Perón: A Biography

This biography recounting the Argentinean president's rise, fall, and remarkable return to power is "a formidable achievement" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Latin America has produced no more remarkable or enduring political figure than Juan Perón. Born to modest circumstances in 1895 and trained in the military, he rose to power during a period of political uncertainty in Argentina. A shrewd opportunist who understood the needs and aspirations of the country's workers, Perón rode their votes to the presidency and then increased their share of the nation's wealth. But he also destroyed the independence of their unions and suppressed dissent. Ousted in a coup in 1955, Perón wandered about Latin America and finally settled in Spain, where he masterminded an astonishing political comeback that climaxed in his reelection as president in 1973.

Joseph A. Page's engrossing biography is based upon interviews, never-before-inspected Argentine and US government documents, and exhaustive research. It spans Perón's formative years; his arrest and dramatic rescue by the descamisados in 1945; his relationship with the now mythic Evita; the violence and mysterious murders that punctuated his career; his tragic legacy, personified by his third wife, Isabel, who assumed the presidency after his death under the influence of a Rasputin-like astrologer; and the continuing appeal of Perónism in Argentina. In addition, Page's study of Argentine-American relations is particularly penetrating--especially in its description of the struggle between Perón and US ambassador Spruille Braden.

"It would probably take a novel stamped with the surrealistic genius of a Gabriel García Márquez to render all the madness, perverse magic and tragedy of Juan Domingo Perón and his Argentina. But Joseph A. Page has come up with the next best option. . . . A clearly written, definitive study." --The New York Times Book Review

Author: Joseph A. Page
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media LLC
Published: 04/04/2023
Pages: 562
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.80lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.26d
ISBN13: 9781504083140
ISBN10: 1504083148
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Political
- Biography & Autobiography | Cultural, Ethnic & Regional | Hispanic & Latino
- Biography & Autobiography | Presidents & Heads of State