Esperanza Speaks: Confronting A Century Of Global Change In Rural Panama

Gloria Rudolf provides a close-up, heartfelt view of the ways one woman and her family struggle with poverty and rely on the strength of an ever-changing mosaic of kinship and friendship relations. Esperanza Speaks is a beautiful book – a paean to a lifetime collaboration and, at the same time, a record of experienced globalization. Lived and living history at its best.-- Hans C. Buechler, Syracuse UniversityBeautifully written and dramatically presented, this volume examines a half century of social change in rural Panama. Told through the eyes of the author’s collaborator and friend of fifty years, Esperanza’s story shows how the life history approach in anthropology treats economic transformations ‘from the bottom up.’ Ideal for classroom use, this book is a winner.-- Richard Scaglion, University of PittsburghEsperanza Speaks is a clearly written, compassionate, and engaging read. Ideal for the classroom, this work allows readers to understand not only Esperanza’s life but also Panama’s place in our global society. Using descriptive and explanatory prose in equal parts, Rudolf unveils the changes in Esperanza’s family as their roles shift over time, as well as their own perspectives on the structural forces that affect their lives.-- Christine Hippert, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse