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A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture
"We were all out in la charca, and there they were, coming over the ridge, a battalion ready for war, against a schoolhut full of children." Tanks roaring over farmlands, pregnant mothers tortured, their babies stolen and sold on the black market, homes raided in the dead of night, ordinary citizens kidnapped and never seen again--such were the horrors of Argentina's Dirty War. Now, in A Lexicon of Terror, Marguerite Feitlowitz fully exposes the nightmare of sadism, paranoia, and deception the military dictatorship unleashed on the Argentine people, a nightmare that would claim over 30,000 civilians from 1976 to 1983 and whose leaders were recently issued warrants by a Spanish court for the crime of genocide.
Feitlowitz explores the perversion of language under state terrorism, both as it's used to conceal and confuse ("The Parliament must be disbanded to rejuvenate democracy") and to domesticate torture and murder. Thus, citizens kidnapped and held in secret concentration camps were "disappeared"; torture was referred to as "intensive therapy"; prisoners thrown alive from airplanes over the ocean were called "fish food." Based on six years of research and moving interviews with peasants, intellectuals, activists, and bystanders, A Lexicon of Terror examines the full impact of this catastrophic period from its inception to the present, in which former torturers, having been pardoned and released from prison, live side by side with those they tortured.
Passionately written and impossible to put down, Feitlowitz shows us both the horror of the war and the heroism of those who resisted and survived--their courage, their endurance, their eloquent refusal to be dehumanized in the face of torments even Dante could not have imagined.
Feitlowitz explores the perversion of language under state terrorism, both as it's used to conceal and confuse ("The Parliament must be disbanded to rejuvenate democracy") and to domesticate torture and murder. Thus, citizens kidnapped and held in secret concentration camps were "disappeared"; torture was referred to as "intensive therapy"; prisoners thrown alive from airplanes over the ocean were called "fish food." Based on six years of research and moving interviews with peasants, intellectuals, activists, and bystanders, A Lexicon of Terror examines the full impact of this catastrophic period from its inception to the present, in which former torturers, having been pardoned and released from prison, live side by side with those they tortured.
Passionately written and impossible to put down, Feitlowitz shows us both the horror of the war and the heroism of those who resisted and survived--their courage, their endurance, their eloquent refusal to be dehumanized in the face of torments even Dante could not have imagined.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 24, 2025
The scope of this work is crazy and invaluable. Just the amount of first hand accounts / interviews and people she was able to get to and the continuous nature of the unearthing is wild. I didn’t know anything about the dictatorship and, basically, genocide (she brings up a good point about the definition of that word) prior to this book and it is insane and awful. Also so interesting to read about it from the lens of dissecting the way language and people’s relationships to it was mutilated. There’s a woman’s account in which she talks about taking her kids to school on a rainy day and she can’t bring herself to tell them to put their hoods up, so she uses an outdated synonym for hood which her children don’t understand because hood (capucha) is so engrained to her with her time in a concentration camp where they were constantly hooded. Just so chilling - it is one thing to have that experience and another still to be contained in the language of it. I mean that’s just an infinitesimal fraction of what’s discussed in this wok and unfortunately it feels more relevant now than ever! The discourse on mistrust, propaganda etc. chilling and ever present… I could go on but I won’t!
October 4, 2022
"The prisoners will disappear without a trace. It will be impossible to glean any information as to where they are or what will be there fate."
This book is one of the more haunting books that I have ever read. It truly is a lexicon of terror (it provides lexicon entries, both specific to Argentina and more general ones, that paint a horrifying image of human cruelty).
But it is so much more.
Full of vivid descriptions of torture from both the victim and perpetrator perspectives, the book also illustrates just how dangerous your neighbors can be under the right (read: wrong) circumstances. And how easily fear can be turned into unspeakable atrocities.
It's a book that belongs on any reading list of human evils. I highly recommend it.
"You don't exist. You're no one."
This book is one of the more haunting books that I have ever read. It truly is a lexicon of terror (it provides lexicon entries, both specific to Argentina and more general ones, that paint a horrifying image of human cruelty).
But it is so much more.
Full of vivid descriptions of torture from both the victim and perpetrator perspectives, the book also illustrates just how dangerous your neighbors can be under the right (read: wrong) circumstances. And how easily fear can be turned into unspeakable atrocities.
It's a book that belongs on any reading list of human evils. I highly recommend it.
"You don't exist. You're no one."
April 29, 2015
This is for people who like to punish themselves with the dark side of history. Kind of like A People's History if everything bad was secretly masterminded by Nazis. The depth of the psychological warfare Argentina used on its own people is just mind-boggling, pulling communities up by their roots and turning into nightmare versions of themselves. More Orwellian than Orwell, the worst nightmare of the tinfoil hat people and true. This is a remarkable book that I am never reading ever again.
March 17, 2020
Read this 10 years ago; decided that I might as well give it a re-read after reading the John Simpson book.
This one is set in the mid-90s, just 10 years after Simpson's, so it's interesting to see the context in which members of the military were protected from prosecution by an amnesty law. I'm glad to learn from Wikipedia that the law was revoked in the early 2000s and that quite a few prosecutions for war crimes have happened since then.
This is a much more academic text than Simpson's; I skimmed some parts in my re-read. The book features longer excerpts from survivors from the camp, key figures in the military and Church, and other public figures in comparison with the Simpson book. Like the military wife who notes that her husband "kept having these nightmares of falling out of a plane."
Needless to say several of these accounts are nightmare-inducing. I thought this book did a better job than Simpson's in explaining how members of the military "justified" their actions... in one officer's words, "...how we were taught to save Western, Christian civilization from the Red terror."
Depending on where your interests lie, you might find certain chapters (there are only 6) more in line with your interests than others. And obviously, because the book is set at a later time period than Simpson's, the author is able to go into issues of reconciliation and amnesty at a much deeper level.
This one is set in the mid-90s, just 10 years after Simpson's, so it's interesting to see the context in which members of the military were protected from prosecution by an amnesty law. I'm glad to learn from Wikipedia that the law was revoked in the early 2000s and that quite a few prosecutions for war crimes have happened since then.
This is a much more academic text than Simpson's; I skimmed some parts in my re-read. The book features longer excerpts from survivors from the camp, key figures in the military and Church, and other public figures in comparison with the Simpson book. Like the military wife who notes that her husband "kept having these nightmares of falling out of a plane."
Needless to say several of these accounts are nightmare-inducing. I thought this book did a better job than Simpson's in explaining how members of the military "justified" their actions... in one officer's words, "...how we were taught to save Western, Christian civilization from the Red terror."
Depending on where your interests lie, you might find certain chapters (there are only 6) more in line with your interests than others. And obviously, because the book is set at a later time period than Simpson's, the author is able to go into issues of reconciliation and amnesty at a much deeper level.
October 27, 2024
Harrowing but necessary read, and something we can take lessons from in a Post-Duterte Philippines.
September 13, 2009
I agree with most of the other reviewers that as a whole A Lexicon of Terror Argentina and the Legacies of Torture is a well-researched exploration into Argentina's Dirty War. The testimonies obtained by Marguerite Feitlowitz are incredible. I spent a few months in Argentina in 2008, and it's incredible to think of how different the country was only a few years ago, and that some of these struggles are still going on.
My one criticism is perhaps the title. My understanding of the premise of the book was a look into the language of the era and how it changed. While the first half does look at words and how their meanings changed, I felt like the second half lost track of that. Granted, it still continues with the idea of language (and silence) in the forefront, but by naming her book a "lexicon," I would have expected the theme to be in the forefront throughout.
My one criticism is perhaps the title. My understanding of the premise of the book was a look into the language of the era and how it changed. While the first half does look at words and how their meanings changed, I felt like the second half lost track of that. Granted, it still continues with the idea of language (and silence) in the forefront, but by naming her book a "lexicon," I would have expected the theme to be in the forefront throughout.
December 8, 2008
This is the most terrifying non-fiction horror I've read in a long time. It recounts the 'Dirty War' in Argentina of the 1970s by analyzing the language used by the torturers, their victims, and Argentine society during and since. Basically, European Fascism survived World War Two by escaping to Argentina. The Dictatorship kidnapped, tortured and murdered over 30,000 people suspected of 'subversion'. Say the wrong thing about the government (or be in the wrong place at the wrong time), and the soldiers take you to a concentration camp, rape you with an electric cattle prod for a few years, and then throw you out of an airplane, all the while denying that you are in military custody and making proclamations about their lofty goals: Christian civilization, freedom and democracy. Sound familiar?
March 12, 2021
5stars for this book because although many books have been written on the Dirty War.. I found this one to be the most comprehensive..
it doesn’t cover only the period between 1976-83, it explains ( while briefly) quite well the political scene in Argentina starting from the 30’s resulting in the military dictatorship in ‘76... and continues to explain in detail the political effects on Argentine society on the aftermath until mid 90’s..
it doesn’t cover only the period between 1976-83, it explains ( while briefly) quite well the political scene in Argentina starting from the 30’s resulting in the military dictatorship in ‘76... and continues to explain in detail the political effects on Argentine society on the aftermath until mid 90’s..
November 14, 2018
Wow! It can happen anywhere!
August 26, 2025
Shows how the rioplatense dialect was taken hostage and turned to a weapon super interesting read
December 14, 2025
read for terror rights memory. heartbreaking, amazingly written, made me truly interested in what i was learning which is hard in october
April 8, 2019
Sadly, I didn't even know what the Dirty War was until I studied abroad in Argentina as a 20 year old college student in 2008, and even then, I didn't really understand the magnitude of what took place. The "official" years of the Dirty War are cited as 1976-1983, however, as Feitlowitz illustrates, the aftershock of these events has been so far reaching and continues to reverberate through generations of Argentine society.
The most fascinating parts of this book for me talked about modern day Argentina coming to terms with (or in many cases, NOT coming to terms with) this dark period of their history. Some would like to pretend it never happened, citing the need to keep looking forward and not dredge up the past. However, for Argentina, the past is present - one cannot be untangled from the other. When former detenidos are crossing paths in the street with their torturers, concentration camp leaders are being promoted within the military, key witnesses in important cases have been "disappeared" as recently as 2008-2009, and former detention and torture sites are still functioning public buildings, it's hard to turn a blind eye and carry on as though the past has been left in the past.
For example, when I studied in Rosario, Argentina, something I missed was an authentic American breakfast, and one of the few restaurants in my neighborhood that served it was housed in a building that formerly served as a clandestine detention center (for the record, I never went there for breakfast!)
I'm glad this edition of the book was updated with a new epilogue, because it was originally written in the mid 90's, and I found myself wondering what kind of advancements have been made in the pursuit of Dirty War justice since then. Turns out, some pretty major ones! Given that even the epilogue was written about 10 years ago at this point, I'm also curious as to what has happened in Argentina since the epilogue was written.
This book was on my TBR for a while but I think I shied away from it for fear that it would be too dense and dry. I randomly stumbled across it at a used bookstore last year and am glad I took the chance (for a mere $9). It certainly is dense in the sense that it is a lot of heavy information to digest, but despite that, it was engaging and informative, and a must read for anyone interested in Latin American history and politics.
The most fascinating parts of this book for me talked about modern day Argentina coming to terms with (or in many cases, NOT coming to terms with) this dark period of their history. Some would like to pretend it never happened, citing the need to keep looking forward and not dredge up the past. However, for Argentina, the past is present - one cannot be untangled from the other. When former detenidos are crossing paths in the street with their torturers, concentration camp leaders are being promoted within the military, key witnesses in important cases have been "disappeared" as recently as 2008-2009, and former detention and torture sites are still functioning public buildings, it's hard to turn a blind eye and carry on as though the past has been left in the past.
For example, when I studied in Rosario, Argentina, something I missed was an authentic American breakfast, and one of the few restaurants in my neighborhood that served it was housed in a building that formerly served as a clandestine detention center (for the record, I never went there for breakfast!)
I'm glad this edition of the book was updated with a new epilogue, because it was originally written in the mid 90's, and I found myself wondering what kind of advancements have been made in the pursuit of Dirty War justice since then. Turns out, some pretty major ones! Given that even the epilogue was written about 10 years ago at this point, I'm also curious as to what has happened in Argentina since the epilogue was written.
This book was on my TBR for a while but I think I shied away from it for fear that it would be too dense and dry. I randomly stumbled across it at a used bookstore last year and am glad I took the chance (for a mere $9). It certainly is dense in the sense that it is a lot of heavy information to digest, but despite that, it was engaging and informative, and a must read for anyone interested in Latin American history and politics.
January 21, 2008
An excellent study of the Dirty War of Argentina, this book examines (through interviews with survivors, articles in the press at the time, and speeches of the Generals) the use of language and the impact upon common vernacular of the terrors perpetrated by the army during this time. A slim volume, it is a worthwhile read for any lover of language, as the author carefully illustrates how 'democracy,' 'citizen,' and 'freedom' came to mean something different in the hands of those in power. I found the parallels between the twisting of language in Argentina, as well as the erosion of civil rights and liberties, and that of our current regime - er President - to be absolutely frightening. The stories of torture and terror are not for the faint hearted, but those who experienced it deserve to have a voice.
June 21, 2016
A must read for those who want a better insight into one of Argentina's darkest periods: The Dirty War. Feitlowitz brings the reader through the vocabulary, the thought process and the places of the Dirty War. The issue of torture is discussed at length along with an analysis of the legacies of the Dirty War after the end of the military dictatorship. Readers get insights into both the tortured and the torturers, into the families of the disappeared, into the Jewish victims of the war, into the methods of killing prisoners. Feitlowitz looks beyond Buenos Aires to show that the phenomenon of state terror and the disappearances go beyond the capital. She examines the situation in rural Corrientes, a province in Northeastern Argentina. A phenomenal, compact book that is a must read for any student of Argentine politics and history.
January 5, 2017
A very well-researched, extremely frightening, and heartbreaking history of Argentina's Dirty War. The first third of the book focuses more on the use of language by the junta and survivors of torture, while later parts of the book are more about survivors' attempts to give testimony and get justice, recognition and information from the government, military and catholic church.
An important book both for its historical and linguistic value, but also as a record of the horrors that can happen in any society that sanctions oppression in order to institute a homogeneous nationalistic order.
Some of the most chilling parts (aside from sickening accounts of torture and the dislocation felt by families of the disappeared) are interviews with people who made excuses for the Dirty War and assumed that anyone disappeared must have done something to deserve it.
An important book both for its historical and linguistic value, but also as a record of the horrors that can happen in any society that sanctions oppression in order to institute a homogeneous nationalistic order.
Some of the most chilling parts (aside from sickening accounts of torture and the dislocation felt by families of the disappeared) are interviews with people who made excuses for the Dirty War and assumed that anyone disappeared must have done something to deserve it.
October 26, 2012
An excellent book to start learning about the 1976-1983 Argentine dictatorship. Then, if you speak Spanish and have a multi-system DVD player, search for this film: "Garage Olimpo" (1999) by Marco Bechis. One of the best films on those years. Unfortunately, it has not been released in the US (so, it's not NTSC format and has no English subtitles). No rhetoric, like in Feitlowitz's book - no torture scene. But it's a punch in your stomach. In an interview, Bechis stated that "Memory is the only instrument in the process of political consciousness". Feitlowitz's "A Lexicon of Terror" had a new edition in 2011. Because "memory s the only instrument in the process of political consciousness". Nunca mas ...
April 4, 2010
a stunning account of the history and aftershocks of Argentina's Dirty War. feitlowitz writes with conviction and clarity - every sentence is beautiful and devastating. rarely have i read a book that has brought me to tears. this one does. i find myself amazed at how complicit i feel, just in reading about the Process. and yet for all the horror here, feitlowitz never loses sight of the best that people have to offer one another. a grim but necessary reminder that the most important things we can do in this world are to actually see the people and events around us and to love openly and fiercely.
read this.
read this.
October 5, 2020
I will be honest and say I knew nothing of the Dirty War before taking a course for Graduate School. While the content is disturbing - which it hopefully is - Feitlowitz is able to create these amazing relationships or connections with those that she interviews. I was expecting it to be a challenging read and while I hate to use a word enjoyable because of the context, it drew you in as a reader. I appreciate this book and what it has to offer. Not sure if I will reread ever as I have with other monographs. But I have recommended to some friends who I think would appreciate what it has to offer as a history and as a story of life after the Dirty War.
July 22, 2015
this book IS FABULOUS. Argentinas history is as tragic as it is fascinating and important in the context of all Latin American history & politics. get informed!! the stories told in this book are incredible and devastating. remember when the US was supa scared of communists in the 70s and 80s? imagine if they started kidnapping everyone and anyone they thought to be involved in the political leftist movement and tortured and murdered them and claimed they never existed.....
December 19, 2012
A fascinating read. A history of Argentina's Dirty War and a look at the language that promoted, defended, and maintained it. What impresses me most about this book is the sheer amount of research by the author, the numerous interviews of survivors and perpetrators. One can't help but be moved. Highly recommended.
December 11, 2012
Horrendous subject approached with concision and piety. The general data are accessible while the study on the rhetoric of Argentine fascism is as bizarre and nightmarish as anything out of Bret Easton Ellis. I could not have written Transference without this book.
October 29, 2008
carefully crafted and terrifyingly informative. if there ever were something to read about desaparecidos' continued disappearing and how it became/was/is 'unspeakable'--from cultural, political, human rights, and linguistic perspectives--well, this would be it.
April 5, 2014
Incredible. It is hard to believe that something as awful as what happened in Argentina in the 70's is not better known today. Very easy to follow the book and I especially appreciated the updated epilogue.
February 5, 2025
Este trabalho é útil para entender este período crítico da história moderna da Argentina. No entanto, havia tantos detalhes que era fácil perder a relação de causa e efeito. Uma maior síntese sobre o início do golpe e, em seguida, o fim desse período poderia melhorar significativamente o trabalho.
October 24, 2007
Heartbreaking and horrific, but enthralling and necessary for an understanding the period of state-sponsored terror in Argentina in the last few decades of the 20th century.
June 13, 2010
Bloody History. Heart-breaking
August 10, 2010
Words are so powerful!
May 11, 2011
Disturbing but important book. A bit rambling and unfocused at times.
November 15, 2016
Such a fascinating perspective on an unsettling, eye-opening, horrifying subject. Read for Modern History of Latin America class.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews