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University of California Press
The following review appeared in the November 2018 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Political Science - Comparative Politics
Schlotterbeck offers a compelling, comprehensively researched account of the development and trajectory of the MIR (Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria)—the Revolutionary Left Movement—in 1960s and early 1970s Chile, which pays special attention to how it garnered widespread popular support, forging alliances across class, occupational, and educational levels in the area of its birth—the university, city, and province of Concepción. This book is an important contribution to Chilean historical studies; it highlights the degree to which the MIR appealed to Chileans, in part because it respected the experiences and perspectives of the working class and encouraged self-education, critical thinking, and debate. The book highlights the schism that developed between the Santiago-based national leaders of the MIR, originally from the University of Concepción, and grassroots organizers in local communities. Those familiar with the history of Chile will already know of the tragic experiences of members of the MIR during the Pinochet dictatorship. Schlotterbeck’s book also highlights that many MIR sympathizers survived, are still doing important work in their local communities, and now look to their grandchildren involved in new movements for social justice as inspiration.
--K. Sorensen, Bentley University