Evita: The Life of Eva Peron Hardcover – January 30, 2017

I’m about halfway through the book and I’m not going to lie, I’m struggling to stick with this one. I am a HUGE history nerd and had no problem flying through a 400 pager about Tudor England, but this book in comparison is a struggle. The word choice is over the top and convoluted. Every couple sentences I have to stop to look up a word to make sure I understand the meaning, and I was an English major! I wanted this book to be an informative but somewhat light read and that’s not what I got. It reads more like a scholarly paper or journal. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, but certainly not what I was looking for.

This is a great Biography of Eva Peron. It is accurate and sympathetic without turning her into a saint and Firmly places her into the context of 20th century Argentine political history without trying to make her either woman ahead of or behind her time period. It also firmly places her in the context of the 1940s rather than putting a modern spin on her politics either way. This is a very lengthy biography and even in years of studying her at contained more information than I had known about her already.

The book was in very good condition. I"m very happy with the service and I enjoy reading the book. It's worth it.

I've read many books on Eva Peron. I must say this is one of the more thoughtful, well-balanced and easily readable to-date. It provides the perspective of the social and political climate of Argentina and deep insight into the class hierarchy that still makes her adored in 2017. A must read for anyone interested in learning more about Evita.Jill Hedges also provides a more nuanced approach in her research so it's neither anti-Peronista or pro-Peronista.

I got this book for my mom, she loved the play hopefully she loves the book. It came in great quality

Liked it.

OK

I wonder if anyone who knew the thin, dark-haired, illegitimate country girl name Eva Duarte back in 1930’s Argentina would have ever imagined that within a few short years, she would end up gracing the world stage as a world famous, finely coiffed blond named Eva Peron. During the stirring years after the second world war in one of the richest countries in the world, she rose, and inspired a whole array of individuals, from all over, who hated her, loved her, and who would immortalize her in film, literature, and even song. Jill Hedges is the newest author to add to the long list of authors who saw her story worthy of retelling …. again.This newly released biography of the late First Lady is a fascinating read. It’s about time those interested in Latin American history, politics, or lovers of that famous British musical, who have never really been exposed to the real Evita Peron, get a 21st century analysis. Jill Hedges did her homework and tries to present a balanced portrayal. At times, I did think it mirrored far too much other biographies I have read- I had a sense of déjà vu in some instances, but it remains absorbing and highly readable. My main complaint, were with the pictures. Typically, a few pages were reserved for photographs but most were blurred and not enough were included to capture all aspects of her life. Of course, pictures are not necessary, some biographies do not even include them, but a book of this caliber, that is hard-covered, well-written, handsomely produced, etc, made me too eager to contemplate it's images.The book is smoothly written, hitting practically every aspect of Eva’s life, leaving very little unturned- even mentioning the possibility of Eva receiving a lobotomy. This is a piece of information that is still relatively new and very few biographies have covered. There is a lot witness insight and interviews, viewpoints from both sides, and like most biographies on the subject, covers Argentina’s tumultuous history, class system, and culture, highlighting the climate and context that affected, inspired, and helped shape the historical person. As expected, and despite the even-handed approach in presenting the complex Eva, her unmasking, flaws and all, reveals her as unique and remarkable young woman- a no-nonsense, driven, temperamental, Latin beauty who wanted to be “someone in history”. Hedges also presents us with her personal views of her character and changing styles, and is able to firmly state why some of the harsh criticisms of her are unfair, or without merit, or stemming from obnoxious double standards. Her dispelling of the ridiculous rumor she had an affair with Aristotle Onassis during her European tour was interesting; a topic many earlier biographies didn't bother to discuss. The more salacious ones would print this unfounded rumor as true.There have been several books released on the subject in the last decade. The ones written in English were mostly disappointing, geared towards the more younger reader; easy to read and short on details. The best biographies have been released only in Spanish- “Evita (Jirones De Su Vida)” and “Evita en Fotos” both by Felipe Pigna come to mind. The latter is bilingual and more of a photo book, but contains a detailed biography; only the Spanish version is fantastic, the English section is translated sloppily. This is why this in-depth biography is welcome. It is much more informative, a more useful tool for research, and a fine read. If you have read the more salacious biographies (there are many), the woman presented here by Hedges may come as a bit of a surprise. Some will never be as charmed, or as intrigued, or as fascinated by Evita as I am. But her life experiences, her work, accomplishments, drive, determination, dedication, and audacity are difficult to sneer at, and all help elevate her to the lofty heights usually reserved to the mythic men and woman of history. Recommended.

This is an excellent biography in English, of a mid-20th Century icon. It successfully manages to present a balanced view of Eva Peron as a flawed human-being rather than either the Peronist saint or anti-Peronist devil. Its source material is properly referenced and the book has a good bibliography although, of course, much is inaccessible to those, like myself, who do not read Spanish.The flaw that loses it a star is the formatting in the Kindle version, which places all the limited number of photographs at the end of the book rather than in the relevent section of the text. Since image was so important to the subject of the book more photographs would have helped and we could thus see how her image changed as the text develops. Nonetheless, an informative read.

This is a good, shortish introduction book to this enigmatic character. Fascist? Socialist? Read it and find out. How a young lady in a macho country and macho continent rose so fast and so far and help the poor of that rich land is fascinating. I went to her grave in 2008. Buenos Aries is a wonderful city too.

Quite slow and plodding, discussing lots of theories, short on fact

At last a book that manages to break through both the pro and anti myths thereby allowing you to find out about the real person that was Evita. What an amazing woman warts and all.

If you are interested ln Eva Peron then this is the book to read. Well written and I think a really balanced view of her life.