Some defenders of Ms. Menchú have argued that whether or not her book is strictly factually accurate is largely irrelevant, because even if it isn't, it still educates the reader on certain "realities" of life in Central America during the early 1980's. But how does one derive insights about such realities from a false account? No reasonably educated/informed person needs a book such as hers to learn about the fact that the Guatemalan military committed atrocities in its attempts to suppress leftist insurrections - that is well documented by many sources. No, the distinctive educational "value" of Ms. Menchú's work can only lie in the truthfulness of the specific acts of barbarism she claims to have witnessed, because such events are not "common" knowledge. Evidence of this is provided by the behavior of Ms. Menchú, who has alternately stated that she will steadfastly defend her work "to the death" (without, apparently, actually refuting any of Dr. Stoll's claims), her "declining to be interviewed" by The Chronicle, and by her to-date failure to "come clean" and admit her fabrications . Clearly, *she* understands that the "literal truth" matters...Unless, of course, one finds it politically useful to use exaggerated or outright false stories as the basis of propaganda - which, sadly, seems to be the case with those who find "value" in her book as an emotion -stirring "call to arms"...
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