The Pelican Latin American Library (PLAL) was a specialist series of books published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Penguin African Library. The general editor of the series was

Richard Gott Richard Willoughby Gott (born 28 October 1938),Winchester College: A Register. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. pp. 271 (Short Half 1952 list heading) & ...

, the longtime Latin America correspondent of the Guardian. The series took off at a time when Latin American politics was buffeted by numerous challenges such as military dictatorship, American hegemony, widespread poverty, and guerrilla uprisings often inspired by Marxist

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...

. The first book in the series was Carlos Marighela's '' For the Liberation of Brazil'', translated by John Butt and Rosemary Sheed. Other titles published in the series were: * Alain Labrousse, ''The Tupamaros'' *

Alain Gheerbrant Alain Gheerbrant (27 December 1920 – 21 February 2013) was a French writer, editor, poet and explorer, noted for his expedition in the basins of Amazonian rivers. Career Alain Gheerbrant was the first avant-garde publisher, founder of the p ...

, ''The Rebel Church in Latin America'' *

Andre Gunder Frank Andre Gunder Frank (February 24, 1929 – April 25, 2005) was a German-American sociologist and economic historian who promoted dependency theory after 1970 and world-systems theory after 1984. He employed some Marxian concepts on politi ...

, ''Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America'' *

Camilo Torres Restrepo Camilo Torres Restrepo (3 February 1929 – 15 February 1966) was a Colombian Marxist–Leninist, Roman Catholic priest, a proponent of liberation theology, and a member of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla organization. During hi ...

, ''Revolutionary Priest'' * Carlos Marighela, ''For the Liberation of Brazil'' *

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

, ''Guerrilla Warfare'' * Fidel Castro, '' Fidel Castro Speaks'' * Francisco Julião, ''Cambão - the Yoke: The Hidden Face of Brazil'' * Gerrit Huizer, ''Peasant Rebellion in Latin America'' * Jean-Pierre Bernard et al., '' Guide to the Political Parties of South America'' * John Womack Jr., ''Zapata and the Mexican Revolution'' * Marcel Niedergang, ''The Twenty Latin Americas, vols 1 and 2'' * Miguel Arraes, ''Brazil: The People and the Power'' * Paul Gallet, ''Freedom to Starve'' * Regis Debray, ''Revolution in the Revolution?'' * Regis Debray, ''Strategy for Revolution'' *

, ''Rural Guerrillas in Latin America'' * Sven Lindqvist, ''The Shadow: Latin America Faces the Seventies'' * Thomas Melville and Marjorie Melville, ''Guatemala – Another Vietnam?'' * Victor Daniel Bonilla, ''Servants of God or Masters of Men?'' *

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

, '' Chile's Road to Socialism'' Due to the perception of leftist bias in the series, there was friction with the corporate owner

Pearson Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

and the imprint was eventually ceased.'The Pelican Latin American Library' by Mike Davis, ''The Penguin Collector 81'', December 2013

References

{{Authority control History of South America