Book review: Hugo Chávez: socialist for the twenty-first century by Mike Gonzalez

Released one year after Hugo Chávez‘s unexpected death, this biography traces the former President of Venezuela’s life from an impoverished rural family to the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas. Mike Gonzalez aims to detail Chávez‘s close connection to the masses and how he enraged wealthy elites by declaring his support for 21st century socialism. Francesco Di Bernardo finds this an accessible but rigorous work directed to both an academic and general audience. It is a useful and compelling read for those interested in discovering and understanding the role of Chávez and contemporary history of Venezuela and Latin America. It is a book that unveils an historical reality often unknown outside Latin America.