tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post1292070207394892076..comments2024-02-21T05:16:22.788-05:00Comments on Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog: Tim Weiner's Legacy of AshesGreg Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765114859595124082noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-3519643917569378482008-02-18T19:59:00.000-05:002008-02-18T19:59:00.000-05:00How can a serious Latin Americanist call Bitter Fr...How can a serious Latin Americanist call Bitter Fruit a classic? Are you saying it was a classic at the time it was written or that it's a classic in Guatemala? I only ask because, as I'm sure you know, Bitter Fruit has been largely discredited by Immerman's The CIA in Guatemala and Gleijeses' Shattered Hope. The historiography of Operation Success adds ammunition to the Agency's point that serious history should be written by historians who at least attempt to be objective rather than journalists like Kinzer and Weiner who write with an agenda.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-62102069306879599222008-01-22T16:02:00.000-05:002008-01-22T16:02:00.000-05:00Fair enough. I would invite everyone to read both...Fair enough. I would invite everyone to read both the book and review. As I said, given the length and source of the review, I'd love to see a rebuttal.<BR/><BR/>My own opinion is that the review commits some of the same sins attributed to the book. Just one example: I think the review cherry picks Weiner's discussion about Truman, and mocks him for arguments he doesn't make.Greg Weekshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765114859595124082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-27369692743194075542008-01-22T14:47:00.000-05:002008-01-22T14:47:00.000-05:00No, the CIA historian was not saying that "bad" bo...No, the CIA historian was not saying that "bad" books are those that damage CIA and therefore national security. He was saying that UNTRUE books are bad per se and that this will affect whether people want to work for CIA.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-82018341029277066062008-01-19T09:37:00.000-05:002008-01-19T09:37:00.000-05:00The CIA routinely portrayed the 1954 Guatemalan in...<I>The CIA routinely portrayed the 1954 Guatemalan invasion and overthrow as a victory for covert operations. Yet as Weiner points out—and which has been widely analyzed elsewhere--it was largely bungled and “succeeded” only because of dumb luck.</I><BR/><BR/>I think the more important issue is the awful and bloody legacy the coup ushered in for several generations of Guatemalans afterward.Justin Delacourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343303383195336825noreply@blogger.com