Preface to the Second Edition

Summary

For this second edition of the book originally entitled A History of Chile 1808–1994 (Cambridge, 1996), we have added a new final chapter, to take account of developments since 1990 in a broad sweep, and we have made some minor revisions to the rest of the text to correct a few factual errors and to update the story. Our aim in this book is to present a general account of Chile's history as an independent nation-state for English-language readers, although we hope that Chileans, too, will enjoy it. It is our firm belief that the main task of writing Chilean history belongs to Chileans. Yet we also believe that a fresh eye can sometimes be cast over the changing Chilean scene from outside, and hopefully our effort has been worthwhile. As foreigners, we can never claim the intimate knowledge of Chilean society and culture that Chileans themselves grow up with, but we have both had a long personal connection with the country, going back to the presidency of the unforgettable Jorge Alessandri, and this book expresses, we trust, our strong affection for Chile and the Chileans. We have both enormously enjoyed Chile's undoubted charm, its scenery, its literature, its music, its people's notable humor, and, not least, its admirable wines – the finest, our upper nasal cavities tell us, in the Americas. Our lives have been enriched and sometimes frustrated by Chilean virtues and failings. We hope that something of this is communicated to the reader.