Stories of Civil War in El Salvador

Erik Ching is professor of history at Furman University and author of several books, including Authoritarian El Salvador: Politics and the Making of the Military Regimes, 1880-1940.
For more information about Erik Ching, visit the Author Page.

“An excellent study, laudable for its lucidity and for presenting an important history to a broader reading audience. Essential”--Choice

“An engaging book about memory communities in El Salvador. . . . Well structured and highly readable.”--American Historical Review

“A gripping read, which sustains attention as we work our way through these varied voices, skillfully and lucidly organised by the author.”--Journal of Latin American Studies

“Ching’s work represents a formidable undertaking and he is to be commended for consulting a plethora of memoirs from across the political spectrum.”--Journal of North Carolina Association of Historians

"A brilliant, eye-opening book. There is none other like it in English or Spanish. Erik Ching doesn't just tell a history of civil war in El Salvador. Rather, he shows how the clash of different social groups' specific, shared, and partial understandings of Salvadoran history in turn laid a foundation for the outbreak of war in the first place. Important, engaging, and provocative."--Jocelyn Viterna, Harvard University

"Erik Ching demonstrates that social and political groups within El Salvador not only experienced their civil war differently, but structure their memory discourse so differently that the war’s meaning and implications may be irreconcilable. His account helps to explain El Salvador's postwar debates, raises crucial questions about how memory communities construct coherent narratives, and will have a significant impact across multiple disciplines and beyond Central American studies."--William Stanley, University of New Mexico