I didn't really go to Chile; Sara Wheeler's travelogue of her adventures in Chile - Travels in a Thin Country - made me feel like I was along for the ride. Of all the things in my life I haven't spent much time thinking about, Chile (the country) is close to the top of the list. Turns out, that's Richard Nixon's fault! Chileans substitute his name for Hitler's in conversations about maniacal tyrants and they aren't overfond of North Americans in general. Bet you didn't know that, or that Charles Darwin thought Chile was nearly unmatched for beauty, or that much of Chile is still living under a feudal system! Ms. Wheeler brings the earthy reality of this spine-shaped country to vivid life in a thin, highly-readable journal of wild beauty and wrenching politics.
Thought-provoking.
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