The earthshaking news of October 1998 that General Pinochet had been arrested in Britain presaged two years of international interest in the case and its ramifications for traveling tyrants the world over. Now the General has returned home, but the media has continued to ignore the important story of how his detention lifted a stranglehold that had suffocated Chile's moral sensibility for a generation. Award-winning journalist Marc Cooper was a translator to President Allende until the coup of 1973. In this memoir he reconstructs the tense atmosphere of the final days of the Allende government, including his hiding and subsequent evacuation under armed UN protection. Twenty-five years later he returns and describes, in vivid street-level reporting, a country that is a democracy in name only and a society that has been transfigured by one of the most radical, armed capitalist revolutions of our time. Yet, he argues, spasms of protest that seemed like the last rattle of the snake may still presage the crumbling of Chile's status quo as Allende's heirs in the Socialist Party, albeit "renewed," sweep into the Presidency.

Whether you're out for the action, fascinated by wildlife or hanker after the culture and cuisine, Chile and Argentina have firmly established themselves as top destinations for trekking. From gentle trails to the taxing peaks of the Andes, the region offers everything for the walker, cyclist and adventure-junkie. In this fifth edition of Chile and Argentina: The Bradt Trekking Guide, Tim Burford rewalks the established paths, as well as uncovering new territory, inspiring both experienced hikers and prospective wanderers. Focusing on over 35 areas, with details of the region's flora and fauna, this is the guide to carry in your backpack. This guide includes 45 hikes, from northwest Argentina to Tierra del Fuego; unique descriptions of mountain treks near Santiago; rafting, kayaking, cycling, horse-riding and skiing; thorough coverage of national parks, including ecology and wildlife; wildlife on the Valdes Peninsula. (5 1/4 x 8 1/2, 368 pages, illustrations, maps, charts)

The Norte Grande of Chile, the world’s driest desert, had "engendered contemporary Chile, everything that was good about it, everything that was dreadful," writes Ariel Dorfman in his brilliant exploration of one of the least known and most exotic corners of the globe. For 10,000 years the desert had been mined for silver, iron, and copper, but it was the 19th-century discovery of nitrate that transformed the country into a modern state and forced the desert’s colonization.
The mines’ riches generated mansions and oligarchs in Chile’s more temperate region—and terrible inequalities throughout the country. The Norte Grande also gave birth to the first Chilean democratic and socialist movements, nurturing every major political figure of modern Chile from Salvador Allende to Augusto Pinochet. In this richly layered personal memoir, illustrated with the author’s own photographs, Dorfman sets out to explore the origins of contemporary Chile—and, along the way, seek out his wife’s European ancestors who came years ago to Chile as part of the nitrate rush. And, most poignantly, he looks for traces of his friend and fellow 1960s activist, Freddy Taberna, executed by a firing squad in a remote Pinochet death camp.

Traverse Chile's diverse literary and geographic landscape with its best contemporary writers. Arranged geographically, these 20 stories -- many of which appear in English for the first time -- guide the reader through Chile's unique regions. Let Ariel Dorfman take you to Santiago with a prodigal son, discovering his own country for the first time; travel to the remote south with Enrique Valdes; and enjoy the charms of Valparaiso with Pablo Neruda, one of Chile's two Nobel Prize winners.
With the return of democracy to Chile, large numbers of Americans and Chilean expatriates are rediscovering the rich cultural allure of Chile, as well as the draw of its unrivaled ecodiversity. Chile is an excellent literary guide for globetrotters and armchair travelers alike -- for those new to Chile as well as those familiar with its charms.
Katherine Silver is a freelance translator, editor, teacher and writer who has lived in Chile frequently and for prolonged periods from 1979 to the present. She has translated the Il Postino by Antonio Skarmeta, as well as the works of Elena Poniatowska, Jose Emilio Pacheco and Martin Adan. She is currently translating Pedro Lemebel's I Tremble Toreador for Grove/Atlantic Press.

PATAGONIA is a thoroughly researched description of this region at the southern tip of South America. The book begins with a narrative account of a trip to the area and then continues with much more information. Included is a chapter on the environment, incorporating many facts about the interesting wildlife as well as the weather and the terrain. Next comes a chapter on the history of Patagonia, including the fascinating experiences of the early explorers. The fourth chpater is an excellent review of the now-extinct Indian tribes. The final chapter deals wth the present situation in Patagonia--the politics, the investment climate, and some of the controversies sparked by U.S. timber companies moving into this pristine land. With four pages of color pictures, numerous black and white photos, and graphics, including maps of the area. Extensive index and bibliography.

Amid protests against the Pinochet regime, a group of población(shantytown) residents came together in 1984 to challenge poor health care in their community and to denounce military rule. How did their organization respond seven years later when Chile's transition to democracy brought an end to dictatorship but no clear solution to ongoing health problems? Marketing Democracy shows how the exercise of power and the strategies of social movements transformed with the transition from a military to an elected-civilian regime in Chile. The term "marketing democracy" refers first to how contemporary democracies are shaped by transnational market forces, and second to how politicians have promoted democracy with the twin goals of attracting foreign capital and diminishing social movements.

One of over 400 titles in the Insight series,
Insight Guide Chile. This 384-page book includes a section detailing Chile's history, 7 features covering the country's life and culture, ranging from its pure Cabernet Sauvignon vines to its excellent huaso horsemanship, a region by region visitor's guide to the sights, and a comprehensive Travel Tips section packed with essential contact addresses and numbers. Plus over 350 magnificent photographs and 14 maps.

Chile is as rustic as it is romantic. Sprawling ranches and first-rate vineyards, and fascinating museums, sleepy fishing villages and glittery resorts by the sea –all this and more in one sliver of land squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific. So wherever your journey takes you through this exciting, enchanting, sumptuous country be prepared to be intoxicated. Before leaving on your journey to Chile, be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing!

The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best: "Fodor's Gold Guides are saturated with information."

- New two-color interiors make it easier to find the information you need.
- Fodor's Choice ratings tell what not to miss.
- Hotel and restaurant reviews cover all budgets.
- New ¢ sign category flags the best budget options.
- Multi-day itineraries help readers build the right trip for them.
- Smart Travel Tips, a complete chapter packed with contacts and great advice.

Isabel Allende's first memory of Chile is of a house she never knew. The "large old house" on the Calle Cueto, where her mother was born and which her grandfather evoked so frequently that Isabel felt as if she had lived there, became the protagonist of her first novel, The House of the Spirits. It appears again at the beginning of Allende's playful, seductively compelling memoir My Invented Country, and leads us into this gifted writer's world.
Here are the almost mythic figures of a Chilean family -- grandparents and great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends -- with whom readers of Allende's fiction will feel immediately at home. And here, too, is an unforgettable portrait of a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and an indomitable spirit. Although she claims to have been an outsider in her native land -- "I never fit in anywhere, not into my family, my social class, or the religion fate bestowed on me" -- Isabel Allende carries with her even today the mark of the politics, myth, and magic of her homeland. In My Invented County, she explores the role of memory and nostalgia in shaping her life, her books, and that most intimate connection to her place of origin.
Two life-altering events inflect the peripatetic narration of this book: The military coup and violent death of her uncle, Salvador Allende Gossens, on September 11, 1973, sent her into exile and transformed her into a writer. The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, on her newly adopted homeland, the United States, brought forth from Allende an overdue acknowledgment that she had indeed left home. My Invented Country, whose structure mimics the workings of memory itself, ranges back and forth across that distance accrued between the author's past and present lives. It speaks compellingly to immigrants, and to all of us, who try to retain a coherent inner life in a world full of contradictions.