Abstract

Latin American Hero

The article focuses on the book "Captain of the Andes: The Life of Jose De San Martin," by Margaret H. Harrison. Harrison's book on San Martin is almost, but not quite, what an ideal book of this kind should be. She has done a good deal of research in archives and libraries, and at times the reader feels the living presence of the Argentine hero. The chapters that deal with the last days of San Martin in exile -- The Hermit of Grand Bourg and Nightfall -- are written with feminine tenderness and dramatic force, and are probably the outstanding pages of the book. Harrison's book is written simply. It is the plain story of San Martin -- of his efforts to liberate Argentina, Chile, and Peru from the Spanish yoke, his renunciation, and finally his death abroad.