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Operation Massacre by Rodolfo Walsh
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Operation Massacre

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Operation Massacre by Rodolfo Walsh
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Aug 27, 2013 | ISBN 9781609805135

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    Aug 27, 2013 | ISBN 9781609805135

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Praise

“A mesmerizing, prophetic tour de force of investigative journalism exposing the pervasive thuggishness of the Argentine military elite. A chilling, lucid work, beautifully translated by Gitlin, which serves as a great example of journalistic integrity.” Kirkus Reviews

“This captivating and clear-eyed book, a true crime narrative first published in Spanish in 1957 and fluently translated here by Gitlin […] provides a moment-by-moment account and [Walsh] reveals as much as he can about the survivors and those who were executed.” Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The book is a document of the effort to which a writer will go simply to hear a person’s story; to question the details; to construct a narrative that both allows for the inconsistencies of individual eyewitnesses and yet is not undone by them […] Daniella Gitlin’s translation is clean, attentive to the subtleties of Walsh’s prose, and her introduction and notes are very good indeed… In this moment of anxiety over the flow of information, confusion over the responsibilities of writers and journalists, the publication of this volume is well timed.” Los Angeles Review of Books

“It’d be too cheap to call this required reading for its relevance to contemporary issues of government dishonesty and violent military suppression of opposition. It’s more than that: it’s the introduction to our literature and history of a writer of almost inconceivable courage, suppressed only by death, and of the terrible events of a night that must not be forgotten.” Bomb Magazine, editor’s choice

“It is a powerful assertion of the force of testimonial writing relayed by a literary master. Read it and weep. More importantly, to understand how terrorism functions in the hands of the powerful, as an instrument of indiscriminate State manipulation, even massacre, perpetually dictated by the supposedly paramount demands of ‘national security.'”The Independent (UK)

“A great publishing event. That Operation Massacre had not been translated into English before this was shameful; that it is available to English-readers now is a marvelous thing.” —Alma Guillermoprieto, author of Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America

“Rodolfo Walsh’s dramatic investigation of extra-judicial murders in 1950s Argentina was an act of great journalistic courage. Told in cinematic prose skillfully rendered into English by Daniella Gitlin, Operation Massacre is a testament to Walsh’s tenacity in his personal search for truth and justice.” —Michael Scammell

“Rodolfo Walsh’s work perfectly synthesized the most hard-hitting journalism with literature of the highest caliber. His example of adeptness and dignity in literary reportage lives on beyond his death at the hands of a military dictatorship.” —Eduardo Galeano, author of Children of the Days

“All of [Walsh’s] work demonstrates … his commitment to reality, his almost implausible analytical talent, his personal bravery, and his political ferocity.” —Gabriel García Márquez

Table Of Contents

c o n t e n t s
Introduction xiii
Translator’s Note xxiii
Prologue 1
part one: the people 9
1. Carranza 11
2. Garibotti 14
3. Mr. Horacio 17
4. Giunta 20
5. Díaz: Two Snapshots 21
6. Lizaso 22
7. Warnings and Premonitions 24
8. Gavino 25
9. Explanations in an Embassy 26
10. Mario 28
11. “The Executed Man Who Lives” 30
12.“I’m Going to Work . . .” 32
13. The Unknowns 34
part two: the events 37
14. Where is Tanco? 39
15. Valle’s Rebellion 43
16. “Watch Out, They Could Execute You . . .” 47
17. “Cheer Up” 50
18. Calm and Confident 53
19. Make No Mistake . . . 55
20. Execute Them! 59
21. He Felt He was Committing a Sin . . . 60
22. The End of the Journey 65
23. The Slaughter 67
24. Time Stands Still 70
25. The End of a Long Night 73
26. The Ministry of Fear 77
27. An Image in the Night 79
28. “They’re Taking You Away” 82
29. A Dead Man Seeks Asylum 86
30. The Telegram Guerrilla 92
31. The Rest is Silence . . . 96
part three: the evidence 101
32. The Ghosts 103
33. Fernández Suárez Confesses 106
34. The Livraga File 110
35. Blind Justice 141
36. Epilogue 146
37. Aramburu and the Historical Trial 148
appendices 153
Prologue to the Book Edition (from the first edition, July 1957)
Introduction (to the first edition, March 1957) 157
Obligatory Appendix (to the first edition, March 1957) 165
Provisional Epilogue (from the first edition, July 1957) 183
Epilogue (from the second edition, 1964) 187
Portrait of the Dominant Oligarchy (end of the epilogue to the third edition, 1969) 191
Operation in the Movies 193
Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta 197
Notes 211
Glossary 217
Afterword 221
About the Author 231
About the Translator 233
About Seven Stories Press 235

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