Historical Dictionary of Peru by Peter F. Klarén (review)

In a world dominated by online encyclopedias like Wikipedia, the publication of a historical dictionary in paper should be considered a sort of an academic manifesto. The author, Peter Klarén, has meticulously compiled information about Peru for years and now offers his vast knowledge in a 500-page volume that contains a formidable selection of entries and references. Call me a nostalgic, but as someone who grew up in the transition from an analogic to a digital society, works like this Historical Dictionary reveal the persistence of a genre and its potential advantages as an effective alternative to anonymous digital platforms. The dictionary continues and expands the work of illustrious predecessors such as the Enciclopedia Tauro del Pino (Lima, 1987, 2001, 17 vols.) by offering a format that is more convenient and accessible. Its price, however, might confine the book to libraries and reference rooms, at least for the moment.

Klarén takes full advantage of his previous work Peru: Society and Nationhood in the Andes (2000) to adapt the information, originally displayed in a concise historical narrative, into entries alphabetically arranged for this publication. I was particularly pleased to encounter thoughtful and informative entries on the Agrarian Reform, feminism, cuisine, Peruvian cinema, the artisan Edilberto Jiménez Quispe, the Afro-Peruvian activist María Elena Moyano, emigration, the late Carlos Iván Degregori, corruption, the forced sterilization of Andean women in the 1990s, inflation, neighborhood communal kitchens, and so forth. Even recent events like the Andahuaylas rebellion (the Andahuaylazo), a 2005 upheaval led by President Ollanta Humala's reckless brother Antauro, are well explained.

One major asset of the book is that it can be read as a monograph, from the beginning to the end, or targeted for specific information. The book has incorporated a helpful system to avoid repetition, and the author's stylish prose offers readers an intelligent synthesis colored with quantitative information, precise definitions, and anecdotes. The dictionary was updated as recently as July 2016, when President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski took office. There are some entries that, given their relevance, might be added in future editions, like MHOL, a LGBTI organization established in 1982 and based in Lima, or the Lugar de la Memoria (LUM), the memory site devoted to the victims of what Peruvians have named the Internal Armed Conflict.

Although the addition of new entries is open and debatable, there is a major issue that is not so: the numerous typos, inaccurate acronyms, misuse of accents in Spanish names, factual errors, and misspelled names and places throughout the book. For instance, the dictionary points out that Hugo Blanco, the mythical rural activist, passed away in 2015, but he is still alive (January 2018). José María Arguedas was born in 1911, not 1941, and Islay, the birthplace of artist Carlos Baca Flor, is not a "formerly Peruvian, now Chilean" jurisdiction, since it was never part of the territories lost to Chile in the War of the Pacific. Manuel González Prada died in 1918, not 1848. The name Baquíjano y Carrillo is given as "Baquiano," while Álvarez de Arenales is identified as "Arenales." Petro-audios are confused with petro-videos, and Aero Perú with Aero Continente. Although these mistakes are abundant, they can easily be corrected.

Klarén's Historical Dictionary is an important contribution to Peruvian and Latin American historiography. As scholars, we know that mistakes can creep into even well-edited works, but in a dictionary that is expected to offer verified information to a broad audience, these mistakes should not be taken lightly. A revised edition of this dictionary will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students, as well as to any reader interested in the complex, problematic, and fascinating history of Peru.