Peru is being brought to its knees. 500 years after the Spanish conquest, a dark ideological zealotry is threatening to demolish every vestige of the European culture in that country. Former philosophy lecturer Abimael Guzman, alias Chairman Gonzalo, and self-acclaimed fourth sword of communism in the wake of Marx, Lenin and Mao, is leader of the Shining Path - Sendero Luminoso - the ferocious and highly secretive guerrilla organization sworn to reverse the tide of history. Shining Path considers all forces of reaction, be they in the form of power stations, ballot posts, farming co-operatives or hospitals legitimate bombing targets. By mid-1991 their struggle for power had caused economic damage amounting to more than #10 billion, with more than half the country living in a state of emergency and at least 22,000 people having died in the violence. The author of this book uses his understanding of this situation to show how it has been possible for Shining Path to attain popular support despite its cruelty in the face of the random savagery and impotence of the Peruvian police and armed forces.