The Mountain that Eats Men

By: Ander Izagirre, Tim Gutteridge (Translator)

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eBook | 15 April 2019 | Edition Number 1

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From the 16th century, the mines of Potosi, perched high in the Andes, bankrolled the Spanish empire. During those years immense wealth allowed the city to grow larger than London at the time and the mountain was quickly given the epithet Cerro Rico - the 'rich mountain'. But today, Potosi's inhabitants are some of the poorest in South America while the mountain itself has been so greedily plundered that its summit is on the verge of collapsing. So many people have died in the mines that the Cerro Rico is now called the 'mountain that eats men'.

In this captivating, moving tale of harrowing bravery and wistful beauty Ander Izagirre tells the story of the mountain and those who risk their lives in its shadow through the eyes of Alicia - a 14-year-old girl working in the dark, dangerous mines to support her family. Through her eyes we can come to know the story of postcolonial Bolivia.

Industry Reviews

'Burning with a quiet power and rage, The Mountain that Eats Men will move you to tears and to anger.'
Mark Mann, author of The Gringo Trail

'Izagirre's narrative of characters eking out a living amidst what, for many, ultimately became silver-lined tombs is deft, admirable, and haunting.'
Kim MacQuarrie, author of Life and Death In the Andes

'With echoes of Galeano's political ire and Salgado's immersive rawness, Izagirre has produced a gut-puncher of a book.'
Oliver Balch, author of Viva South America!

Praise for the Spanish Edition:

'Extremely well written ... uses what appears to be a small, personal story to tell a much wider, more universal one... Like Kapu?ci?ski, he finds the drop of water that reflects everything around it.'
Martin Caparros, El Pais

'[Shares] the spirit of Eduardo Galeano... but Izagirre gets closer to the ground.'
Ricardo Martinez Llorca, Culturamas