Between Legitimacy and Violence

“[A] fact-filled and insightful meditation on one of the most important, albeit still-mysterious, countries of the region . . . . [T]his book merits reading for its comprehensive and perceptive grasp of a complex history, one that helps us understand Colombia today.” - Pamela Murray, The Americas

“Engenders a sympathetic, or at least more insightful, understanding of the nation’s present difficulties, in a manner comprehensible to the general reader and with a richness and detail that may make it the best available single-volume history of the country.” - Hugh Gildea, Virginia Quarterly Review

“A skillful historian, Palacios gives the public a sharp, broad and yet very complete view of Colombia’s twentieth-century history . . . . Students of Latin American studies will benefit greatly from this valuable account of Colombia’s history. Anyone interested in Colombia and its history will find this a most valuable and complete history guide. The author is an authority in the field and his own life experiences have permitted him to step outside the turmoil and violence of Colombia to produce a book that gives an intellectual, organized, and logical order to its turbulent history.” - Debora Cordeiro-Rosa, The Latin Americanist

“Marco Palacios’ account of Colombian history is a must-read for historians, economists, political scientists, and geographers. It is an intricately woven story that highlights the complexities of Colombian history. . . . A rich interpretation of Colombian history is presented with the expressed intent of revealing how the past affects current thinking and events.” - Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, EIAL

“Palacios has packed a huge amount of historical data into this very palatable work. He provides his readers with insight into the root causes of Colombia’s violent past and connects those causes to its current instability.” - MAJ Douglas C. Judice, Military Review

“Palacios offers a lucid, absorbing, and deftly argued account of Colombia’s recent history, including the persistent, recurrent cycles of armed conflict there. Between Legitimacy and Violence fully deserves a wide audience of historians, political scientists, and journalists seeking a primer on the history that underpins Colombia’s still-chaotic politics.” - G.B. Paquette, Canadian Journal of History

“Palacios should be applauded for his insightful scholarship and Duke University Press for its commitment to make Latin American scholarship available to English speaking readers.” - Michael R. Hall, Journal of Third World Studies

“This is a very well written and informative book.” - Daniel H. Levine, Catholic Historical Review

“This study written by one of Colombia’s most respected historians is an insightful, in-depth assessment of the country’s last 125 years. . . . Highly recommended.” - J. Rosenthal, Choice

praise for the Spanish edition:
“Coverage is admirably comprehensive, with a very good balance between social and economic trends and political events, plus side glances at intellectual and cultural history. . . . Even the complete novice will profit from the reading and will come away with a grasp of the main storylines. . . . Palacios has ably exposed the historical roots of current problems.” - David Bushnell, Hispanic American Historical Review

“Marco Palacios’s comprehensive, skilled narration of Colombia’s turbulent ‘long twentieth century’ is the best one-volume history of that country we have. There is nothing else available in English that provides even a shadow of the complexity and completeness of Palacios’s book.” - Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, author of Dulcinea in the Factory