From an unbowed Inca enclave in the mountains and sprawling ancient city-states in the Amazon rainforest, via a mighty Patagonian realm that humbled a global superpower, to an African guerrilla nation that fought slavery in colonial Brazil for a century, and the Black revolutionaries who marched over the Andes to overthrow an empire and forge a united continent, Blair brings to the fore rarely-told stories of coexistence, rebellion and resistance.
Drawing on rich archival sources, ground-breaking recent scholarship, and stunning archaeological findings – as well as encounters with drug lords, scholars, rebels, environmentalists, migrants, Indigenous leaders and urban activists – LOST COUNTRIES weaves a compelling narrative that speaks to universal themes of memory and national identity, placing South America at the centre of the history of the world – and its future.
Reviews
Ambitious and far-reaching... integrating research into pre-Columbian remains with the contemporary experience of crossing borders as a sharp-eyed, backpacking witness
Iain Sinclair
