The Death in the Andes takes place in Peru, where the main geographic focus rests in the Andean highlands. Written by Mario Vargas Llosa , the book follows Corporal Lituma and Tomás Correno. They are both members of the Civil Guard and are stationed at the remote outpost near the village of Naccos. Although the basic plot focuses on an investigation of the disappearance of three men, at a deeper level Death in the Andes explores the highlands of Peru as a landscape of mythology. This particular analysis, however, concentrates on how the book interfaces with the six essential elements in the National Standards and how they appear in the book.

The Death in the Andes does not clearly overlap with essential element The World in Spatial Terms. However, it is clear that Standard 2 on mental maps is an important part of character conversations in the book. For example, Tomás Correno describes to his Civil Guard partner travels with his "true love" Mercedez. The dialogue clearly requires a vivid mental picture of routes and scenes that the author must have imprinted in his own mind. In another example, Officer Lituma of the Peruvian Civil Guard has a vivid mental map of an ambush spot on his route to Naccos, a location where he convinces himself that the Shining Path will attack him.

The essential element, Places and Regions, forms the background for Death in the Andes. Standard 5 on mental creation of regions rests at the core of Mario Vargas Llosa’s writing. Corporal Lituma comes from Peru’s coast, and he is most confused by the customs and the beliefs of locals. Lituma eventually sorts this out in his own mental vision of the Andes as a place with buried violence that spurs people to commit atrocious acts. Lituma is told that "everything was decided by a higher power that had to be won over with sacrifices"; this quote provides the reader another mental vision of the Andean vernacular region. Standard 6 on how culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions is best seen by examining how different characters in the book perceive Peru. The contrast between Lituma and Tomás Correno’s view of superstitions held by locals of the highland village of Naccos. Lituma’s urban coastal background causes him to casually dismiss supernatural explanations for the disappearances of three men. In contrast, the greater cultural experience of Tomás Correno helps him keep a more open mind. In another example, the outsider Danish engineer Red is utterly fascinated by Peru because "… for people from clear, transparent countries like mine, nothing is more attractive than [the] indecipherable mystery [of Peru]."

The Andes Mountains is a dominant character in the book, and hence physical geography or essential element Physical Systems, appears throughout the book as background. For example, a couple from France traveling from the coast into the highlands by bus comment on why locals are always wearing multiple layers of clothes. Such garb is necessary owing to extreme temperature shifts from hot to cold that can take place quickly with elevation change. Standard 7 on physical processes include avalanches that show up in the book as a force of destruction, intentionally generated by the Andes. Lituma from the dry coastal desert, locals living in the cold Andean mountains, and Mercedez from the Amazonian rainforest do a reasonably good job of picturing Standard 8 on distribution of climates found in Peru.

Perhaps the best examples of National Geography Standards displayed in Death in the Andes are contained in the Human Systems essential element. Corporal Lituma is a costeno or a man from the coast. Lituma exemplifies Standard 9 on migration since he was effectively "pushed" into the Andes by the Civil Guard. Tomás Correno seemed to have roots in the underworld, was raised in the Andes, but migrated to Lima on the coast and found his true love Mercedes in the Amazon town of Tingo Maria. Of course, nothing could be a more dramatic element of migration than the Spanish who colonized Peru. Death in the Andes mixes the great variety of different culture types found in Peru extremely well; Standard 10 on the cultural makeup (termed mosaic in the standards) is exemplified by the Peruvian Indian cultures, the Spanish-influenced Christian culture, foreign influences, and the inevitable mixing that takes place. For example, the violence that infuses the book finds itself drawn from such cultural complexities as Christian communion where flesh and blood are consumed, from Shining path rituals of stoning, and Andean "vampires" who dry out their victims. Standard 11, focusing on economic connectivity, is portrayed in the migrant road construction community of Naccos, transport of such produce as potatoes by flatbed truck, options of travel for lower classes by bus or upper classes by air, and of course mining. Standard 12 on settlement patterns is both obvious in the book and yet subtle. The obvious nature of Standard 12 is that much of the dialogue takes place in the Andean town of Naccos; the main occupants of Naccos are themselves constantly resettling as road construction moves. The more subtle aspect is the interplay of indigenous Peruvian settlements and Spanish colonists; after landing on the coast, the Spanish were immediately drawn to the foothills of the Andes with a climate they described as eternal spring. Standard 13 on cooperation and conflict rests at the very heart of Death in the Andes. Cooperation and conflict is the driving force in the plot of the book as Lituma seeks an answer to three seemingly related disappearances. Cooperation and conflict show up throughout the book as the confutations with the Shining Path Maoist rebels. Cooperation and conflict also appear at a personal level in book, because Lituma is viewed as an outsider by road workers in Naccos. Att the deepest levels geographically, cooperation and conflict has its roots in the Spanish invasion of Peru.

The last two essential element of geography, Society and Environment and Uses of Geography, have only the vaguest threads tying them to Death in the Andes. For example, soil erosion is a common problem in the Andies, and you get an idea of how it is associated with landslides faced by the road workers from Naccos. It is clear that the author is aware of the impact of mining though the Dutch engineer Red. However, the author does not seek to address known environmental issues surrounding mining. Similarly, the author has an intuitive understanding of Standard 17 in how geography can help make sense of the past; the entire novel breaths the conflicted relationships between pre-Spanish natives and Spanish settlers. Yet, the author does not take the next step with Standard 18 in how this understand can help solve problems in the future.

Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa, one of Peru’s most well known novelists, takes place in the remote Peruvian mountain village of Naccos. The basic plot of the book follows Civil Guard members Liuma and Tomas in their attempt to unravel a mystery where three seemingly unrelated men disappear without a trace. Death in the Andes contains twists of fate such as Tomás’ love affair with a beautiful woman, the happenstance meeting with and sympathetic relationship with one of the men who would later disappear, the constant threat terrorism of the Maoist rebels, and old Andes legends of vengeful fluid-draining vampires that stalk mountain passes. The geography student will be most disheartened by a lack of crisp geographical thinking; just when the author is about to hit on a great core thread of geopolitical importance, a new personality or event emerges to distract from larger-scale thinking. Still, I recommend the book for those who enjoy dynamic and disturbing imagery, for those who do not mind vivid mature thinking, and for those who enjoy the gossip and stories of others. I do not recommend the book for any readers of geography lower than college; the book is simply too vivid for even a high school audience. On the whole, I would have to say that this is one of the best books I have read. Death in the Andies shows the reader that it is better to trudge out and face the unknown, instead of waiting passively in small shack waiting for ruin to come.