Many of the striking paradoxes of South America are embodied in the story of one her greatest heroes. Jose de San Martin was a soldier who fought against the Spanish army that trained him, a general who led a war for liberty but did not trust democracy and a patriot who died in self-imposed exile, scorned by the very countries he helped create.

Born in 1778 in Argentina, San Martin, from the age of eleven, served in Spain as a cadet and then an officer in the Royal Army. By thirty, he was a veteran of countless battles in Africa and Europe and a highly respected commander. Yet he was never able to forget his roots in the New World, and soon he was working as a secret agent for the forces fighting to free South America from Spanish rule.

San Martin's dangerous masquerade ended in 1812 when he reached Argentina and volunteered his services. His value was proven at once as he turned back Spanish forces with a rag-tag army of hastily-trained troops. This was just the first step of a torturous road. It took years of intense effort and bitter political intrigue before San Martin could lead his army across the Andes to defeat the Spanish in Chile, and then invade Peru by sea. As he struggled against the staggering odds he and his cause faced, he had to endure long separations from his beloved wife and daughter, and ultimately sacrifice his pride and turn over his command to Simon Bolivar to ensure final victory.

San Martin died embittered by the betrayal of his high hopes and ideals. Today he is rivaled only by Simon Bolivar as an architect of South American independence.

From the book