In June 1810, the Venezuelans, fearful of French aggression, sent a diplomatic mission to London in search of an ally. The mission was headed by Simon Bolivar; the secretary was Andres Bello. Bello remained in London through the Spanish American Revolution and became one of the most accomplished members of the Spanish-speaking intelligentsia. In this book, Antonio Cussen reconstructs Andres Bello's account of the Revolution. The official history of the Revolution, the heroic history of Bolivar, is replaced by the account of a poet, who was first Bolivar's teacher, and later his critic....