Portrait of a Nation

A case study of why Third World countries are still poor, the premise of this book is that while some progress has been made in transforming the political economy of Ecuador, certain behaviors, beliefs and attitudes have kept the country from developing in ways that otherwise would have been possible. As the author asserts, for almost five centuries the cultural habits of Ecuadorian citizens have constituted a stumbling block for individual economic success. Still, he concludes, people's cultural values are not immutable: inconvenient customs can be changed or influenced by the economic success of immigrants. This is the challenge that Ecuador faces in the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews:

don't buy this book for kindle!!!

By Paulyn Buechly - August 3, 2011

THIS BOOK IS NOT FROMATTED FOR KINKLE. THE PAGES ARE REPRODUCED ONTO THE KINDLE AS THEY APPEAR IN THE BOOK - THAT IS THEY ARE VERY TINY ON THE KINDLE SCREEN AS A WHOLE BOOK PAGE APPEARS ON YOUR SCREEN. YOU CANNOT ENLARGE THE TYPE OR MAKE ANY OTHER CHANGE TO THE FORMAT TO MAKE IT READABLE. I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS BEFORE I SPENT MY MONEY! IT IS USELESS TO ME.

Timely and Current

By Bonnie Leigh - May 28, 2010

I purchased this book prior to a school trip to Ecuador. Once there, I leared this book is required reading in international studies. It is current and give a good history and retrospecive view of the history and political culture of Ecuador.

Not a particularly easy read but....

By Francophile "Frankie" - February 25, 2013

If you are considering moving to Ecuador or even if you are just a history buff, this book is a "Must Read"....The author painstakingly analyzes political, geographical, religious, cultural and other dynamics that have combined over a thousand years to make Ecuadorian culture and life what it is today. It paints a discouraging picture which we blew off as we were deciding to move here. Now that we live here, hardly a day passes that we don't look at each other and acknowledge, "Yup, Hurtado got it right again!" On balance, I'm glad we did not let the book discourage us from making the move, but just as the friend that absolutely insisted that we read it before moving, I would do the same to anyone I know that is thinking about it because all the manifestations he concludes exist, appear to, in fact, be alive and well even today in Ecuadorian life and culture.