Long After Midnight at the Nino Bien: A Yanqui's Missteps in Argentina

by Brian Winter

After moving to Argentina on a whim, Brian Winter, a young American reporter, embarks on a crusade to learn that devilishly difficult dance that demands both discipline and passion: the tango. While... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586483706
• ISBN13: 9781586483708
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Had me laughing out loud

This guy can write and he really captures the Fellini like quality of BsAs and its tango sub-culture. This book really had me laughing. If you're going to Argentina, and/or a tango addict, I highly recommend this book. What makes this "memoir" different from others is the writer's ability to vividly capture other people, and not just talk about what's going on in his head. Great read.

Great if you are a Misstepping Yanqui

I read this book while on vacation in Buenos Aires and could not put it down. It is well written, with reflections on Argentinas history blended nicely with the author's own experiences. Some reviews have indicated he falls short in understanding Argentina beyond cliche, which may be true, but as a Yanqui, first-timer in Buenos Aires, my understanding could only be deepened. So, if you come here knowing nothing, as I did, I think you will really enjoy this book.

An appreciation which comes to life in a book highly recommended for a range of collections

LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT AT THE NINO BIEN: A YANQUI'S MISSTEPS IN ARGENTINA tells of an American who decides on a whim to move to Argentina and learn to tango - his quest to shine in the tango hall with a group of elderly men who move like Enrique Iglesias and his quest to understand the tango leads to a deeper cultural appreciation of Argentina as a whole: an appreciation which comes to life in a book highly recommended for a range of collections: those surveying international dance in general, tango in particular, or Latin American or Argentinean culture as a whole. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

Fascinating and Fun

This book makes Argentina come alive with real people and lively dialogue. I've read a lot about Argentina's social, political and economic crises, but the country never really came together for me until I read this book. Argentina, like the tango, is a sad thought you can dance to. Of course, it's a foreigner's perspective, but a fresh one from a young man who jumped into the whirl of Argentine life without preconceptions and writes about it with a refreshing honesty and lack of pretense.

Pure Pleasure

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's much better better written than "Kiss and Tango" (Winter was a journalist for Reuters,) the other tango memoir that I've read which I also enjoyed. He spends lots of time drinking with old milongueros at the milongas, discussing with them his struggle to get the hang of tango, and at the same time records how the Argentine economy went down in flames while he was there (2000 to 2004.) I found it very affecting, and did not want it to end. Peter Silverman