Colombia: Democracy Under Assault, Second Edition

It is a good general introduction to Colombia, written from a conservative point of view and from a political science background. In general terms, it works well if you know nothing about the country -it gives you a general idea of a very complex history and context, it simplifies it without losing too much nuance (although this is unavoidable). His later work I have far less time for (he had published a book to analyse the period of each Colombian president since 1998, and they are boring, full of minute details and lacing in broader sociological context).