This was an interesting look at a lady who has become one of the most popular and one of the most controversial people in Argentinian history. Eva Peron was the wife of dictator Juan Peron. Her rise from an obscure village to the height of power was nothing short of meteoric. This book balances fact from fiction, real events from hearsay.

Short and not too detailed, it's the perfect introduction to those wanting to know about the life of Eva Peron. ( )

A fairly pedestrian biography of Eva Peron. Not much new ground plowed here. ( )

She's such an interesting person. I enjoy reading about her and deciphering between the truth and myth. This is a great book that compares both her written story and actual historical facts. ( )

Having only lived 33 years and been in the public spotlight for the last six, one woman has become in the 60+ years since her death the most iconic and polarizing woman in her country without even holding political office. Nicholas Fraser in his work, Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron, navigates between the fantastical versions of her life to find the real woman and put her into the context of the Argentina of her time before during and after her life.

Given the multitude of circumstances that Fraser faced to get an accurate portrait of Eva Peron, including her attempts to cover up her family’s illegitimacy, the fact that he was able to give a full account of her is noteworthy. Because of her short lifespan, the book was never going to be long but Fraser also had to contend with explaining the political atmosphere through Eva’s life especially after she became the First Lady of Argentina. Along with all of that, Fraser had to contend with the legendary versions of Eva’s life from both pro- and anti-Peronist sources. Yet the last 30 pages of the book are some of the most fascinating because it details the myth-creating journey that her corpse endured for almost 20 years through several governmental changes before finally being securely laid to rest in Buenos Aires.

Although the sensational accounts of Eva Peron’s life make for the ideal basis for musicals and films, the truth is just as fascinating. Nicholas Fraser’s biography of the most iconic Argentine political figure of the 20th-century is as close to the truth of her life as one is going to get and still understand the political atmosphere without getting bogged down in minutiae that would have enlarged the book and drifted away from the subject of the book. ( )

Who was Eva Perón? Was she a sinner or a saint? Was she simultaneously a whore and the Spiritual Leader of the Nation? According to Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro, it was difficult to determine which of these personas was the real Evita Perón. The myths and misconceptions surrounding her ensured that she remained a divisive figure, symbolizing different things to different people. To the descamisados ("shirtless ones"), she was a saintly heroine, a messianic figure who promised to return to her people after her death. Others, including the Argentine upper class, looked askance at a former actress—and supposed former prostitute—assuming such a prominent role in government and society.
Fraser, a journalist with the London Times, and Navarro, a professor of history at Dartmouth College, seek to remove the myths surrounding the idealized (or demonized, depending upon the perspective) Eva Perón to uncover the real historical figure. They carefully attempted to unearth the facts behind Evita's background, from her childhood as an illegitimate child to her blossoming career as an actress to her involvement with Juan Perón. They "tried to see her, present her, and judge her as a human being" (xii).
Fraser and Navarro's Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón presents a very complex figure. Evita was a combination of positives and negatives; she could be arrogant to her opponents and bloodthirsty in her defense of Perónism, yet she devoted long hours working in her foundation to help her beloved descamisados. It is the latter—the saint like figure who kissed lepers and provided aid to the homeless—who was beloved by the great masses of the Argentine people. Because of her great generosity, her "renunciation" of the vice presidential nomination, and her early death, she was almost a saintly Marian figure with Christ-like overtones. Yet toward the end of her life, this saintly figure was responsible for numerous speeches that called for loyalty toward General Juan Perón and Peronism, speeches that the authors characterize as "violent, with threats of destruction…and messianic references to the afterlife" (155). These speeches would later be used by later generations of Peronists to legitimize their use of political violence.
During her life and even after her death Evita was an important political symbol. Many considered her to be the heart of Peronism; after her death Perón himself seemed to lose some of his luster. Her ideals—aiding the poor and utilizing the labor unions as a power base—made Peronism an important article of faith for millions of Argentines. After her death, her body itself became a powerful symbol of the glorious accomplishments of Peronism, a symbol that later military government tried to eliminate by hiding her body for decades. This attempt failed to diminish her appeal as she continues to be an important political and cultural figure. She promised to return to aid her people; it can be said that she never left. Fraser and Navarro theorize that her continued popularity can be linked to today's celebrity obsessed culture that favors actors above politicians. This new era ensures that Evita—an actress turned politician who was sometimes accused by her opponents of turning Argentina's political life into a form of show business—will remain an immortal icon.
The authors mostly succeed in presenting Evita's biography free from iconic myths; indeed, the story is enriched by their attempts "to describe the relationship between the myths and the life" (xii). Unlike other popular biographies, this sophisticated analysis is grounded in research. The authors utilize numerous primary sources, from newspapers and the Peróns' own writings to "over one hundred interviews…conducted between 1972 and 1978" (xii). Fraser and Navarro have also consulted a wide variety of secondary sources including what appears to be every major biography written about Eva and Juan Perón. Their arguments are scrupulously documented with extensive notes. Their creative use of sources gives credence and authority to their work. Evita is clearly organized chronologically. The only weakness found in the work is a result of the authors' attempts to place their story within the larger narrative; we sometimes lose sight of the tree within the forest they are describing.
Notwithstanding the last statement, Fraser and Navarro do an admirable job of placing the life story of Eva Perón within the historical context. For example, the role of Evita in the development of Peronism is placed within the larger narrative of Argentina during the 1940s, and her exile in death is related as a consequence of the Argentine military's increasingly important role in politics. This neutral account of such a polarizing figure is a welcome addition to Latin American historiography. ( )