Oscar López Rivera: Between Torture and Resistance Paperback – February 14, 2013

This book only briefly discusses Oscar's life before his imprisonment in 1981. Instead the story focuses on Oscar's life in prison. The details are presented through various interviews and letters, some by family and friends, and the majority through Oscar's own words. Although I read this book in 2020, and Oscar has been out of prison for over two years now, it doesn't take away from the facts regarding went he went through in various US prisons over a period of almost four decades. This is an essential read for not just people who support Puerto Rican Independence, but for anyone with even a remote interest in the US/PR colonial relationship and the trials and tribulations of the people of PR and the PR Diaspora in the US. Highly recommended.

It's was with duality of great pleasure and sadness that I read this great book. It demostrate the cruel treatment that Empires have given to the colonized people thruogh the history of mankind.The cruelty of the U.S. Empire against it's colonized people is not different than any other Empire; including the England Empire that once oppresed their land.This man is viewed in his home country as equal to George Washington when he fought against the english empire.Oscar Lopez Rivera is a history of the struggle of the Puerto Rican people for their freedom.It's is too a history of reppresion of the colonized people of Puerto Rico by the dominand Empire of the last 115 years since the invasion of the Island in 1898.Between Torture and resistance is not only the story of Oscar Lopez Rivera but the story of the Puerto Rican people.This is the story of all the men and women that loved their country;Pedro Albizu Campos,Jose de Diejo,Ramon Emeterio Betances,Rius Rivera,Rafael Cancel Miranda,Lolita Lebron,Blanca Canales y Maria de las Mercedes Barbudo just to mention a few of the many patriots that dedicated their lifes to the freedom of the country orf Puerto Rico.These are Men and Women that gave their lifes for freedom just like George Washington did in 1776.

A testament to the human spirit.Oscar Lopez Rivera spent 35 years in prison for a belief. He was incarcerated for the same "crime" as Nelson Mandela...seditious conspiracy. Here in the US, Mandela was ultimately treated as a freedom fighter, and received deep and widespread support against the South African apartheid regime. Oscar however, was condemned to 35 years in prison...the longest-serving political prisoner in the entire world, as of 2016.Finally and belatedly, in 2017, Pres. Obama commuted his sentence. BETWEEN TORTURE AND RESISTANCE is Oscar's intimate, detailed autobiography of those many years in US federal prison. It also details his service in Vietnam, his struggles and triumphs as a community organizer in Chicago (two decades before Barack Obama), his devotion to his family, and his commitment to the independence of Puerto Rico.Oscar Lopez Rivera paid for this commitment...with 35 years in prison. This is his personal testament. BETWEEN TORTURE AND RESISTANCE is a stunning book, and a vital work of living history.

I appreciate the first-hand account of a freedom-fighter who sacrificed his own personal freedom for the fight to free the mother land - Puerto Rico - from the illegal colonization of her oppressors. It is easier to talk a good game about the struggle, to point fingers at those who fought while sitting along the sidelines and to critiqued and criticize come Monday-morning quarterbacking. The US Government has a lot of explaining to do...they should be held financially accountable for keeping this man as a political prisoner for as long as they did, all the while condemning other countries around the world for incarcerating political prisoners of their own....HYPOCRITES! It is time for reparations.

Important stories about what our vaunted "American democracy" does to people are often repressed Oscar's story is of one who has not taken repression lying down. So the system crushed him individually, he and his comrades. And his story has been hidden from public view - available to anyone who goes looking, but not picked up and reported by the mainstream media. Oscar's story reminds us to be always vigilant and skeptical. What is the motivation behind the proposal for statehood in February 2014, after more than 100 years of being a colony? To short circuit a repressed desire of the people to form their own country? If we rely on the mainstream press, we'll never know that answer.

Great book! Oscar López Rivera is a truly honorable human being. He embodies the values and heroism of a true patriot. He is intelligent and insightful. Every PuertoRican should read this book and know this story. It is also an inside look at the abusive prison system in the United States with an in depth portrait of what it is like to be in solitary confinement. Oscar was in solitary for aprox. 12 years. I along with the majority of the PuertoRican population celebrate his freedom!!!!!

Every Puertorican should read this book and should definitely know the painful story of Oscar Lopez and the Nationalists party from PR. The injustice of the USA prison system against those who challenges their methods and beliefs

I am an older adult and a first generation Puerto Rican. I recently began to investigate my history and as a result discovered some facts that are disconcerting, but at the same time make me proud of who I am and the struggles of my antecedents both in Puerto Rico and here in El Barrio de Nueva York. I believe that in order to move forward it is important to know the truth about one's self and heritage and Mr. Rivera makes me proud to claim my heritage as a Puerto Rican.