Colombia

What Everyone Needs to Know

By: Richard D. Mahoney

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

Colombia's recent past has been characterized by what its Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez once called "a biblical holocaust" of human savagery. Along with the scourge of drug-related massacres facing the country, politically-motivated assassinations (averaging 30 per day in the 1990s), widespread disappearances, rapes, and kidnappings have run rampant through the country for decades.

For many Colombians, the violence oft-invoked in today's immigration debate is a bleak and inescapable reality. And yet, with only 11 years of military rule during its 200 some years of independence, Colombia's democratic tradition is among the richest and longest-standing in the hemisphere. The country's economic growth rate over the last 75 years is among the highest in South America, the overall living satisfaction of its citizens is on par with citizens of France, and it is home to some of the continent's best universities and most dazzling fine and industrial arts.

With such contradictions, even to experts, Colombia is one of the most confusing countries in the Americas. In this new addition to the popular What Everyone Needs to Know® series, Richard D. Mahoney links historical legacies, cultural features, and the relentless dynamics of the illegal drug industry to unravel the enigma.

©2020 Richard D. Mahoney (P)2020 Tantor

Very short history of (mostly modern) Colombia

This is the perfect book for someone who wants a very short history of Colombia. It explains the founding and progressive history of the nation until around 2017. Half the book is mostly the 1990s (the drug war years of Escobar) and the following decades during which the U.S. examines its policies to Colombia.
At first I was disappointed that it went in so much detail regarding this but then I remember that it was labeled as “what everybody needs to know” and this was the then contemporary issues between the two nations.
A good choice on Colombian history if you want it quick and simple.

A Lot Covered in 7 Hours

Other reviews, I feel, take off too many stars for his leftist bent. If you want to learn about Colombia, you will. The leftist views mostly come on at the very end of the book, so that may be why they get overly emphasised. Don't let it stop you from listening to this book.

Great information but a bit biased

There’s a ton of great information in here and if you’re looking for any 1 book that touches on the entire history of Colombia this is it. That said, as someone with a passion for Colombia with a prior deep understanding of both its history and present there’s some pretty obvious left-wing bias that comes out from the author on a few things. Nothing too extreme, but something that those of us who know better will be able to pick up on. If you can put that aside, there’s a ton of great information in here and it truly is a great summary of Colombian history.

A must read for any Colombian expat

An excellent journey from Colombia’s birth to almost present day. I enjoyed learning a bit more of our past, present and hope for the future.

Excellent overview of Colombia

This is a great overview of the history of Colombia. I learned so much from this book and the author does a great job of highlighting important points without getting too much into the weeds. Sometimes getting into the weeds is great, but not for a historical synopsis. The author does a fair job of pointing out the consequences - good and bad - of US involvement in Colombian affairs. Colombia has long been one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to travel to Colombia or anyone who's just curious about the country!

Starts Off Good But…

This book gives a very good narrative of Colombian history until the 1970s. Unfortunately, the author’s political biases bring down the scholarly quality as his disdain for Republicans results in the occasional childish digs.

A recent history

I thought this book was going to include the interesting indigenous history of Colombia. It focused mostly on the political history of the past two centuries.
I was disturbed by the pronunciation of some words in Spanish. At first the narrator pronounced Cartagena as Cartageña. It was corrected by the third chapter. He also put the stress on the wrong syllables in the words Santander and Paisa. These are important words for Colombia!