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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gives US President Barack Obama a copy of "Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina" by author Eduardo Galeano during a meeting at the Summit of the Americas - Source: Reuters -
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A book that inspired a generation of Latin American leftists is
ringing up big sales after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave it
to US President Barack Obama in an effort to ease diplomatic
tensions.
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage
of a Continent
, a manifesto decrying centuries of
imperialism in the region, was No 2 on Amazon.com's bestseller list
after Chavez presented it to Obama at the Fifth Summit of the
Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
In response, Chavez jokingly proposed a business partnership
with the new US president, marking a sharp distinction from nearly
a decade of feuding with Obama's predecessor, George Bush, whom he
called "the devil."
"So I said, Obama, let's go into a business. We'll promote books --
I'll give you one, you give me another," Chavez said.
Asked at a news conference what he thought of the gift, Obama said,
"I thought it was a nice gesture to give me that book. I'm a
reader."
The 1971 book by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano describes Latin
American history as 500 years of looting and pillaging of natural
resources by outsiders ranging from colonial Spain in the 1600s to
US multinational corporations of 20th century.
This was not the first time Chavez's book recommendations have
proved a boon to authors.
Sales of US linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky's
Hegemony or Survival soared after Chavez plugged it during a UN
speech.
In recent years, Venezuela has led the region's resurgent anti-US
sentiment.
But at the summit in Trinidad, Chavez proposed naming a new ambassador to Washington.
He expelled the US ambassador in September and Washington responded by kicking out Venezuela's envoy.
