Patria

Extraordinary … [t]his debut turns the familiar story of South America’s origins inside out … There’s something oneiric about South America in Blair’s storytelling; its broiling jungles, smothering cloud forests and desiccated badlands are landscapes on which dreams are built on. … Romantic, adventurous and thrilling, Patria achieves something remarkable. Not only does Blair bring the stink and splendour of these “forgotten nations” to pungent life, but he also forces us to consider how, and why, they came to be lost in the first place. His travels deserve their own TV series. And his book’s import deserves a wide hearing – that to ignore South America’s past is to ignore the planet’s future. -- Alex Diggins * The Telegraph *
A work of scholarship in its own right ... Patria also has a descriptive flair that lifts Blair’s stories off the page. Best of all, it introduces us to the myriad voices within South America that are retelling their own past -- Oliver Balch * Spectator *
Past and present cleverly entwine in this erudite, pacy and brilliant book -- Sophy Roberts * author of THE LOST PIANOS OF SIBERIA *
A distinctive and original account of an under-appreciated continent ... Patria is a feat of historical detail. Blair is an excellent guide -- Daniel Rey * History Today *
An ambitious, wide-ranging, and illuminating book focusing on South American peoples, places, cultures and eras long overlooked, repressed or misunderstood. ... a fascinating narrative [of] wit, flair and passion -- Shafik Meghji * Geographical *
Laurence Blair brings you to some of the hardest-to-reach places on the planet with his lively writing and deep reporting in a book that dives into the rarely told, often ugly and always fascinating history of this beautiful and exploited continent. How did South America arrive here and where is it going? Patria is one of the best books yet to try to answer that question. -- Jack Nicas * Brazil bureau chief, NEW YORK TIMES *
This book is a gem: an exuberant history of South America, written with scholarly verve and literary dexterity, and an unputdownable delight from start to finish. -- Jon Lee Anderson * New Yorker correspondent *
This is a breathtaking palimpsest: an almanac of past worlds stranger and more wonderful than one could ever imagine, and an erudite epic of South America today. Patria is constantly surprising and always enticing. Laurence Blair leads us with masterly vision through the mazes of a continent: he is our new Bruce Chatwin, with a touch of Hemingway -- Harriet Rix
Vivid, fast-paced and wonderfully ambitious … Mixing history, archaeology, politics, ecology, travelogue and current-affairs journalism, Patria teems with alternative stories of a continent’s life and peoples, over five centuries. -- Vanessa Baird * New Internationalist *
Patria is both enlightening and surprisingly difficult to put down -- Anna Bonet * i *
Once in a great while comes a work that not only captures the essence of a region, it does so in an entirely new way, with a clear eye and a big heart. Such is Laurence Blair's Patria, which turns a sharp lens on Latin America, offering us an original view of its many idiosyncrasies. Instead of a stolid march of events, he sees flesh and blood characters, quirky destinies, epic ambitions, high adventure. This is history at its most vibrant. It is also a snapshot of the here and now. At once grounded in solid research and livened by vivid reportage, Patria is a magnificent contribution to the Latin American canon. -- Marie Arana * author of SILVER, SWORD & STONE *
Combining intrepid reportage and extensive historical research, Patria travels to the heart of South America. A gripping and polemical account of the continent’s rich and often tragic past and troubled present -- Michael Reid * author of FORGOTTEN CONTINENT: A HISTORY OF THE NEW LATIN AMERICA *
Through rich storytelling, Patria demonstrates that the way we remember cultures from long ago—the Inca empire in Peru, the escaped slaves of Palmares in Brazil, the Diaguita in Argentina, to name a few—still very much influences how each country is building its present. And we must be mindful of what we choose to remember. -- Andrea Moncada * Americas Quarterly *
Laurence Blair throws away the traditional map and takes a dramatic plunge into little-known corners of South America, moving seamlessly between the complexities of the past and present. This expansive work not only restores these misplaced histories, but also charts important new ways for thinking about the continent’s wider place in the world. -- Carrie Gibson * author of EL NORTE: THE EPIC AND FORGOTTEN STORY OF HISPANIC NORTH AMERICA *
I thought I knew a lot about the history of South America until I read this fascinating mixture of history, travel and adventure. A must-read -- Ghillean Prance
Ambitious and far-reaching... integrating research into pre-Columbian remains with the contemporary experience of crossing borders as a sharp-eyed, backpacking witness -- Iain Sinclair
PRAISE FOR 150 YEARS OF SOLITUDE: BOLIVIA'S DREAMS OF THE SEA -- -
Laurence Blair has invented a completely new genre of literature: magical journalism, at once fantastical and pragmatically droll. It's full of weird wit but also a deep sensitivity to the wounds of national sentiment. It's one of a kind -- Simon Schama
A brilliantly mature intellectual jigsaw puzzle, combining ... nationalistic history, with personal anecdote, travel writing and narrative sweep ... a hugely ambitious project -- Caroline Daniel