“Monumental, stupendous. . . . a must-read for anyone who wants to understand this hemisphere.”
~Julia Alvarez
“Meticulously researched, the book’s greatest strengths are the power of its epic narrative, the beauty of its prose and its rich portrayals of character. . . . a marvelous book.”
~The Washington Post
“A lively and learned account of Latin America, ingeniously structured.”
~The New York Times
A major work of history, Bolivar colorfully portrays a dramatic life even as it explains the rivalries and turmoil that bedeviled Bolivar’s tragic last days.
“Finally, Bolivar gets the sweeping biography he deserves. He was the greatest leader in Latin American history, and his tale is filled with lessons about leadership and passion. This book reads like a wonderful novel but is researched like a masterwork of history.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs
Marie is a Peruvian-American author of nonfiction and fiction as well as the inaugural Literary Director of the Library of Congress. She is the recipient of a 2020 literary award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Among her recent positions are: Director of the National Book Festival, the John W. Kluge Center’s Chair of the Cultures of the Countries of the South, and Writer at Large for the Washington Post. For many years, she was editor-in-chief of the Washington Post’s book review section, Book World.
Silver, Sword and Stone
News & Events
Marie named the Library of Congress’s Chair of Cultures of the South
On October 23, Marie Arana was named the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Chair of the Cultures of the Countries of the South. She…
Read MoreMarie’s interview with E.L. Doctorow
Marie Arana’s interview with E.L. Doctorow in which he talks about being named after Edgar Allan Poe and how he discovered that he was a novelist.
Read MoreIshiguro’s “Buried Giant” Defies Easy Categorization
There are authors who write in tidy, classifiable, immediately recognizable genres — Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, William Faulkner, Gabriel García Márquez, to name a few…
Read More“Bolívar” is chosen as one of the top 10 books by Latinos in 2014.
NBC-News, a major television network in the U.S., has chosen Marie Arana’s “Bolívar” as one of the top 10 books of the year in 2014.…
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