Evil Hour in Colombia

by Forrest Hylton

In the English-speaking world, Colombia is the least understood of Latin American countries. Its human tragedy is generally ignored or exploited for political ends. In this work, Forrest Hylton, who lives and works in Colombia, explores its history of 150 years of political conflict, characterized by radical-popular mobilization and reactionary repression.

Evil Hour in Colombia shows how patterns of political conflict, from the mid-nineteenth century to today's guerilla narco-traffickers and paramilitaries, explain the wear currently destroying Colombian lives, property, communities and territory. In doing so, it traces how Colombia's "coffee capitalism" gave way to the cattle and cocaine republic of the 1980s, and how land, wealth, and political power have been steadily accumulated by the light-skinned top of the social pyramid through a brutal combination of terror, expropriation, and exploitation.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Latin American History

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2006

Reviews

[Neil P · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRESIDENT OBAMA READ THIS BOOK BEFORE GIVING URIBE AND THE PARAMILITARIES ANYMORE MONEY! The US (and the coke-morons of london and greater europe) have actively turned Columbia into a mafia state - actively destroying the environment, actively funding political assassinations and knowingly allowing paramilitary rule by fear across the country. This is a comprehensive and fair book, well written (if, at times, assuming that the reader already has a knowledge of the region). After reading this, I noticed that the US military is building a new air base in the country so they can put the rest of the continent under the kosch.

[Sebastien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone even remotely interested in Colombia. It is admittedly a tough read at times (it was the first time I had encountered the term "parastate," for example), and as some other reviewers have pointed out, it almost reads as a Ph.D dissertation rather than as a book.

Forrest Hylton is the real deal though. I spoke to a Colombian historian about him who was surprised at the level of research a non-Colombian would put up with in order to write this, and he's right. Hylton goes into an enormous amount of detail in this book, and as a soon-to-be-nationalized Colombian, I can say that the bits on Alvaro Uribe were essential reading whether or not the reader is Uribista. The history of Colombian paramilitaries is often overlooked since FARC hogs up all the headlines. This book changes that.

If you are Colombian or are interested in Colombia's changing socio-political climate, read this book.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to say that I really liked this book, but I'm not sure. If it said what I think it said, then I very much enjoyed it. Only thing is that I found myself getting lost in the academic approach -- long, convoluted sentences. It also seems more suited to people with a bit of a background knowledge of the country. But it did show the evils of both dominant sides in the violence.

[Tim H Storygraph (now) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed book but found the style of writing more akin to a PhD though. This is a shame as had it been more user friendly it could have much more impact and wider audience.

Need the half star for ratings as this'd be 3.5 for me.

[Austin Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry and academic, seems to be written for a PhD level audience. I was able to get some interesting insights out of it, but it was really tough and painful to get through.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

So outsiders exploit the crime rate when they talk about Colombia. Hence Hylton is right to take the same junk, mix it a bit and tell how bad things are in Colombia compared with the heavenly Venezuela.

[Matt Wilson Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expert drawing together of the bewildering constellation of violence and state-sponsored terror upon which the modern Colombian state rests. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the persistent violence in rural Colombia and its intertwining with modes of control and accumulation.

[Pablo Uribe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! Check out his interview on the podcast "the dig" by Daniel denvir if you're wondering whether to read; that's how I got to this.

[clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is def a must read for anyone interested in colombia because of how in-depth it goes into politics and history from an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist standpoint. great takes

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hylton does a great job explaining the progression of Colombia's history, in a way digestible to readers of all audiences.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I little heavy on academic and Marxist lingo, but very informative. Very good at giving a historical perspective and showing how, while everyone is worried about guerrilla violence, the power and violence of right-wing mafia-like "narco-paramilitaries" is more insidious and much scarier.

[K. Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking book, it details a Colombia that most people are probably not aware of. Though, it is not an easy book and I surely did not understand a lot of it. The basic idea is that Colombia has a very violent past driven my conflicts between the government and the poor (communists). The U.S. supported the government and eventually weakened the FARC, to now there is peace. Those caught in the middle (the Afro-Colombians and indigenous) were killed or displaced. That is the basic story.