Book Review: The Massacre at El Mozote by Mark Danner

Introduction

This report is a critical book review of Mark Danner's 1994 book The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War, published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House. The book has been highly acclaimed by sources such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. As Anthony Lewis wrote: "Once in a rare while a writer re-examines a debated episode of recent history with such thoroughness and integrity that the truth can no longer be in doubt. Mark Danner did just that in a long article that took up most of last week's issue of The New Yorker. Mr. Danner's subject was the massacre in December 1981 in the Salvadoran village of El Mozote." (Lewis)

This review is essentially a reaction paper that identifies some of the book's strengths and weaknesses, describes the content of the book, and examines the author's point of view and purpose. The review addresses who Mark Danner is and why he is considered an expert on the subject. It also considers whether the author's background, time, or place affected his conclusions and whether any resulting bias is present. Finally, it offers insight into the author's major hypothesis and provides the reviewer's own interpretation of this important work.

About the Author

The prominent journalist Mark D. Danner was born in Utica, New York, on November 10, 1958. He has accomplished a great deal in his lifetime, including teaching journalism at Bard College. Danner studied modern literatures and aesthetics at a prestigious university, graduating in 1981. He has been a staff writer for prominent publications such as The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine, where the bulk of his professional work revolved around the former Yugoslavia as well as significant reporting on Central America and other Latin American nations.

This background provides a strong foundation for his status as an expert on Central American social and political issues. Danner's work on El Mozote was highly acclaimed, and he won several awards for the account. In 1993, the entire December 6th issue of The New Yorker was dedicated to Danner's piece entitled "The Truth of El Mozote" — only the second time in the journal's long history that an entire edition had been devoted to a single piece. This article became the foundation for the 1994 book under review. Although Danner has written and co-authored additional books since, The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War stands as an investigative and journalistic masterpiece. As Lewis observed: "After the Danner report, no rational person can doubt that Salvadoran Government forces carried out a massacre. They killed hundreds of people in El Mozote and other hamlets nearby: men, women, children, infants." (Lewis)

Works Cited

Danner, Mark D. The Massacre at El Mozote: A Parable of the Cold War. 1st ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Lewis, Anthony. "Abroad at Home; The Whole Truth." New York Times [New York] December 6, 1993.