Chile

Enchantment of the World

by Michael Burgan

Describes the geography, plants, animals, history, economy, language, sports, arts, religions, culture, and people of Chile.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot of things and one of them is how little I know about Chile. It is the longest country north to south in the world, but very narrow. It is a country with stability at the present time. President Allende tried to make too many changes too fast and was soon at odds with a lot of the people. Eventually, he was overthrown by General Pinochet, who wasn't very good either and killed a lot of people. Chile has deserts in the north and the Central region is where most of the people live including in 5 million plus in population: Santiago. To the south is wild Patagonia where the original people, the Mapuche live. Patagonia is said to be very beautiful. It eventually runs into Tierra del Fuego, an island by which the Straits of Magellan pass. That is the best passage through which ships pass from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In the War of the Pacific in 1878, the Chileans took the coastal land from Bolivia, making them landlocked. There are some neat animals and plants found in Chile like the kodkod, the smallest wild cat.
I enjoyed this book and the author's style of presenting the story and information.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I've begun this project in which I read about the various countries of the world: one nonfiction book, one fiction book, and one book written by a person from that country. I started it when I figured out that I had no earthly idea where Myanmar was, at least in comparison to other countries.

Anyway, I've found the Enchantment of the World series to be extremely useful. It's a series of children's nonfiction books that covers various countries of the world in pretty good detail (for children's books, anyway). They're all structured the same way. Ten chapters, starting with a short introductory one, moving through geography, flora and fauna, history (often the longest one), government, economy, population, religion/culture, arts, and daily life.

They're educational, pretty light reads with plenty of pictures, but informative nonetheless. They're also, despite being undeniably US-focused, pretty nonjudgmental regarding religion and/or current world relations. The only one I read that was openly judgmental was the North Korea one, and, uh. It's North Korea. They do talk about various atrocities, but briefly, in children-focused language, and usually only the historical ones.

They can also be, by virtue of the publishing cycle, somewhat dated. I think the latest any of them go is 2015. Still, that's pretty damn recent for a published book, and I'm searching out the second editions where I can, since they're the most up-to-date. I'd definitely recommend these for kids, and also for people who have no earthly idea where, for example, Myanmar is.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Scholastic country books are written for a younger age and do not include the same amount of information the Cultures of the World do, but in a pinch, they are fine.

[Beth Hartnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, basic overview of Chile's history, flora and fauna, and customs!