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Patagonia: A Cultural History
Patagonia is the ultimate landscape of the mind. Like Siberia and the Sahara, it has become a metaphor for nothingness and extremity. Its frontiers have stretched beyond the political boundaries of Argentina and Chile to encompass an evocative idea of place. A vast triangle at the southern tip of the New World, this region of barren steppes, soaring peaks and fierce winds was populated by small tribes of hunter-gatherers and roaming nomads when Ferdinand Magellan made landfall in 1520. A fateful moment for the natives, this was the start of an era of adventure and exploration. Soon Sir Francis Drake and John Byron, and sailors from Europe and America, would be exploring Patagonia’s bays and inlets, mapping fjords and channels, whaling, sifting the streams for gold in the endless search for Eldorado.
As the land was opened up in the nineteenth century, a crazed Frenchman declared himself King. A group of Welsh families sailed from Liverpool to Northern Patagonia to found a New Jerusalem in the desert. Further down the same river, Butch and Sundance took time out from bank robbing to run a small ranch near the Patagonian Andes.
All these, and later travel writers, have left sketches and records, memoirs and diaries evoking Patagonia’s grip on the imagination. From the empty plains to the crashing seas, from the giant dinosaur fossils to glacial sculptures, the landscape has inspired generations of travellers and artists.
As the land was opened up in the nineteenth century, a crazed Frenchman declared himself King. A group of Welsh families sailed from Liverpool to Northern Patagonia to found a New Jerusalem in the desert. Further down the same river, Butch and Sundance took time out from bank robbing to run a small ranch near the Patagonian Andes.
All these, and later travel writers, have left sketches and records, memoirs and diaries evoking Patagonia’s grip on the imagination. From the empty plains to the crashing seas, from the giant dinosaur fossils to glacial sculptures, the landscape has inspired generations of travellers and artists.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionTravel
256 pages, Paperback
First published July 4, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 5, 2019
Does its jobs as well as I can imagine.
To many people with wanderlust, Patagonia is probably in a to-go list. I don't remember who put it in my mind. Was it Darwin? Before I visit a place, I'd like to read about it as much as I can. Chatwin's "In Patagonia" is an obvious must-read because of its fame. But as it turns out, it was a more of a literary "project" to create an image. It was a good read. But it's perhaps more useful to *write* one of those than to read one. Moss's book is exactly what it purports to be: a cultural history. In it, you'll learn the native people, the western settlers, the deluded Frenchman as King of Patagonia, the movement to claim the area by Argentina and Chile after independence, and books and movies about the region. It is well organized and easy to navigate (I skipped 80% of the chapter on Argentinian movies.) As a cultural-preparation-for-field-trip book, it's a pickup-truck of a book: not sexy but gets its job done reliably.
To many people with wanderlust, Patagonia is probably in a to-go list. I don't remember who put it in my mind. Was it Darwin? Before I visit a place, I'd like to read about it as much as I can. Chatwin's "In Patagonia" is an obvious must-read because of its fame. But as it turns out, it was a more of a literary "project" to create an image. It was a good read. But it's perhaps more useful to *write* one of those than to read one. Moss's book is exactly what it purports to be: a cultural history. In it, you'll learn the native people, the western settlers, the deluded Frenchman as King of Patagonia, the movement to claim the area by Argentina and Chile after independence, and books and movies about the region. It is well organized and easy to navigate (I skipped 80% of the chapter on Argentinian movies.) As a cultural-preparation-for-field-trip book, it's a pickup-truck of a book: not sexy but gets its job done reliably.
September 23, 2009
The scope of Chris Moss’s Patagonia sometimes seems as expansive as the pampas. Moss scrupulously outlines the significant early discoveries, and subsequent contacts between indigent peoples and Europeans. He chronicles the significant attempts to colonize “the end of the world.” A litany of myths, legends, novels, travelogues, and movies about Patagonia are cited. Consequently, through this book one can learn a great deal about this geographic region that spans two countries; Argentina and Chile.
The pervasive theme of this effort is that the western imagination, through discoverers, scientists, novelists, and travel writers has established and reinforced an image of Patagonia as the end of the world…a beautiful, yet forlorn corner of the planet mostly occupied by sheep herders, miners, and those who eschew the big city life of Buenos Aires. The travelogues and Tourism Guides of this century perpetuate this image. Moss, it seems, believes that a fresh view of this region is required to get closer to the truth of what Patagonia really means. Whether or not he believes his book is a step in that direction is not clear. Nevertheless for anyone having little previous knowledge of this region, Moss’s book would be an excellent introduction. As a bonus to learning about the geography and history of Patagonia, one learns a great deal about the writers and cinematographers who have featured the region in their art.
The pervasive theme of this effort is that the western imagination, through discoverers, scientists, novelists, and travel writers has established and reinforced an image of Patagonia as the end of the world…a beautiful, yet forlorn corner of the planet mostly occupied by sheep herders, miners, and those who eschew the big city life of Buenos Aires. The travelogues and Tourism Guides of this century perpetuate this image. Moss, it seems, believes that a fresh view of this region is required to get closer to the truth of what Patagonia really means. Whether or not he believes his book is a step in that direction is not clear. Nevertheless for anyone having little previous knowledge of this region, Moss’s book would be an excellent introduction. As a bonus to learning about the geography and history of Patagonia, one learns a great deal about the writers and cinematographers who have featured the region in their art.
June 7, 2012
Having lived in Argentina, specifically Buenos Aires, from 1991 to 2001, author Chris Moss speaks fluent Spanish, writes music, loves the tango, and is most knowledgeable about South America. He writes primarily for travel magazines and is the most likely candidate to compile information about Patagonia for the Landscapes of the Imagination series. Although he presents interesting information, his prose is somewhat ponderous. I can't quite put my finger on the problem. This work is ethnographic, but not the best ethnography I've ever read--hardly scholarly.
Moss offers little that is praiseworthy about another British author who wrote about Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin. Paraphrasing Nicholas Shakespeare, Chatwin's biographer, who describes him as a handsome chatterbox who had already decided upon his writing scheme even as he was interviewing, but not listening to, Patagonian residents, Moss presents Chatwin as arrogant and pretentious. Moss is, however, right on target when he describes Chatwin's In Patagonia as a "benchmark in travel writing and brought the region to the attention of a generation of British and American readers" (p. 257). In fact it was about two decades ago that I discovered Chatwin as I was teaching myself about ethnography and qualitative research.
The best parts of Patagonia: A Cultural History are the historical sections that describe the indigenous peoples whose fate was similar to that of our Native Americans in North America. I really wasn't expecting at the end a review of authors who have written about Patagonia. In addition to Darwin, Chatwin, and Paul Theroux, with whom we are probably most familiar, I would be interested in knowing more about South American authors who have written about Patagonia.
Well, having read some of Darwin's journals, everything written by Bruce Chatwin, and this book by Chris Moss, I will ask myself the inevitable question. Do I wish to travel to Patagonia as a tourist? In other words, is Patagonia on my bucket list? The answer is no more than I intend to visit Siberia! Not only is Patagonia exotic and alien, but also irrelevant.
Moss offers little that is praiseworthy about another British author who wrote about Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin. Paraphrasing Nicholas Shakespeare, Chatwin's biographer, who describes him as a handsome chatterbox who had already decided upon his writing scheme even as he was interviewing, but not listening to, Patagonian residents, Moss presents Chatwin as arrogant and pretentious. Moss is, however, right on target when he describes Chatwin's In Patagonia as a "benchmark in travel writing and brought the region to the attention of a generation of British and American readers" (p. 257). In fact it was about two decades ago that I discovered Chatwin as I was teaching myself about ethnography and qualitative research.
The best parts of Patagonia: A Cultural History are the historical sections that describe the indigenous peoples whose fate was similar to that of our Native Americans in North America. I really wasn't expecting at the end a review of authors who have written about Patagonia. In addition to Darwin, Chatwin, and Paul Theroux, with whom we are probably most familiar, I would be interested in knowing more about South American authors who have written about Patagonia.
Well, having read some of Darwin's journals, everything written by Bruce Chatwin, and this book by Chris Moss, I will ask myself the inevitable question. Do I wish to travel to Patagonia as a tourist? In other words, is Patagonia on my bucket list? The answer is no more than I intend to visit Siberia! Not only is Patagonia exotic and alien, but also irrelevant.
March 19, 2020
It could be such an interesting book, as the premise is great - let's look at the image creation of Patagonia, the myth of 'end of the world', the nothingness, etc
However, the delivery isn't best, mostly due to prominence of English sources and rather loose and bit chaotic geographical and historical context. Without Spanish sources we are missing substantial part of the picture. I've realised that whilst reading the finishing chapters on Patagonia represention on screen, where even a brief mention of a couple of Chilean and Argentinian movies offers much needed (local) perspective. For a person that isn't well versed in geography and history of the region it's going to be quite hard to figure out why some events takes place when these do and what's where. For example, Chile and Argentina creation story and subsequent suppression (genocide?) of natives aren't clearly outlined, being woven into general narrative. Similarly places are being referenced without building sense of where these are (north, south, Pacific or Atlantic coast), forcing reader to pay attention and/or read with a map at hand.
Overall, definitely worth reading if you are trying to grasp why Patagonia has a special place in minds of tourists, but it isn't an easy nor engaging read.
However, the delivery isn't best, mostly due to prominence of English sources and rather loose and bit chaotic geographical and historical context. Without Spanish sources we are missing substantial part of the picture. I've realised that whilst reading the finishing chapters on Patagonia represention on screen, where even a brief mention of a couple of Chilean and Argentinian movies offers much needed (local) perspective. For a person that isn't well versed in geography and history of the region it's going to be quite hard to figure out why some events takes place when these do and what's where. For example, Chile and Argentina creation story and subsequent suppression (genocide?) of natives aren't clearly outlined, being woven into general narrative. Similarly places are being referenced without building sense of where these are (north, south, Pacific or Atlantic coast), forcing reader to pay attention and/or read with a map at hand.
Overall, definitely worth reading if you are trying to grasp why Patagonia has a special place in minds of tourists, but it isn't an easy nor engaging read.
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October 6, 2014Well researched and appreciated the strong opinions, some his own, the author shared. Darwin and Fitzroy chapter is really good. And man it was rough to be a mariner in the 1500s.
July 15, 2020
I wish I'd read this book before our trip to the Lakes District last year. It provides historical context and a cultural perspective far more useful and engaging than Chatwin's extensively hyped In Patagonia. Moss covers the waves of European explorers, describing both their bravado and their haplessness. He equally portrays the saga and subjugation of the Mapuche. The end of the book includes a chapter on movies and music which, while interesting, feels more dated. Having read now several travel inspirations about Argentina, this would be my first non-fiction recommendation.
December 3, 2020
Some good info - writing a bit all over the place. Does make you want to go and explore this beautiful place.
June 26, 2021
Really excellent read with plenty of detail. I was expecting a tourist guide, but it is so much more than that. Plenty of interesting tales covering half a millennium.
July 29, 2012
More a reference book about authors who have written about Patagonia. I remember thinking it was a great idea when I first read it and looked to see if there were other books that applied the same treatment to other inhospitable yet dynamic parts of the world. A little bit dry and a little bit long in places, but nonetheless, it provides a great description of the local legends and the legends created by the explorers who came in search of the Patagonian soul.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews