President Hugo Chavez openly defies the ruling class in the United States, daring to advance universal access to health care and education, to remove itself from the economic orbit dominated by the United States, to diversify its production to meet human needs and promote human development, and to forge an economic coalition between Latin American countries.

But as Bush Versus Chavez reveals, Venezuela's revolutionary process has drawn more than simply the ire of Washington. It has precipitated an ongoing campaign to contain and cripple the democratically elected government of...