Rigoberta Menchu Tum: Activist for Indigenous Rights in Guatemala

by Heather Lehr Wagner, Chelsea House Publishers (Manufactured by)

A member of the indigenous Quiche Maya group, Rigoberta Menchú Tum experienced firsthand the oppression of the native Indian population in Guatemala. This biography from the Modern Peacemakers series profiles the unwavering activist who was awarded the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her remarkable work promoting social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples. This title features full-color photographs, sidebars, and textboxes that help students follow Menchú Tum's journey from early struggles to subsequent triumphs and the prize.

114 pages, Library Binding

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Dr. Heather Lehr Wagner is an editor and writer of numerous books exploring social and political issues. She earned a B.A. in political science from Duke University and an M.A. in government from the College of William and Mary.

Reviews

[Ian McHugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent edition from the Modern Peacemakers series.
Heather Lehr Wagner manages to marshall the information on Menchu into a readable and informative style. The tone (correctly and unmistakably in my opinion) remains sympathetic to the horrific events of Menchu's life but it also provides much needed balance to the story by including reference to the work of David Stoll in countering some of the claims Menchu has made about her life.
The referencing is excellent and provides a discussion of the explanations of the discrepancies in Menchu's two accounts. The authority and readability with which this is done makes for a valuable addition to the literature on Menchu and I would highly recommend this as reading to accompany any reading of Rigoberta Menchu's two autobiographical books, "I, Rigoberta Menchu" and "Crossing Borders".