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Pinochet in Piccadilly: Britain and Chile's Hidden History by Andy Beckett (17-Mar-2003) Paperback
In October 1998, General Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile, was arrested in London. He had been charged with crimes against humanity by a Spanish magistrate, but over the 16 months that Pinochet was detained, equally intriguing questions went unanswered about his links with Britain. Why was Margaret Thatcher so keen to defend the General? Why was Tony Blair's usually cautious government prepared to have him arrested? And why was Britain the General's favourite foreign country? Andy Beckett offers a compound of history, investigation and travelogue that unravels this strange story.
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First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Andy Beckett
13 books13 followersAndy Beckett was born in 1969. He studied modern history at Oxford University and journalism at the University of California in Berkeley. He is a feature writer at the Guardian, and also writes for the London Review of Books and the New York Times magazine. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 19, 2024
“Starting in 1978, the Chicago Boys imposed what they called the ‘seven modernisations’. Each sought to reform an aspect of society irreversibly, by setting up new institutions and instilling new habits in Chileans, with their own - occasional - rewards.”
This goes back to the 1800s illustrating the many ways in which the relationship between Britain and Chile has been established, a relationship that when looked at, seems to exclusively consist of greedy, egotistical British people exploiting Chilean people and stealing resources for vast profit and supporting corrupt and deadly military regimes, as personified by the Pinochet dictatorship.
At times Beckett applies quite a detailed and nuanced analysis of the Frei and Allende years, giving a fleshed account of the era and of course we get some terrifying and at times gruesome reports of some of the horrendous torture and oppression which was going on under Pinochet and the pain and suffering it caused.
So the author has really done his research, he has a pleasing style and likes to inject this with the odd colourful turn of phrase like, “They too played polo and talked about India and gave orders as if Queen Victoria were still on the throne.” which keep a playful element in his account. We see that Pinochet, like Franco, Stalin and Pol Pot was largely a charmless non-entity for most of his career prior to becoming a dictator.
Beckett manages to interview a number of really compelling and relevant people covering a number of enlightening angles, from the victims (Chilean and foreign), to the protestors and even members of the World Bank and Thatcher’s acolytes who not only worked with Pinochet but claim to have liked him and even supported him during his later arrest in London.
Much of what is covered in here can be found in a number of great documentaries, the likes of “Nae Pasaran” about the Scottish workers who refused to work on the engines when they learned about how they were being used by the Pinochet dictatorship against civilians, as well as the fascinating series of documentaries by the renowned Chilean director, Patricio Guzman “The Battle of Chile” trilogy from the 1970s and his later trilogy which was released between 2010-2019.
This goes back to the 1800s illustrating the many ways in which the relationship between Britain and Chile has been established, a relationship that when looked at, seems to exclusively consist of greedy, egotistical British people exploiting Chilean people and stealing resources for vast profit and supporting corrupt and deadly military regimes, as personified by the Pinochet dictatorship.
At times Beckett applies quite a detailed and nuanced analysis of the Frei and Allende years, giving a fleshed account of the era and of course we get some terrifying and at times gruesome reports of some of the horrendous torture and oppression which was going on under Pinochet and the pain and suffering it caused.
So the author has really done his research, he has a pleasing style and likes to inject this with the odd colourful turn of phrase like, “They too played polo and talked about India and gave orders as if Queen Victoria were still on the throne.” which keep a playful element in his account. We see that Pinochet, like Franco, Stalin and Pol Pot was largely a charmless non-entity for most of his career prior to becoming a dictator.
Beckett manages to interview a number of really compelling and relevant people covering a number of enlightening angles, from the victims (Chilean and foreign), to the protestors and even members of the World Bank and Thatcher’s acolytes who not only worked with Pinochet but claim to have liked him and even supported him during his later arrest in London.
Much of what is covered in here can be found in a number of great documentaries, the likes of “Nae Pasaran” about the Scottish workers who refused to work on the engines when they learned about how they were being used by the Pinochet dictatorship against civilians, as well as the fascinating series of documentaries by the renowned Chilean director, Patricio Guzman “The Battle of Chile” trilogy from the 1970s and his later trilogy which was released between 2010-2019.
March 9, 2020
Pinochet es un hijo de puta
September 7, 2025
highly recommend to anyone interested in understanding chilean and british politics and the hugely underestimated link between them. beckett is a great writer - this book could easily have jargonny and unreadable as it’s so packed full of history etc, but it’s actually really enjoyable and even humorous at times.
the most interesting chapters for me were from the mid-end of the book. I think everyone should learn about the CIA backed coup to topple democratically elected socialist leader Allende (and the innumerable other examples across latin & south america, e.g cuba) before claiming socialism never works. beckett also writes very effectively about how pinochet was ‘thatcherite before thatcher’, and how maggie T was not-so-subtly inspired by his neoliberal policies. thatcher left a poisonous legacy (austerity, free market, neoliberalism etc) has permeated through british politics for decades, but very few people know that her politics was heavily influenced by an authoritarian dictator (pinochet).
the most interesting chapters for me were from the mid-end of the book. I think everyone should learn about the CIA backed coup to topple democratically elected socialist leader Allende (and the innumerable other examples across latin & south america, e.g cuba) before claiming socialism never works. beckett also writes very effectively about how pinochet was ‘thatcherite before thatcher’, and how maggie T was not-so-subtly inspired by his neoliberal policies. thatcher left a poisonous legacy (austerity, free market, neoliberalism etc) has permeated through british politics for decades, but very few people know that her politics was heavily influenced by an authoritarian dictator (pinochet).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2021
A very enjoyable read. The author provides an excellent insight into Anglo-Chilean relations and the history that precedes. Brilliantly researched, I particularly enjoyed the travelogue style of the book. The interviews with former government advisors were illuminating, whilst the discussions with Chilean and British leftists who experienced the ravages of the Pinochet regime gave a tremendous insight into the miasma within Chile during this period and the struggles for freedom.
The title of the book suggested a more detailed interrogation of the personal relationship between Pinochet and Thatcher. I was left slightly disappointed by this, there is one chapter which goes into reasonable detail about Pinochet's visit to London and his meeting's with Thatcher, but there is no real detail or desirable information which we as the reader would not have already known or been able to find.
My only other criticism would be in relation to the early chapters on Cochrane and North. Yes it was necessary to paint this historical picture and illuminate the links between Chile and the UK, but I believe the author over emphasised on these two not so interesting characters which at times was a laborious chore to read.
Despite this I found the rest of the book to be an engaging, enjoyable read. The chapters on the links between Neoliberalism, East Kilbride and primitive British coup attempts were intriguing.
The title of the book suggested a more detailed interrogation of the personal relationship between Pinochet and Thatcher. I was left slightly disappointed by this, there is one chapter which goes into reasonable detail about Pinochet's visit to London and his meeting's with Thatcher, but there is no real detail or desirable information which we as the reader would not have already known or been able to find.
My only other criticism would be in relation to the early chapters on Cochrane and North. Yes it was necessary to paint this historical picture and illuminate the links between Chile and the UK, but I believe the author over emphasised on these two not so interesting characters which at times was a laborious chore to read.
Despite this I found the rest of the book to be an engaging, enjoyable read. The chapters on the links between Neoliberalism, East Kilbride and primitive British coup attempts were intriguing.
July 20, 2018
Britain and Chile. Not two countries you automatically put together in your mind. Andy Beckett sets out to show that they are deeply linked, be it with C19th warlords and business imperialists, 1960s student revolutionaries, or 1970s and 1980s coup plotters and right wing free marketeers. All set against the backdrop of one of the first attempts on the world stage to bring a dictator to justice.
December 16, 2023
One of my favourite non-fiction reads in 2023.
Pinochet In Piccadilly was an endlessly interesting blend of history and travelogue that recounted the long association between Britain and Chile. Like the best works of Bill Bryson and Jon Ronson, Beckett used one situation as his starting point to go off in several different directions and tell many page-turning stories.
Pinochet In Piccadilly was an endlessly interesting blend of history and travelogue that recounted the long association between Britain and Chile. Like the best works of Bill Bryson and Jon Ronson, Beckett used one situation as his starting point to go off in several different directions and tell many page-turning stories.
August 5, 2017
This is the first (and, at the time of writing this, only) book I've read on Augusto Pinochet. Although Andy Beckett writes a thorough and well-informed account, this may not be the best starting point for newcomers to the study of its subject. The reader is assumed to be quite familiar with the Chilean coup d'état and the life of Pinochet; it's probably best to do some preliminary reading if you aren't.
Warnings aside, I found this to be a very interesting book. Other Goodreads users have pointed out Beckett's highly readable approach which combines history, journalism and travelogue; I too enjoyed it, and think some of the drier modern history books in my collection would have benefited from this kind of style.
Warnings aside, I found this to be a very interesting book. Other Goodreads users have pointed out Beckett's highly readable approach which combines history, journalism and travelogue; I too enjoyed it, and think some of the drier modern history books in my collection would have benefited from this kind of style.
July 14, 2024
I found this book most interesting when it was telling me the interlinked history of Chile and Britain in two periods: the very early days of Chile as an independent nation, and Pinochet's coup. The author's found many interesting subjects to interview and the writing sometimes becomes really compelling - I certainly learned a lot and became even angrier than I expected to at the Thatcher government.
On the other hand the book seems to be trying too hard to make a grand, sweeping link between Chile and Britain that I became unconvinced was really there. While it's interesting to see ways in which, for example, Pinochet and Thatcher influenced each other, I wasn't sold on the idea that each of these countries was directly responsible for the politics and history of each other as much as this book seems to suggest. I greatly enjoyed a chapter about a strike in a Glasgow factory refusing to service engines for the Chilean Air Force under Pinochet, but couldn't really accept the framing of this as a pivotal event in either country's story. It almost becomes self-parody when a chapter called "Jack Straw and the Revolution in Liberty" has Jack Straw only mentioned about two pages before the chapter ends and it's otherwise entirely about events in Chile. The book also frequently dips into being a sub-par travelogue, and when it does, these definitely were the weakest sections for me.
The book is full of interesting historical connections and lessons, and really picks up steam around the point in the narrative that Pinochet comes to power, being a bit slow before that point. Overall though I felt that it was lacking a proper overaching framing, and that might just be because there isn't really one other than "this is the history of relations between two different countries."
On the other hand the book seems to be trying too hard to make a grand, sweeping link between Chile and Britain that I became unconvinced was really there. While it's interesting to see ways in which, for example, Pinochet and Thatcher influenced each other, I wasn't sold on the idea that each of these countries was directly responsible for the politics and history of each other as much as this book seems to suggest. I greatly enjoyed a chapter about a strike in a Glasgow factory refusing to service engines for the Chilean Air Force under Pinochet, but couldn't really accept the framing of this as a pivotal event in either country's story. It almost becomes self-parody when a chapter called "Jack Straw and the Revolution in Liberty" has Jack Straw only mentioned about two pages before the chapter ends and it's otherwise entirely about events in Chile. The book also frequently dips into being a sub-par travelogue, and when it does, these definitely were the weakest sections for me.
The book is full of interesting historical connections and lessons, and really picks up steam around the point in the narrative that Pinochet comes to power, being a bit slow before that point. Overall though I felt that it was lacking a proper overaching framing, and that might just be because there isn't really one other than "this is the history of relations between two different countries."
February 7, 2014
THE CHILEAN CONNECTION
Andy Becketts book is a very well written blend of genres - part travelouge, history, politics. Even this does not do justice to the book which includes interviews with participants of the events that unfold in the book who don't normally recieve much of a place in historical writing.
The breadth of this work is impressive: Beckett charts the connections between Britain and Chile going back to the late 18th Century while telling the Story of Pinochets house arrest. The story of the Englishman who went to Chile in 1973 as a journalist supportive of the Allende government who ended up being imprisioned at the National Stadium is particularly moving. The connections between the British Right and Pinochet are put under the spotlight too - Alan Walters (Mrs Thatchers economic guru), various other people from her "entourage" such as the dubious Brian Crozier, Nicholas Ridley and bloody Margaret herself. He also examines those in Britain who seen in the Pinochet regime a template for Britain; the man himself was a great admirer of Thatcher, and especially with regards to how she dealt with the Miners Strike. The tentative moves on the right with regard to a coup in Britain during the 1970s are also covered in some detail.
The campaign to have Pinochet released with its nauseating slogan - "The only political prisoner in Britain" - unofficially headed by Norman Lamont (yes - he of the singing in the bath while sterling goes down the plug hole fame) is enough to make you physically sick: the sheer chutzpah of their bleatings about poor old Pinochet when they must surely be aware of what happened to thousands of Chileans under his brutal regime.
Its a melancholy book, but a necessary one and well worth reading.
Andy Becketts book is a very well written blend of genres - part travelouge, history, politics. Even this does not do justice to the book which includes interviews with participants of the events that unfold in the book who don't normally recieve much of a place in historical writing.
The breadth of this work is impressive: Beckett charts the connections between Britain and Chile going back to the late 18th Century while telling the Story of Pinochets house arrest. The story of the Englishman who went to Chile in 1973 as a journalist supportive of the Allende government who ended up being imprisioned at the National Stadium is particularly moving. The connections between the British Right and Pinochet are put under the spotlight too - Alan Walters (Mrs Thatchers economic guru), various other people from her "entourage" such as the dubious Brian Crozier, Nicholas Ridley and bloody Margaret herself. He also examines those in Britain who seen in the Pinochet regime a template for Britain; the man himself was a great admirer of Thatcher, and especially with regards to how she dealt with the Miners Strike. The tentative moves on the right with regard to a coup in Britain during the 1970s are also covered in some detail.
The campaign to have Pinochet released with its nauseating slogan - "The only political prisoner in Britain" - unofficially headed by Norman Lamont (yes - he of the singing in the bath while sterling goes down the plug hole fame) is enough to make you physically sick: the sheer chutzpah of their bleatings about poor old Pinochet when they must surely be aware of what happened to thousands of Chileans under his brutal regime.
Its a melancholy book, but a necessary one and well worth reading.
November 12, 2013
This book is part political commentary, part travelogue and also in part a history of Britain’s historic links with Chile. It’s an odd mixture that doesn’t quite work. The chapters dealing with key British figures involved in Chile’s independence and subsequent development involve characters that were – I felt – not that interesting. Moving towards the present day, Beckett gives a potted account of the rise and fall of Salvador Allende and then of Pinochet – both fair descriptions but this was a story I knew already. I mainly read the book for its account of what happened to Pinochet in Piccadilly – or, to be more exact, in London and its suburban offshoots – when his past finally started to catch up with him and there was a threat of extradition to Spain.
Here the book rang true, but I suppose the events weren’t complicated enough to provide a whole book, and in fact they fill one extended chapter. I think there could have been more of a blow-by-blow account, and more background on the attempted prosecution in Spain. The story then rolls forward to the after-effects in Chile itself, but again is rather limited and there isn’t much about the struggles for justice of the ordinary Chileans who had been ‘disappeared’ by Pinochet, which still continue 40 years after the coup (see http://twoworlds.me/latin-america/pin...).
Here the book rang true, but I suppose the events weren’t complicated enough to provide a whole book, and in fact they fill one extended chapter. I think there could have been more of a blow-by-blow account, and more background on the attempted prosecution in Spain. The story then rolls forward to the after-effects in Chile itself, but again is rather limited and there isn’t much about the struggles for justice of the ordinary Chileans who had been ‘disappeared’ by Pinochet, which still continue 40 years after the coup (see http://twoworlds.me/latin-america/pin...).
August 1, 2013
An engrossing history of the relationship between Britain and Chile. Especially good on how the Left and Right in 70s Britain used Chile as a sort of alternate reality into which they could peer and get ideas, and warnings.
This is very journalistic history - no bad thing, it brings to life the many interviews Beckett did for his book. But occasionally, there's a little too much description of the buildings where people live or where things happened. After a while, you stop thinking, 'Yes, I can picture it' and start thinking, 'Yes, Andy, I believe you went to Chile' or even, 'Yes, Andy, I believe you went to Surrey.' But! That's nothing that should put you off.
This is very journalistic history - no bad thing, it brings to life the many interviews Beckett did for his book. But occasionally, there's a little too much description of the buildings where people live or where things happened. After a while, you stop thinking, 'Yes, I can picture it' and start thinking, 'Yes, Andy, I believe you went to Chile' or even, 'Yes, Andy, I believe you went to Surrey.' But! That's nothing that should put you off.
February 28, 2013
An extraordinary piece writing between history and journalism. A must-read for anyone travelling to Chile or interested in that country, but also a fantastic choice for anyone with a thirst for unputdownable non-fiction.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews