Now Peru Is Mine

"Now Peru Is Mine makes a brilliantly original contribution to the study of twentieth-century Peru. Illuminating Manuel Llamojha Mitma's compelling and tragic life as well as his contribution to peasant politics, it provides insight into Peruvian politics, the politics of the Cold War, and the Sino-Soviet split as well. This is a wonderful book." - Paulo Drinot, author of The Allure of Labor: Workers, Race, and the Making of the Peruvian State

"A winning character with strong storytelling skills and a lifelong commitment to social justice, Manuel Llamojha Mitma takes us into the labyrinth of twentieth-century Peruvian history. And Jaymie Patricia Heilman contextualizes Llamojha's compelling story with great insight. Now Peru Is Mine is an exemplary collaboration as wondrous and lovingly fashioned as the little painted wood dioramas, the retablos, for which Llamojha’s native Ayacucho region has so long been renowned." - Orin Starn, coeditor of The Peru Reader

"Heilman has made a significant contribution to the literature by bringing Llamojha's story to a broad audience. . . . [T]he book works equally as well for general audiences or undergraduate classrooms as for specialists seeking thoughtful reflections on the political uses of identity. . . . Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."
  - M. Becker, Choice

"The book is well-written and illustrated with photographs, excerpts from Llamojha's writings, and maps of the area of his activity.... Now Peru is Mine is a useful tool for learning about Peru's politics and history over the last century." - William O. Deaver, Jr., Journal of Global South Studies

"Now Peru is Mine is a major academic, intellectual and editorial success. Every specialist and student of Latin America, the Andes and Peru will enjoy this book. This is an exemplary study of how a single life illustrates the complexities of a century." - Javier Puente, Journal of Latin American Studies

"This is a moving and fascinating account of indigenous activism in a turbulent era that will be of great value to historians and political scientists seeking to understand the motives and sacrifices of those at the heart of their disciplines." - Eugene Carey, Latin American Review of Books

"We follow this gripping story of travail and turmoil through Llamojha’s simple, but heartfelt narrative, guided by Heilman’s skilled interviewing, as it unfolds on multiple fronts—local, regional and international. . . . Indeed a unique and worthy contribution that helps fill a large void in the historiography of the second half of the twentieth century." - Peter Klarén, The Americas

“By writing this important book, Heilman and Llamojha have provided general readers, college students, and specialists alike the chance to ?nd both learning and inspiration in the life story of a contemporary Peruvian activist.” - G. Antonio Espinoza, Ethnohistory

“Now Peru Is Mine succeeds in offering a highly accessible and instructive account for students of Latin America and Peru specialists. One hopes that many readers get to know Llamojha Mitma and that his life story might serve to inspire new scholarship and new struggles.” - Joseph P. Feldman, Hispanic American Historical Review

“A highly accessible book that provides unique insights on Peruvian society and politics.” - Dan Cozart, The Latin Americanist

"A compact, accessible, and moving book. . . . An invaluable contribution to Peruvian, Latin American, and Native American studies." - Adrián Lerner Patrón, European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies

"Heilman’s homage seems an act of restitution as well as a tribute of friendship. . . . Smooth and vivid, Now Peru Is Mine will bring novices close into the experience of agrarian elders as well as providing freshly researched micro-level evidence for historians. It remains only to say that Heilman’s and Llamojha’s photos are simply beyond praise." - Frank Salomon, Journal of Anthropological Research

"This book is a handsome contribution to scholarship on Indigenous activists, their historical context, and the activist intellectual role in the Andes. . . . [Now Peru Is Mine] is an excellent piece to teach Modern Latin America and other courses on Indigenous peoples’ history in the Americas." - Waskar T. Ari-Chachaki, Native American and Indigenous Studies

"Llamojha’s life history reflects the broader political history, hopes, and disappointments of the Peruvian and Latin American left, and tells of their possibilities, failures and legacies." - Salman Hussain, PoLAR