Guatemala: Eternal Spring, Eternal Tyranny

Well written, well photographed, well laid out and beautifully printed. It could be considered a landmark example of modern journalism in which eyewitness writing and photographic talent combine with meticulous research to produce a book of contemporary history. Cornell Capa, New York Times Book Review

For twenty years government repression in Guatemala has been the most insidious and the least acknowledged in the western hemisphere. Virtually every Guatemalan has lost friends, relatives, or colleagues. There have been some 100,000 killings and 40,000 disappearances. Still, Guatemala remains anonymous, overlooked by much of the press, and its troubles denied outright by the United States government. For the past six years, Jean-Marie Simon has been photographing people and reporting events from this hauntingly beautiful and remote land. Her text and pictures tell the story of a people imprisoned, particularly the Mayan Indians, whose lives have been so torn apart by political strife. This is a beautiful book; yet at the same time it is incredibly disturbing in its portrayal of a civilization violated by the army, police, and paramilitary government forces.