Patria: Lost Countries of South America

Patria is a captivating and original history of South America, spanning thousands of miles and five centuries, that brings the continent's epic past and fascinating present to life. It tells an alternative history of South America, looking beyond modern borders and featuring nine countries that cannot be found on a map. The journey ranges from ancient Amazonian city-states and a rebel Inca dynasty in the jungle to a Brazilian Wakanda that defied slavery, a Bolivian landlocked navy, and the Patagonian power that defeated the Spanish. It also includes encounters with drug lords, Indigenous leaders, refugees, and former guerrillas, weaving a story of survival, resistance, and revolution. The book is packed with groundbreaking recent scholarship, striking archaeological discoveries, and vivid eyewitness reporting, and has been praised by critics as a "delight" and "a financial times best book of 2024".

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 07 November 2024
Publisher: Vintage Publishing

An adventurous, dazzling, and original history that brings South America's epic past and fascinating present to life, "Patria" is a captivating tale that spans thousands of miles and five centuries, offering an alternative history of the continent. Author Laurence Blair takes as his waymarks nine countries that cannot be found on a map, including vanished realms, half-imagined utopias, and dismembered homelands. His journey ranges from ancient Amazonian city-states and a rebel Inca dynasty in the jungle to a Brazilian Wakanda that defied slavery, a Bolivian landlocked navy, and the Patagonian power that defeated the Spanish. He also encounters African freedom fighters who marched over the Andes and the New World Napoleon who led Paraguay to its ruin. Groundbreaking recent scholarship, striking archaeological discoveries, and vivid eyewitness reporting, including encounters with drug lords, Indigenous leaders, refugees, and former guerrillas, weave a story of survival, resistance, and revolution, restoring South America to the center of world history. "An unputdownable delight" (Jon Lee Anderson), "constantly surprising and always enticing" (Harriet Rix), and a "Financial Times" Best Book of 2024, "Patria" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of South America.

Weight: 672g
Dimension: 242 x 165 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781847924681