Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America

I rarely give out five stars for a book but I almost did here. Well written and intelligent but not pretentious or academic description of travel through Latin America. Amazing stories of being in Colombian jungles and the presidential palace in Venezuela. I find books such as this are rarely objective and Latin America is viewed through an American or European lens but he does a very good job of keeping an open mind. He has leftist ideals but isn't a cheerleader that just praises all leftist leaders. He asks questions and offers criticisms as well. I definitely would like to check out other books by this author.

Chesa the young traveller is riding buses up and down rocky, mountainous terrain filled with Latino and Latina locals, and their babies and chickens, saving money and appreciating the difference between his life at home as an American student from a comfortable family, and the life of the Latin Americans he travels with and comes to know. His experience is deepened by his intensive study of the history of the U.S. in Latin America, and the attempts by Venezuielans and others to take hold of their own history and their national destiny. He throws his lot in with them but with some distance and perspective, and the book brings home the lessons and possibilities of real friendships and solidarity with Latin America.I have given this book to many, many friends. Young friends love this book, take its lessons to heart, think critically about their own privileged lives in this country, and pack their backpacks and take to the road. Older readers love the unique perspective and the compelling tale.

The book moves a little slow but I enjoyed reading about his travels. I received the book for a gift and I would not have purchased it if I had previously read it.

Descriptive of the traditions and culture of the Latin American people coupled with honest expository comment on the wonders of both the geography and Latin governments, Boudin leads us through a chapter in his life where personal growth not only continues into a third decade, but accelerates to warp speed as he takes in everything around him with the clarity of an intellectual many years his senior. Read him now so you know him when he becomes an important part of the fabric of the US as it learns to appreciate rather than exploit it's neighbors to the south.

I read this book for my book club. I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot about politics and problems in South America. I live in Ecuador and plan to read more about the politics and problems caused by the USA in South America.

Per the New York Times' review: "{i}f Gringo is any indication, {Boudin's} future should not include committing sentences to paper with the intention of distributing them widely". Ouch! The truth hurts, doesn't it? Since Boudin and his ilk need so urgently to atone for the shameful sin of White Imperialism - vis-à-vis indulging their latent psychological craving for totalitarianism and radical chic, as well as constant empty gestures of 'solidarity' with a nonexistent proletariat - I suggest that they all relocate en masse to Cuba, where they can revel for the rest of their natural lives in a big bath of Solidarity with comrade Assata "Joanne Chesimard Is My Slave Name" Shakur. Or - maybe a life of constant food shortages, nonstop crime and failed nationalization in the beloved Venezuela? 'Yankee imperialism' never looked so good, am I right?This book was incredibly embarrassing to read (I almost couldn't take it anymore when he writes that he began signing emails 'in the belly of the revolution'), and being as I am slightly younger than Mr. Boudin I'll go so far as to say it reflects poorly on our generation that pseudo-intellectual tripe such as 'Gringo' is published routinely these days with the concomitant routine expectation of awards, nonstop praise and great fanfare for the misguided author. So, to say this book - and its author - is mediocre does mediocrity a grave disservice.As a sidenote, it seems that despite Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn coughing up roughly $25,000 per year for Chesa Boudin's bourgeois education at U. of Chicago Lab Schools, anyone and everyone else unlucky enough to miss out on the spoils inherent to the red diaper baby nepotist are made to suffer the grossly substandard hell of modern public school education - and for this, we can thank in large part Boudin's solipsistic, personality-disordered terrorist guardians, who (I'm sure) proofread and strongly supported this book from inception to first publish. What a tragedy, all around.

I bought the book because I was forced to for school but didn't read it. But I heard it was good

The book is engaging, full of information and a rarity. Very valuable for someone looking for information about current events in South America.