No Other Reality: The Life and Times of Nora Astorga

Patricia Daniel

ISBN 10: 0953242307 / ISBN 13: 9780953242306

Published by CAM, 1998

About this Item

Covers & Spine: front and back showing only light scuffing & signs of handling otherwise undamaged, minimal wear along edges and at corners, spine is intact and solid. Binding: firm throughout. Pages & Markings: unstained, no markings, clean throughout, personal inscription by author on opening page. PLEASE NOTE: Due to this item weighing less than 500g, postage cost for international orders (i.e. not Australian) will be less than what is shown here. Please email me if you would like a quote. All items are protectively packaged, and a postal tracking number will be sent to all customers whose current email address is registered with AbeBooks.

Seller Inventory # 008281

Bibliographic Details

• Title: No Other Reality: The Life and Times of Nora Astorga
• Publisher: CAM
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0953242307
• ISBN 13: 9780953242306
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

On International Women's Day 1978 Nora Astorga, a young Nicaraguan lawyer from an upper-middle class family, took part in an undercover military operation as a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front. As a result of this action, the dictator's right-hand man, General 'The Dog' Vega, was killed and Nora had to flee the capital, leaving her two daughters. She escaped the National Guard's dragnet and joined the guerilla in the mountains. Nora inspired many young people to join the resistance against the Somoza dictatorship and the following year, on July 19th 1979, the people succeeded in bringing an end to his cruel rgime. Nora went on to hold high office in the revolutionary government, as Public Prosecutor of war criminals in the People's Tribunals, Vice Foreign Minister and then Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United Nations. On Valentine's Day 1988, she died of cancer at the age of 39, was awarded the title 'Hero of the Fatherland' and remembered as Ambassador of Love, Life and Peace.

As a biography of a remarkable woman the book is accessible to a wide audience, telling a story which is powerful, passionate and poignant. At the same time, the book provides an excellent political analysis of the context in which the story takes place.

It is of particular interest to those concerned with the part women play in national and international development. While celebrating the achievements of Nora Astorga, the book also reflects the difficulties still faced by women in the public eye, even in a revolutionary society.

It is also of special interest to those involved in Latin American Studies, since the biography serves as a vehicle for revisiting the story of the Nicaraguan revolution. The life of Nora Astorga illuminates the period 1950-1990 (leading up to and including the revolutionary government of the 1980s).

The examination of Nora Astorga's diplomatic role highlights the intervention of the United States into the internal affairs of Third World countries and the strategies which exist for less powerful states to challenge this hegemony.

About the Author

Patricia Daniel lived and worked in Nicaragua during the 1980s and her daughter was born there in 1987. She is an active member of the Wales Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign and has edited several educational publications on Central America. She has recently coordinated the MA Women's Studies course at the University of Wales, Bangor (UK) and teaches the MEd course in Gender, Education and Development at the University of Manchester. In summer 1999 she will be a Visiting Lecturer at the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, to develop work on Gender and Intercultural Curriculum. She is available to provide lectures based on the book.