Edited by two Colombian professors from the Univ. del Rosario, the book constitutes a joint effort by Colombian and Venezuelan scholars to foster an understanding of Chavez's policies and performance. Ten sections contain more than 30 scholarly articles addressing the results and outcomes of government policies in several areas, including governance, social policies, human rights, gender policies, political parties, Colombia-Venezuela relations, oil policy, and civil-military relations. The section on social policies offers interesting appraisals of the cost effectiveness of health policies. The book helps to disentangle many myths about the character of Cha vez's governance style and is generally critical of the negative policy outcomes. Of particular interest are the articles by Acevedo, dealing with what the author calls "institutional demolition" under the Cha vez regime, and by Chumaceiro Arreaza, who discusses Cha vez's political discourse.