Previously, I had heard and known a little bit about the Shining Path's rebellion. However, this knowledge was anything but sizable. Not only did I have little grasp about just how close this insurgency brought Peru to the brink, but I had even less understanding about the Maoist organization itself in the very first place. That has since been remedied and then some through La Serna and Stern's sweeping work and the rich detail they use to chronicle this inexplicably and inexcusably little-known conflict. "The Shining Path" is everything I could ask for in a top-quality nonfiction work - a gripping read that that is not only difficult to put down, but also does a heavy-duty job filling in an unrealized but major knowledge gap.