With the possible
exception of the
Galápagos Islands,
foreign writers have
paid less attention to
Ecuador than to its
larger South American
neighbours, and very few
Ecuadorian works are
ever translated into
English. That said,
there's a reasonable
choice of books
available in English,
covering subjects as
diverse as archeology,
exploration, travel and
cookery, though not all
are easy to find. One of
the best places to get
hold of English-language
books is Quito,
particularly at the
excellent Libri Mundi
bookshop
. Another useful
starting point is South
American Explorers
, which has an online
catalogue and mail-order
system at
www.samexplo.org .
Many of the titles we've
listed are also
available from
www.amazon.com ,
including some of the
out-of-print books which
Amazon can source from
secondhand bookstores.
History and society
David Corkill ,
Ecuador: Fragile
Democracy (o/p). A
clear and thorough
summary of Ecuador's
history and economy from
the Spanish Conquest to
the neoliberalism of the
late 1980s.
Felix Denegri Luna
, Notes for the
History of a Frontier
(Bolsa de Valores,
Lima). Meticulously
researched, accessible
study of the
relationship between
Ecuador and Peru, from
their days as
neighbouring colonial
divisions within Spanish
America right up to
1995, written by a
Peruvian academic in a
spirit of promoting
mutual understanding and
rapprochement .
John Hemming ,
The Conquest of the
Incas (Papermac/Harcourt
Brace). Marrying an
academic attention to
detail with a gripping
narrative style,
Hemming's book is widely
regarded as the best
account of this
devastating conquest.
His earlier work, The
Search for El Dorado
(Michael Joseph; o/p),
covers the Spaniards'
unquenchable desire for
gold that fuelled the
Conquest, and pinpoints
the origin of the myth
of El Dorado, the
legendary Golden Man, to
1540s Quito, from where
it quickly spread
throughout the continent.
Anita Isaacs ,
Military Rule and
Transition in Ecuador
1972-92 (University
of Pittsburgh Press).
Incisive examination of
the political actions of
the military in Ecuador,
and the impact military
intervention has had on
subsequent civilian
governments.
Magnus Mörner
, The Andean Past:
Land, Societies, and
Conflicts (o/p).
Academic but readable
study on the historical
development of Ecuador,
Peru and Bolivia - the
three modern-day
countries that made up
the bulk of the Inca
Empire - since the pre-Columbian
era.
Sarah Radcliffe
and Sallie Westwood
, Remaking the Nation:
Place, Identity and
Politics in Latin
America (Routledge).
A recently published,
thought-provoking
analysis of the complex
and often contradictory
factors that inform
perceptions of national
identity within Latin
America, zooming in on
Ecuador as a case study.
A fascinating insight
into the Ecuadorian self-image
as influenced by gender,
age and social and
ethnic background.
Wilma Roos and
Omer van Renterghem
, Ecuador in Focus
(Latin America Bureau/Interlink
Books). An easy-to-read
and relatively up-to-date
introduction to Ecuador
with short chapters on
history, people,
environment and economy,
and culture.
Memoirs and travel
Ludwig Bemelmans , The
Donkey Inside (o/p).
Classic travel narrative
based on the author's
travels through Ecuador
in the 1940s. A little
old-fashioned and
conservative, but
masterfully written and
a lively read. Joe
Fisher ...
read more >>
Fiction
Demetrio Aguilera Malta
, Don Goyo (Humana Press).
A spellbinding novel,
first published in 1933,
dealing with the lives
of a group of cholos who
eke out a living by
fishing from the
mangrove swamps in the
Gulf of Guayaquil,...
read more >>
Explorers
Victor Wolfgang von
Hagen , South America:
The Green World of the
Naturalists (o/p).
Fascinating overviews of
the great naturalist-explorers
who uncovered a
continent, from Peter
Martyr of 1494 to
Sanderson in the 1930s,
including...
read more >>
Oriente
Philippe Drescola , The
Spears of Twilight: Life
and Death in the Amazon
Jungle (Flamingo/New
Press). Drescola, a
French ethnologist,
spent two years living
among the Achuar of the
Oriente in the 1970s, a
time vividly and
intelligently...
read more >>
Galápagos
Johanna Angermeyer , My
Father's Island (o/p).
The author uncovers the
hidden past of her
relatives through
lyrical reminiscences on
the Angermeyer family's
struggle to settle on
Santa Cruz, Galápagos.
William Beebe , ...
read more >>
Mountaineering and
hiking
Chris Bonnington , The
Next Horizon (o/p).
Britain's most famous
mountaineer looks back
over his climbing
achievements, and
devotes a chapter to his
two slightly anti-climactic
ascents of Volcán
Sangay. Rob Rachowiecki,
Mark...
read more >>
Wildlife and the
environment
Helen Collinson (ed),
Green Guerrillas (Latin
America Bureau/Monthly
Review Press). A
collection of essays on
Latin America's
environmental situation,
including discussions on
Ecuador's indigenous
groups and rainforest
ecotourism. ...
read more >>
Arts and popular
culture
Dawn Ades , Art in Latin
America: The Modern Era
1820-1980 (Yale
University Press). An
excellent and lavishly
illustrated general
history of Latin
American art from
Independence, with
discussions of a number
of Ecuadorian
artists,...
read more >>
Photo books
Enrique Aguilar ,
Awakening in the
Andes (Enrique
Aguilar, Ecuador)
Elegant coffee-table
tome with a spread of
120 dramatic photos
depicting the volcanoes
and inhabitants of the
Ecuadorian Andes.
Kevin Kling ,
Ecuador, Island of
the Andes (Thames &
Hudson). A collection of
stunning photographs of
the peoples and
landscapes of the
Ecuadorian sierra,
invested with a haunting,
timeless quality that
makes these images
linger in your mind long
after you've stopped
looking at them.
