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Penguin Press
March 2013
On Sale: March 13, 2013
320 pages
ISBN: 1594204578
EAN: 9781594204579
Kindle: B008EKONCE
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Biography
Hugo ChΓ‘vez is a phenomenon. He has been compared to NapolΓ©on, Nasser, PerΓ³n, and Castro, but the truth is there has never been a leader like him. He is democratically elected, reigns like a monarch from a digital throne, and provokes adoration and revulsion in equal measure. Future historians will study his rule for what it says about the early twenty-first century. How did a charismatic autocrat seduce not just a nation but a significant part of world opinion? How did he make people laugh and weep and applaud, as if on command? And how does he continue to stay in power despite the crumbling of Venezuela? When he first came to power in 1999, ChΓ‘vez promised a democratic revolution to transform his country. In Venezuela and elsewhere, he became a symbol of hope and freedom for his people. Yet in his thirteen years as president, ChΓ‘vez has seized control of the hugely lucrative Venezuelan oil industry, consolidated government authority under the presidency, allowed basic government functions to wither, jailed and excommunicated political opponents, created a personality cult, and courted Castro and Ahmadinejad, all while occupying much of Venezuelaβs airwaves with his long-running television show, Β‘Alo Presidente! In Comandante, acclaimed journalist Rory Carroll breaches the walls of Miraflores Palace to tell the inside story of ChΓ‘vez's life and his political court in Caracas. Based on interviews with ministers, aides, courtiers, and citizens, this intimate piece of reportage chronicles a unique experiment in power, which veers among enlightenment, tyranny, comedy, and farce. Carroll investigates the almost religious devotion of millions of Venezuelans who still regard ChΓ‘vez as a savior and the loathing of those who brand him a dictator. In beautiful prose that blends the lyricism and strangeness of magical realism with the brutal, ugly truth of authoritarianismβa powerful combination reminiscent of Ryszard Kapuscinski's The EmperorβRory Carroll has written a cautionary tale for our times.
 Media BuzzMorning Edition - April 10, 2013
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