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Library Journal Review

Neither of these two books answers the question, "Who really was Eva Perón?" Enshrouded in myth, this legendary First Lady of Argentina, dead in 1952 at 33 of uterine cancer, remains as mysterious to the reader after reading these books as she was before. From a poverty-stricken and illegitimate background, Eva Maria Duarte de Perón is portrayed in Argentine journalist Ortiz's vituperative book as a power-hungry politico, while the long-lost manuscript In My Own Words portrays an almost leftist Eva who rants for the overthrow of Argentina's tradition-bound oligarchy. Because of the controversy over the authorship, the book cannot legally be attributed directly to Eva Perón; hence the use of "Evita." In an introduction, historian and Perónist scholar Joseph A. Page states he believes the manuscript is legitimate. Unfortunately, much of the truth may never be known because from the time she doctored her birth certificate before her marriage to Perón, Eva was rewriting her personal history.Ortiz's book is an attack on the mythological Eve. Although it includes a bibliography, most of the works cited are in Spanish. Both titles illustrate the problem of biography, especially because Eva will be hot property once more as Madonna stars in the forthcoming film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's myth-perpetuating Evita. Recommended for Latin American collections and women's studies collections. [See also Tomas Eloy Martínez's novel Santa Evita, LJ 8/96.‘Ed.]‘Cynthia D. Bertelsen, Indexing Svcs., Blacksburg, Va. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Argentineans have cried over or vilified the peroxided patron saint of Peronism since her death at 33 in 1952. Mistress, then wife of the ambitious colonel who fashioned a populist fascism supported by the trade unions, Eva Perón exploited her ascendancy to become a philanthropic force in his regime, shows the author. Cleverly extracting from Peter to pay Paul, she set up an Eva Perón Foundation to succor the poor and sucker businessmen dependent on the president's tolerance. On the side, the pair enriched themselves, while "Evita" became a world figure. A minor, moneyless radio actress from the provinces at the beginning, at her end she was mummified, like Lenin, for veneration in a glass-topped casket that would undergo more vicissitudes after Perón's ouster than she'd experienced in life. It is the stuff of a compelling story‘and a hit musical soon to be a film (starring Madonna), which may explain why this virtually unsourced apologia is being published. More than 30 biographies of Evita have appeared in Spanish alone, perhaps a dozen in English. This one is not a distinguished addition to that company. French journalist Ortiz's meandering, sentimental prose may be less disconcerting in the original Spanish than in Fields's translation, but the book often strains logic as well as language. Photos not seen by PW. History Book Club and QPB selections; audio rights to Books on Tape. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

The infamous wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron remains one of the most fascinating yet enigmatic female political figures of the twentieth century. Who was Eva Peron really? Given Eva's complexity and contradictory personality, an answer is not easy. Nevertheless, Ortiz's new book, already a best-seller internationally, is a rounded and deep view of her. Becoming an actress in Buenos Aires (moving there from the provinces), distorting the truth about her illegitimate birth, bleaching her dark hair a golden blond, exercising gimmicks in public speaking--these and other measures Eva used to invent herself repeatedly, each stage of her program of invention offering her increased success in the entertainment then political arena. Packed with telling anecdotes, this biography is particularly good at reconstructing Eva's "rainbow" trip to Europe in 1947 as emissary of her president husband. Ortiz succeeds in making an already inviting life story even more so, and reader interest should prove high. --Brad Hooper