Eduardo Galeano, one of Latin America's most distinguished writers, journalists, and historians, is the author of the Memory of Fire trilogy (winner of the 1989 American Book Award), Open Veins of Latin America, and many other works. He lives in Montevideo, Uruguay

At the outset, I must admit that Galeano is one of my favorite authors, so I bought this with high expectations. Again, I wasn't disappointed; Galeano's comprehensive perspective and profound, yet practical, insights are genuinely awesome. He tells us what we need to know and recognize but often find too difficult to confront and acknowledge.
This work directly presents the unvarnished truth about the relationship of the "developed" or "first" world vis a vis the "third" world. As Galeano aptly notes, the former comprises the "north" -- the United States and Europe, and the latter that which is south of this north -- Africa, Latin America, and much of Asia. His metaphor "upside down" is apt, not only in terms of geography, but as he points the power structure's media and institutions represent as truth the complete opposite of the actual realities of the world's institutions, societies, and plight of the majority of its populace.
Galeano makes his astute and irrefutable observations in a clever, interesting and thought provoking conceptual fashion. The book is extremely readable, but after a while the first world reader will surely become ill at ease, and will unconsciously attempt to provide rationalizations for the ugly and relentless oppression and exploitation of the third world by northern societies.
"Upside Down" is a needed dose of reality, but reading it is often like a cold glass of water thrown in your face. However, like such a glass of water it will wake you up and demand your attention.