Review of STROESSNER & the Reign of Terror
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Michael Valentine
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Review of STROESSNER & the Reign of Terror
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "STROESSNER & the Reign of Terror" by Kim Ekemar.]
Stroessner & the Reign of Terror, a book by Kim Ekemar, is a book divided into five parts about the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay. The book tells of the rise and fall of the dictator as the longest-serving dictator in all of South America. Stroessner held several beliefs, which included that the limitations of freedom were necessary as the price for peace. Anyone who stood in his dictatorial way faced torture, and even books that opposed his dictatorship were confiscated. Stroessner faces a dilemma when he has to choose between either extraditing Auguste Ricord to the United States of America, which involves pleasing the American president and getting his regular economic and military aid, or refusing to extradite Ricord and remaining in favor of his loyalists who had dealings with Ricord, thereby losing the American aid.
Kim experiences Stroessner’s dictatorship directly through personal experiences and indirectly through the experiences he has learned from others and through the terror archive. Corruption was the tool with which Stroessnor remained in power. As Robert White was reported to have stated on page 199, torture was the basis of repression in Paraguay and was the system that allowed Stroessner’s dictatorship to maintain itself, as there were people whose jobs were to torture, just like Pastor Coronel. Kim tells a story of dictatorship, terror, torture, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse.
There are several positive aspects of the book. First, the language of the book and the style of the author make it interesting and enjoyable, despite being a historical novel about the dictatorship of Stroessner. Also, the author was very descriptive in his analysis of the events that took place during the dictatorship of Stroessner. Thus, one could feel the emotions that the author wanted one to feel. For example, one cannot help but feel bad about the torture of pregnant women and women with children who were held in jail. Also, the descriptive nature of the author enables one to feel the torture and inhumane treatment on the children who Stroessner had to bathe from the blood flowing from their slit throats. Another positive aspect of the book is the witty nature of some of the characters. For example, Almada replied to the soldier who called him a subject that he was not a subject but a predicate.
There are a few negative aspects of the book. First, some pages in the book are missing. For example, pages 91 and 243 are missing on the Kindle. Also, I do not appreciate the flow of the book. In the first part of the book, the author discussed the rise and decline of Stroessner, including his exile and death. At that point, I was wondering what the author would eventually discuss in the remaining parts of the book. Moving to the other parts of the book, one is seeing about events that happened sometime in between the dictatorial rule. It would have been ideal if the author had discussed everything about the dictatorial leadership of Stroessner before discussing exile and death as the denouement of the book.
There are only a few errors in the book. This shows that the book was professionally edited. Based on this and the positive aspects identified above, I will be rating the book 4 out of 5 stars. I took a star away because of the negative aspect above. I will recommend this book to all lovers of historic novels.
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STROESSNER & the Reign of Terror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Stroessner & the Reign of Terror, a book by Kim Ekemar, is a book divided into five parts about the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay. The book tells of the rise and fall of the dictator as the longest-serving dictator in all of South America. Stroessner held several beliefs, which included that the limitations of freedom were necessary as the price for peace. Anyone who stood in his dictatorial way faced torture, and even books that opposed his dictatorship were confiscated. Stroessner faces a dilemma when he has to choose between either extraditing Auguste Ricord to the United States of America, which involves pleasing the American president and getting his regular economic and military aid, or refusing to extradite Ricord and remaining in favor of his loyalists who had dealings with Ricord, thereby losing the American aid.
Kim experiences Stroessner’s dictatorship directly through personal experiences and indirectly through the experiences he has learned from others and through the terror archive. Corruption was the tool with which Stroessnor remained in power. As Robert White was reported to have stated on page 199, torture was the basis of repression in Paraguay and was the system that allowed Stroessner’s dictatorship to maintain itself, as there were people whose jobs were to torture, just like Pastor Coronel. Kim tells a story of dictatorship, terror, torture, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse.
There are several positive aspects of the book. First, the language of the book and the style of the author make it interesting and enjoyable, despite being a historical novel about the dictatorship of Stroessner. Also, the author was very descriptive in his analysis of the events that took place during the dictatorship of Stroessner. Thus, one could feel the emotions that the author wanted one to feel. For example, one cannot help but feel bad about the torture of pregnant women and women with children who were held in jail. Also, the descriptive nature of the author enables one to feel the torture and inhumane treatment on the children who Stroessner had to bathe from the blood flowing from their slit throats. Another positive aspect of the book is the witty nature of some of the characters. For example, Almada replied to the soldier who called him a subject that he was not a subject but a predicate.
There are a few negative aspects of the book. First, some pages in the book are missing. For example, pages 91 and 243 are missing on the Kindle. Also, I do not appreciate the flow of the book. In the first part of the book, the author discussed the rise and decline of Stroessner, including his exile and death. At that point, I was wondering what the author would eventually discuss in the remaining parts of the book. Moving to the other parts of the book, one is seeing about events that happened sometime in between the dictatorial rule. It would have been ideal if the author had discussed everything about the dictatorial leadership of Stroessner before discussing exile and death as the denouement of the book.
There are only a few errors in the book. This shows that the book was professionally edited. Based on this and the positive aspects identified above, I will be rating the book 4 out of 5 stars. I took a star away because of the negative aspect above. I will recommend this book to all lovers of historic novels.
******
STROESSNER & the Reign of Terror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Jessica Uchechi Azuka
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This is a historical book and I love it! This book has an intriguing cover page that tells a lot of story. I am looking forward to reading this book to learn from it. Amazing review.
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Aaron Joseph Maupin
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This review provides a helpful overview of the book "Share Stroessner & the Reign of Terror" by Kim Ekemar. It highlights positive aspects such as the engaging language, descriptive analysis, and witty characters. However, there are also mentions of missing pages and a confusing flow. Despite these minor drawbacks, the review suggests the book is professionally edited and rates it 4 out of 5 stars. It is recommended for lovers of historic novels and appears to be a good addition to one's library based on the reviewer's perspective.
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Donaking
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Based on this review, "Share Stroessner & the Reign of Terror" by Kim Ekemar seems to be an intriguing and descriptive historical novel about the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay. The author effectively portrays the emotions and atrocities of Stroessner's regime, including torture, corruption, and sexual abuse. The book's language and writing style make it enjoyable to read, and its professional editing is evident. However, the missing pages and the disjointed flow of the book are minor drawbacks. Overall, this book appears to be a good read for lovers of historical novels.
