Chudi Mbanefo’s Reviews > Bolivar: The Liberator of Latin America > Status Update

Finished Bolivar’s first tour through Colombia and Venezuela—bold tactics, river crossings, and Andean traverses to liberate his country, only to end in exile. It’ll be fascinating to see how his strategy evolves on return. The author is heavy-handed in critiquing Bolivar’s war crimes—brutal and excessive, for sure—but doesn’t apply the same scrutiny to Spanish generals who provoked them.

My interest in Simón Bolívar began with the Colombian Netflix series about him. While entertaining, the early chapters of this book reveal the many liberties taken in the show, such as reversing the death order of his parents.

Francisco Miranda’s adventures thru Europe are interesting, teasing the complementary of his persona to Bolivars and setting up their eventual collaboration in the liberation effort.