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Reviewed by:
  • Simón Bolívar: A Life
  • David Bushnell
Simón Bolívar: A Life. By John Lynch. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. Pp. xiii. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $35.00 paper.

It is not often that a leading English-language newsmagazine reviews a work of Latin American history, but The Economist (29 June 2006) did just that for John Lynch's Simón Bolívar and the tribute was well deserved. This new biography is certainly not a definitive study, which in view of the complexity of the subject and superabundance of available sources is unlikely ever to be written. Neither will it wholly supersede for scholarly reference such standard earlier works as the biographies by Gerhard Masur and Salvador de Madariaga. It is far more readable than Masur and more balanced than Madariaga but less detailed in coverage. Its great strength is its masterful presentation of the "big picture"—the international scene, salient features of the principal war theaters, guiding ideas and objectives of the Liberator himself, and the qualities that make him stand out from (and tower above) the lower-case liberators of his era.

The hypothetical general reader may at times wish that Lynch had more consistently identified new terms and actors on first mention, and fellow scholars may have favorite topics that they consider unfairly slighted. Fellow scholars may also [End Page 288] quibble at times over small matters of fact, as when Lynch liberates Puerto Cabello two years early and in one of the maps has Tulcán on the wrong side of the Ecuador-New Granada border. They might even complain that he relies too heavily on the Detached Recollections of Daniel F. O'Leary and the despatches of British consuls in characterizing Bolívar's associates and rivals. Yet Lynch has delved deeply into the massive store of Bolivarian sources, including archival materials in Caracas and London, primary document collections, and secondary accounts. He makes superb use of quotations, from Bolívar himself and from others.

Lynch is more successful than any other author who comes to mind in answering the basic question: Why Bolívar? Why did this Venezuelan creole become the greatest Latin American of his time and, some have argued, of all time? The advantages of birth and wealth and early acquaintance with both sides of the Atlantic world are part of the answer and are set forth in the early chapters. But Lynch sets out to explain what qualities allowed Bolívar to capitalize on these advantages as he led Andean South America to independence. In summation he emphasizes "the power of his will, the passion to command" (p. 295), but time and again he also points to Bolívar's analytical mind and original thinking, his ability to look ahead and plan a course of military or political action. As he further notes, Bolívar had an extraordinary gift for improvisation when plans went awry or unforeseen obstacles arose; and of course if nothing saved the day, he was still unwilling to accept defeat, never long deterred from trying again.

Improvisation was no doubt related to the pragmatism Lynch sees as another important trait of the Liberator, evident especially in his politics. Bolívar never wavered in his insistence on a strong executive for the new nations of Latin America and for the avoidance of blind imitation of foreign models (not that he invariably followed his own advice on that last point), but he could settle for less when more important objectives were at stake. Thus he initially accepted the Gran Colombian constitution of 1821 despite what he considered its defects rather than be diverted from the military struggle that was the main business at hand. The same pragmatism was evident in his handling of the caudillos, a theme of particular interest to Lynch. Bolívar deplored the limited vision and frequent bad behavior of such regional strongmen as José Antonio Páez or Santiago Mariño, but he made good use of them when, as often happened, there was no alternative. Moreover, while this handling of the caudillos exemplified pragmatism, Bolívar's early identification of the exceptional qualities of Antonio José de Sucre...

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