The Death of Ben Linder: The Story of a North American in Sandinista Nicaragua

by Joan Kruckewitt

In 1987, the death of Ben Linder, the first American killed by President Reagan's "freedom fighters" -- the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan Contras -- ignited a firestorm of protest and debate. In this landmark first biography of Linder, investigative journalist Joan Kruckewitt tells his story.
In the summer of 1983, a 23-year-old American named Ben Linder arrived in Managua with a unicycle and a newly earned degree in engineering. In 1986, Linder moved from Managua to El Cuá, a village in the Nicaraguan war zone, where he helped form a team to build a hydroplant to bring electricity to the town. He was ambushed and killed by the Contras the following year while surveying a stream for a possible hydroplant.
In 1993, Kruckewitt traveled to the Nicaraguan mountains to investigate Linder's death. In July 1995. she finally located and interviewed one of the men who killed Ben Linder, a story that became the basis for a New Yorker feature on Linder's death. Linder's story is a portrait of one idealist who died for his beliefs, as well as a picture of a failed foreign policy, vividly exposing the true dimensions of a war that forever marked the lives of both Nicaraguans and Americans.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[James F · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are books I find it hard to finish, because they make me so angry I have to keep stopping to cool down. This is one of those. The title is a little inaccurate; although it does end with the death of Ben Linder (murdered by Reagan's terrorists), it is mainly the story of his life and work. Ben was raised in a politically conscious family; his mother was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany; his older brother John I knew as an activist in New York. Ben graduated with a degree in engineering, and rather than take a high-paying job with some corporation or war contractor, he decided to work in an underdeveloped country where his skills could make a big difference in people's lives. He went to Nicaragua, and ultimately took on a project of building a small hydroelectric plant to bring electric power for the first time to a small rural village. But anything which helped the population was a threat to US interests, and engineers like Ben, along with doctors, nurses and teachers, were the prime targets for the terrorists. The Contras shot him in the head point blank after wounding him in an ambush at the site of the weir he was building.

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I knew about the Contra war in Nicaragua in the 80s but I had never read such an account before. Following the story of the war from the ground made it that much more real. It gave me a window into the daily life of Nicaraguans and internationalists alike during the war, and their brave efforts to help people every single day.

I know Ben didn't want to be seen as a hero but he is definitely someone I can look up to. Five out of five, would read again.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly gripping and poignant tale, as Chomsky’s quote on the cover says. Although the story is known, the injustice of it is so upsetting that 35 years later it’s impossible not to be filled with rage and sadness while reading it. Perhaps the best testament to Ben Linder is that he’d have rather had books written about the thousands of dead Nicaraguans from America’s contra proxy war than about him.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Linder was my dad's second cousin. I do not know engineering or the Contra War, but I found this book a very easy introductory read on those topics. However, at many parts of it towards the middle (I would say 120-280), it was very painfully slow to read. I felt like it mentioned many irrelevant parts of Ben's life (the whole arc of Sonia was way too drawn out in my opinion, for example) or in side characters (did we need to hear about Don studying German that many times?) I think the book really would have benefited from being cut down by about 50 pages. Which is why I am only giving it 3.5 stars; it took me a long time to read, because it was so painful at times. However, it does take you to such a foreign time and explains it well, and explains the choices the people made well. The book is truly researched excellently. I would love to read more about Nicaraguan political history in the future.

[perlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while I was in Nicaragua and it really put a lot of things into perspective for me (along with the stories I would hear) about the impact the war had during the 1980's and presently. The book does a very good job of making you feel like you are there during this period of Nicaraguan history through its vivid descriptions.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to dive into US-Nicaraguan history in the Contra war through the story of one young man living his convictions.

[frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book changed my life. a wonderful account of the ethics of engineering in the context of war and social unrest.

[Corey McAuliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a background on the history of the Contra war in Nicaragua.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught my eye after I had bought the Criterion Collection's new DVD release of Walker, the 1988 film that told the tale of William Walker. Walker was an American adventurer who went to Nicaragua in the 1850s as a hired gun leading a small ragtag army but ended up becoming its dictator for a time. The film came out while the Reagan administration was openly supporting the Contra rebels who were fighting to overthrow the revolutionary Sandinista government. In a written diary that accompanied the film, a crew member mentioned that during filming, a young American had been killed by the Contras. This intrigued me; an American had been killed by members of a group organized and funded by American tax dollars. This American was Ben Linder.

I did some research, and bought this book as a result. It was a wholly engrossing read. Joan Kruckewitt has weaved together a well-researched, yet touching account of someone I believe represents the best of America. Ben Linder went abroad to a foreign country because he believed that the best way to help a country was to help build it instead of contributing to a war which would lead to the opposite outcome. I highly recommend this book; though it discusses a period during the tail end of the Cold War, it is highly relevant today due to our current involvement abroad in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. After finishing this book, I came to two conclusions: first, I want to make this into a film one day, and second, to paraphrase the old saying, your words get further laced with honey than vinegar. Building a country seems to me a far better option than destroying it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book. Through an amazing amount of research, personal interviews, and journals, the author paints a vivid portrait of life in 80s nicaragua, as well as the life of Ben Linder. Linder, a young American, writes )in his journals) movingly and powerfully about the desire to help a country ravaged by US funded contras, and the complexities of making life choices about work, love, and which fights to fight. His life, all too short, comes alive in Kruckewitts excellent and very readable ₧although heartbreaking₧ book. Highly reccomended.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about an American engineer who goes to Nicaragua in the 80's. Ben Linder was the first American to be killed by the Contras which some say turned the tide for opposition to the U.S. involvement in the war.

I read it to learn more about Nicaragua and the politics at the time and the book definitely provided this.

[Ron Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't hang on to a lot of books, but I've kept this one around since I read it more than ten years ago. Ben Linder's story is heartbreaking, aggravating and yet inspiring. I wanted to read a book in conjunction with a trip to Nicaragua, but you don't have to have any connection to the country to find this a compelling story.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this several years before publication while working for a production company, and remember it as being quite gripping, frightening at times. A thorough look at the climate at the time, with an unfortunate ending.

[Christine Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly written, but reading it while living in Nicaragua gives a feeling of closeness to both places and characters, that makes up for the lacking quality in writing style. The book is definitely able to transmit how the North of the country was hugely affected by the Contra War.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a background on the history of the Contra war in Nicaragua.

[kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the ideology, hated the repetitive writing style.

[Connie D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and informative, but choppy and poorly written.