Why does Africa seem to be the only continent in the World doomed to fail? Why is it the only one not managing to grow and thrive? Why is the problem of failed States and corruption so extended there? Why does it lag back, incapable of using the 21st century solutions provided by globalisation? Dambisa Moyo, born in Zambia with a Ph.D. in economics from Oxford University, analyses these issues, searches for solutions and shows the damage caused by some development aid policies implemented after World War Two. As Ramón Gil-Casares says in his prologue, supported by economic data, the reader is before a book of development theory for Africa that can be read practically as a novel. _Cuando la ayuda es el problema_ explains in a convincing manner why development aid is not part of the solution but rather becomes part of the problem. Dambisa Moyo sets forth a new development model for Africa that reduces poverty, promotes economic growth and allows the continent to tap the advantages of globalisation.

Is nationalism always an expression of hatred and a source of conflict? Is patriotism the same as nationalism? Can there be democracy without nation? Angel Rivero shows in this book that the spreading of nationalism has caused societies that have suffered it to deny the value of concepts such as patriotism and nation. But these concepts, whose democratic meaning was coined early in time by Spanish liberalism, have full force today. They are essential to understand modern democracy and its defence of individual liberty. They are a part of our political culture and show the continuity of constitutional politics in Spain. _La constitución de la nación_ shows how the hegemony of nationalism has finally corrupted concepts like patriotism or nation beyond recognition and yet, patriotism as the common defence of individual freedom, and the nation as the meeting of citizens for the protection of their rights, are more pressing than ever. The nation is the stronghold from where to defend our freedom, including against nationalism. This is the lasting legacy of Spanish liberalism and reiterating it is worthwhile: the constituting of the nation by the citizens continues being essential to support democracy whose overriding aim is to protect freedom.

Mario Vargas Llosa is an example of commitment to freedom. And Pasión por la libertad is a faithful account of the fascinating political career of the latest Nobel Prize laureate in Literature. Coming from the left, he was disenchanted by it and abandoned the revolutionary ideals, thus taking the road to a determined defence for freedom. This book by Mauricio Rojas is a splendid guide of the work accomplished by this universal Peruvian to help us uncover the colourful disguises used by the enemies of freedom to embellish themselves, to shake ourselves free from revolutionary dreams before they imprison us in totalitarian nightmares, and to recognise these utopias of the extreme kindness that only seek to oppress people.

As summarized by Esperanza Aguirre in the foreword: "The aim met by this book of Mauricio Rojas is precisely that of describing the path that has led Vargas Llosa to be belligerent in the defence of some values ​​and principles he considers indispensable: the Rule of Law, human rights, democracy, tolerance, private property, market economy and everything that enables the existence of the most unique and valuable creation of Western civilization: individual freedom".