“Mike Gonzalez possesses a extraordinarily rich knowledge of the Latin American left, has engaged critically with the politics of modern military institutions, and has an abiding interest in independently-minded public figures. He has brought these singular attributes together in this lucid portrait of Hugo Chavez. “

—Professor James Dunkerley, Queen Mary University

“For activists and scholars alike, this is an excellent biography, which mirrors in its nuances and subtleties the complexity of the Bolivarian process and the figure of Chavez himself.”

—Jeffery R. Webber, Queen Mary University of London, author of The Last Day of Oppression and the First Day of The Same

“A seminal work on the ideological and political formation of the former Venezuelan President and leading figure of twenty-first century socialism.”

—Francesco Di Bernardo, LSE Review of Books