Beatriz Manz, professor emeritus of geography and ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, is the author of Refugees of a Hidden War: the Aftermath of Counterinsurgency in Guatemala; Paradise in Ashes: A Guatemalan Journey of Courage, Terror, and Hope; and Born in the USA: the Identities of American-Born Latinos. The focus of her research has been contemporary Mayan communities in Guatemala. Refugees of a Hidden War examined the displacement and human-rights abuses committed by the military against indigenous rural communities. Paradise in Ashes details the experiences of a village deep in the northern rainforest of Guatemala next to Mexico's Chiapas Lacandón region. Manz was born in rural southern Chile. Her training in anthropology and her Latin American roots have shaped her academic framework and her research interest in rural communities.