Easily the best scholarly treatment of Hugo Chávez's hybrid electoral autocracy, Corrales and Penfold's book courageously refutes orthodox explanations -- from the right and the left -- for this unique caudillo's rise and resilience. Chávez gained power not because of neoliberal market reforms and political decay but rather because of the reverse: Venezuela's statist, oil-based economy and prior democratic openings had created the conditions for Chavismo. Especially insightful -- and