Agosin, Marjorie, Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love: The Arpillera Movement in Chile, 1974-1994, University of New Mexico Press, 1996.

This book examines the lives of ordinary women as
they tried to survive general Pinochet's oppressive
military rule. The Arpilleras are tapestries made with
scenes of everyday life which served as memorials to
lost loved ones. The book contains a forward by Isabel
Allende.

Bethell, Leslie, Chile Since Independence, Cambridge University Press, 1993.

This book focuses on the economic, social, and political
history of Chile since it achieved independence
from Spain in 1818. It contains much of the detail that
establishes the background for Allende's novel.

Galeano, Eduardo, Open Veins of Latin America; Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, Monthly Review Press, 1997.

This book provides a history of Latin America from a
Marxist perspective. Since many of the characters in
Allende's novel espouse socialist ideology, this book...