A study of the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, which remains one of the most significant revolutionary experiments of recent history. This book aims to add to our understanding and appreciation of that experiment. It locates the Nicaraguan revolution in the context of the long, historic struggle by the Nicaraguan people for an independent, self-determined policy and society. The book assesses the election defeat of the revolutionary party, the FSLN, in the light not just of the years of revolutionary government - but within the context of the sense of national dignity which was engendered via centuries of Nicaraguan history and consolidated under the revolutionary government.