Indispensable History and Politics

There is no bigger topic for people of the Spanish-speaking world than history and politics, and there are certainly no bigger fights than those taking place over history and politics. This means there are literally thousands of books on these subjects. We've picked the ones that are most interesting to read, like The Buried Mirror, the sweeping history of Spanish-America all the way to its roots in the Mediterranean sea by Carlos Fuentes. Another classic that reviews the entire region, The Penguin History of Latin America, is a worthwhile companion to Fuentes's Mirrors. When looking at these books we tried to find those that would tell us the most about what's going on today. We've left some out that are just too partisan for our tastes, and included a few, like The Conquest of America, that are tough but very illuminating reads. From the philosophical (Todorov), to the literary (Paz), journalistic (Riding), and the real voices of poor Mexicans telling their story (Lewis), these titles offer incredible insight from a wide variety of perspectives.