"I want a free homeland or death." These were the bold words of Augusto César Sandino, the revolutionary whose name and ideals formed the basis of Nicaragua's Sandinista Revolution (1977-1979). In 1979, the Sandinistas overthrew the corrupt, U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship, but in many ways, the true revolution was just beginning. The Sandinistas had to rebuild Nicaragua's economic, medical, and educational systems, while simultaneously dealing with repeated attacks from U.S.-backed enemies. The aftermath of the Sandinista Revolution was a lightning rod for multiple civil and global issues, raising questions about the rights of nations to intervene in each other's affairs, the role of the United States in regime changes, and even what the best kind of government is. Follow the revolution from its beginnings in rural Nicaragua at the turn of the twentieth century through the overthrow of the Somozas and the series of international incidents that brought political conflict to countries all over the world."