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Eva Peron
Fraser, Nicholas & Marysa Navarro, Eva Peron
192 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1985
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33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 25, 2023
Good if you just want the gist of it.
November 14, 2025
BOOK REVIEW - Eva Perón, by Nicholas Fraser, Marysa Navarro (2004)
Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro’s Eva Perón remains one of the most authoritative and compelling biographies of one of the 20th century’s most mythic political figures. The book offers a portrait of a woman whose rise from poverty to national icon was as improbable as it was transformative. Despite Eva’s exalted status in the Argentine culture and mind the book avoids hero worship.
Eva’s early life was one of an impoverished girl from the provinces, raised outside the protections of legitimacy, and determined to escape obscurity. The book traces her move to Buenos Aires as a teenager, her modest success as a radio and film actress, and her early immersion in the social ambitions of the capital’s elite. But the biography’s most dramatic narrative turns on her meeting Juan Perón in 1944. Their partnership—both political and personal—was instant, strategic, and ultimately historic.
The authors illuminate how Eva became not merely Juan Perón’s wife but his essential political force. As Perón built a coalition of workers, unions, and the increasingly assertive urban poor, Eva emerged as the emotional interpreter of Peronism—its voice, its symbol, and its embodiment. Her electrifying speeches, her tireless visits to factories and hospitals, and her fierce advocacy for the descamisados created a bond with the Argentine people that transcended politics. And persists to this day.
That relationship became almost mystical in death. Fraser and Navarro carefully show how her funeral transformed into a national rite: hundreds of thousands gathered in Buenos Aires, many fainting from grief; workers wept in the streets; and the process of embalming and preserving her body grew into a bizarre, almost religious act of collective devotion. She was not merely mourned—she was adored, in a way that defied Western political categories.
The book gives due credit to Eva’s formidable (and sometimes contradictory) influence on the Perón administration. She was not a mere consort but a political actor with real authority. Champion of the working class, she amplified Juan Perón’s populist agenda and helped consolidate the alliance with labor unions that defined Peronism. She was an architect of social welfare. Through her Foundation, she oversaw vast charitable programs that distributed aid, built homes, funded hospitals, and provided direct assistance to the poor.
She was an advocate for women’s rights, and played a decisive role in securing women’s suffrage in Argentina and later established the Peronist Women’s Party, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of female activists. She was also a cultural force, by reshaping Argentine political culture, imagery, language, and its emotional vocabulary. She blurred the lines between politics, theater, devotion, and nationalism, creating a new model of political charisma.
The biography is balanced—it neither sanctifies her as a socialist saint nor dismisses her as a demagogue. Instead, it shows how Eva Perón carved out a position of real power in a male-dominated political world, often through sheer will. The authors argue convincingly that Eva Perón’s legacy endures because she represented, to millions, the possibility of upward mobility, dignity, and recognition. Even decades after her death, Evita remained a potent political symbol—invoked by Peronists and anti-Peronists alike. Her memory still animates debates about social justice, populism, class identity, and the power of charisma.
She was both a product of her time and a shaper of her nation’s imagination. Her legacy—romanticized, contested, and endlessly reinterpreted—continues to define Argentine politics. Some would argue her long tern influence is greater than Juan the father of Peronismo.
Quotes:
From the moment she stepped into public life, Eva Perón spoke to the masses with a passion that no Argentine political figure had harnessed before. She did not merely represent the descamisados—she became the vessel of their hopes, their resentments, and their longing for dignity. In her voice, they felt themselves heard, and in her rise they saw the possibility of their own.”
“Even in death, Eva’s presence refused to fade. Her body, preserved as if awaiting resurrection, became the center of a new civil religion. To millions she remained the eternal advocate of the poor; to others, a dangerous symbol of populist excess. But no one could deny that she had redrawn the map of Argentine political emotion. Her legend outlived her life, and in many ways, outlived Peronism itself.”
Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro’s Eva Perón remains one of the most authoritative and compelling biographies of one of the 20th century’s most mythic political figures. The book offers a portrait of a woman whose rise from poverty to national icon was as improbable as it was transformative. Despite Eva’s exalted status in the Argentine culture and mind the book avoids hero worship.
Eva’s early life was one of an impoverished girl from the provinces, raised outside the protections of legitimacy, and determined to escape obscurity. The book traces her move to Buenos Aires as a teenager, her modest success as a radio and film actress, and her early immersion in the social ambitions of the capital’s elite. But the biography’s most dramatic narrative turns on her meeting Juan Perón in 1944. Their partnership—both political and personal—was instant, strategic, and ultimately historic.
The authors illuminate how Eva became not merely Juan Perón’s wife but his essential political force. As Perón built a coalition of workers, unions, and the increasingly assertive urban poor, Eva emerged as the emotional interpreter of Peronism—its voice, its symbol, and its embodiment. Her electrifying speeches, her tireless visits to factories and hospitals, and her fierce advocacy for the descamisados created a bond with the Argentine people that transcended politics. And persists to this day.
That relationship became almost mystical in death. Fraser and Navarro carefully show how her funeral transformed into a national rite: hundreds of thousands gathered in Buenos Aires, many fainting from grief; workers wept in the streets; and the process of embalming and preserving her body grew into a bizarre, almost religious act of collective devotion. She was not merely mourned—she was adored, in a way that defied Western political categories.
The book gives due credit to Eva’s formidable (and sometimes contradictory) influence on the Perón administration. She was not a mere consort but a political actor with real authority. Champion of the working class, she amplified Juan Perón’s populist agenda and helped consolidate the alliance with labor unions that defined Peronism. She was an architect of social welfare. Through her Foundation, she oversaw vast charitable programs that distributed aid, built homes, funded hospitals, and provided direct assistance to the poor.
She was an advocate for women’s rights, and played a decisive role in securing women’s suffrage in Argentina and later established the Peronist Women’s Party, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of female activists. She was also a cultural force, by reshaping Argentine political culture, imagery, language, and its emotional vocabulary. She blurred the lines between politics, theater, devotion, and nationalism, creating a new model of political charisma.
The biography is balanced—it neither sanctifies her as a socialist saint nor dismisses her as a demagogue. Instead, it shows how Eva Perón carved out a position of real power in a male-dominated political world, often through sheer will. The authors argue convincingly that Eva Perón’s legacy endures because she represented, to millions, the possibility of upward mobility, dignity, and recognition. Even decades after her death, Evita remained a potent political symbol—invoked by Peronists and anti-Peronists alike. Her memory still animates debates about social justice, populism, class identity, and the power of charisma.
She was both a product of her time and a shaper of her nation’s imagination. Her legacy—romanticized, contested, and endlessly reinterpreted—continues to define Argentine politics. Some would argue her long tern influence is greater than Juan the father of Peronismo.
Quotes:
From the moment she stepped into public life, Eva Perón spoke to the masses with a passion that no Argentine political figure had harnessed before. She did not merely represent the descamisados—she became the vessel of their hopes, their resentments, and their longing for dignity. In her voice, they felt themselves heard, and in her rise they saw the possibility of their own.”
“Even in death, Eva’s presence refused to fade. Her body, preserved as if awaiting resurrection, became the center of a new civil religion. To millions she remained the eternal advocate of the poor; to others, a dangerous symbol of populist excess. But no one could deny that she had redrawn the map of Argentine political emotion. Her legend outlived her life, and in many ways, outlived Peronism itself.”
May 29, 2023
Story of a dictator who brought totalitarianism and bankruptcy to Argentina and was nonetheless beloved. The final chapter tracks the afterlife of Eva, which is even more dramatic than her already dramatic life, as her cadaver is stolen and hidden and entombed in a bunker capable of surviving a nuclear bomb- but is it strong enough to keep the myth of Evita down? Loved it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
One of the earlier biographies written about the controversial leader, and in many ways it feels dated, as in 1980 even almost thirty years after Eva Peron's death, events were still unfolding which shaped her legacy and the final story of Peronist rule in Argentina. This is a well written biography but assumes a certain background knowledge of the politics behind Argentina's struggles, and more than a passing knowledge of Spanish as words (many of which are Argentinian colloquialisms) are liberally sprinkled throughout. I was reading at one point and asked a Spanish speaking co-worker to translate something for me and he had no idea (he's from Colombia, not Argentina, he didn't know the Argentinian word for an electric cattle prod). This slowed me down and having to look things up definitely broke my flow, but this nonetheless proved an interesting read.
May 3, 2024
One of the first biographies to critically examine Eva Peron's life and legacy and separate myths from documented circumstances. The authors interviewed dozens of people who knew Evita personally or were impacted by her political stances and charitable foundation. The authors provide strong historical context concerning Argentine politics and the role of women in public life. The book is particularly useful for readers interested in separating fact from fiction in the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical Evita. (There is no evidence that she had a relationship with tango singer Augustin Magaldi but excerpts from her actual speeches are woven into the lyrics of the musical). The audiobook is curiously narrated - the narrator reads Spanish terms in a Castilian Spanish accent rather than the Argentinian accent that would have been closer to how Evita actually spoke.
January 16, 2020
Another example of what should have been a great read, but wasn't. Probably not helped by miscasting Wanda McCaddon as narrator. Seriously, do these companies ever consider matching the narrator to the work?
April 28, 2020
While I appreciated the unbiased standpoint, I think in a lot of cases it focused more on the big picture than on Evita herself, more on the world Evita lived in than Evita. More of a personal preference- overall, wonderful book.
September 28, 2023
The author never effectively explains Evita's incredible popular support. If she is so politically naive with wooden stilted delivery, what's the basis for the cult of celebrity that springs up? The authors seem only a little less baffled by her popularity than the Argentinian elites
March 11, 2021
3.5 stars. I knew it was going to be a bit of a slog, but I was fascinated by the history of this woman and people's opinions of her. Very interesting read, though definitely a bit dry in points.
April 18, 2022
For a biography this book lacks many details about Eva. Very disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews