By looking at Colombia from Villavicencio, Rausch writes a history from the middle, one that looks up toward the somber highland capital of Bogotá and out toward the exuberant eastern plains. This is a history of civic urbanity and the rude countryside, of urban violence and the prosperous plains. The inhabitants of Villavicencio live continuously in times that are both ... Read morepeaceful and violent. Villavicencio turns out to be a microcosm of Colombia.
Herbert Tico Braun, University of Virginia This topic is intrinsically interesting as well as important, and Jane Rausch makes it into a good story without shortchanging the requirements of analysis.
David Bushnell, University of Florida Show Less