Customer Reviews

Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean, Updated Edition

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Most inhabitants of the US and Canada have, in reality, only a vague notion of the history of Latin America, of the rest of this hemisphere. And that's a shame, because there's a lot to be learned here.

The book reviews the history of a number of countries and regions, and does a pretty good job at it. It's obviously not the most in-depth treatment; the subject is too broad to allow that. But neither does it gloss over key events and concepts; it's long enough to be able to hit the high points.

If you have an interest in the history of Latin America but don't have much of a foundation on which to start, this will give you an excellent beginning point.

_Americas_ by Peter Winn is a massive (600 page) overview of Latin America and the Caribbean, a good introduction to the region for those unfamiliar with it. While a bit dry at times, it is nonetheless informative and interesting.

The first chapter introduces the region to the reader and provides a few interesting facts. The author noted for instance that the region is far from Spanish-speaking only; while over 300 million (in 1992) speak Spanish, there are 150 million Portuguese speakers, English, Dutch, and French is also spoken in the Caribbean and northeastern South America, as well as five major indigenous languages or language groups (Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, by over one million people, over 2 million speakers of the various Mayan languages, 8 million speakers of Quechua, the language of the Incas, half a million speakers of the highland language of the Aymara, and large numbers of Guarani speakers in Paraguay).

The second chapter discusses the legacy of colonial times, focusing particularly on the legacy of Spain's New World empire. Much of the region was shaped by Spain's division of the region under viceroys and "mini-viceroys" (which provided the territorial basis of most of today's republics), its people's intermarriage with people of different races (which they called castas and are today called mestizo - mixed Amerindian and European - and mulatto - mixed African and European), the Church's coming to terms with indigenous religions (as a "social safety valve and an as an aid to conversion," producing a complex layering of beliefs), and (along with the Portuguese in Brazil), the planting of labor-intensive crops like sugar that required the importation of African slaves.

Chapters three and four focus on the history of Argentina, covering the development of Argentine estancias (ranches) and its booming beef export business, the evolution of Buenos Aires (more Italian than Argentine for many years, styled as the "Paris of South America," and later shaped by internal migrations from the Andean provinces), and the rise and fall of Juan Domingo and Evita Peron.

Chapter five deals with the history of Brazil, grappling with Brazilian notions of grandeza (greatness, a sense of optimism about the country's future), the good and bad legacies of the economic "miracle" since 1960, the development of the "bureaucratic authoritarian regime" (a type of military government later emulated in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay), and its huge disparities of wealth (in 1974 it had more unequal income distribution than India).

The sixth chapter discusses the issue of internal migration in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since World War II over one hundred million people have moved within the region to seek their fortunes elsewhere, a migration largely of rural people to their nation's cities, often forming huge squatter settlements (favelas in Brazil, villas miserias or "towns of misery" in Argentina) and enlarging capital cities (30 million Mexicans for instance migrated to Mexico City, making it the largest metropolitan area in the world).

Chapter seven looks at the status of Amerindians in the region today, particularly in the four nations that contain the great majority of them (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Guatemala).

The eighth chapter looks at blacks today in the area. As in the previous chapter, issues of formal discrimination and social prejudice are discussed, with non-whites either trying to "pass" to join their country's creole and mestizo elites, or instead reaffirm and revitalize their heritage, all part of a "complex color consciousness" in the region, something not seen in the United States. The author compared and contrasted issues of African heritage in two nations on one island (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and also looked at Brazil and Trinidad.

Chapter nine examines the role and history of women, examining their political roles in Chile in detail.

Chapter ten looks at the development and role of the Catholic Church as well as competing religions. Though more Catholics live in Latin America and the Caribbean than anywhere else (3 out of 5) and Brazil has the world's largest national church (with 110 million believers and 350 bishops), Catholicism is hardly static in the region. Winn discussed the politicization of the Church and the development of liberation theology as well as the appearance of rivals such as the Pentecostals (a growing presence in Brazil) and the existence of non-Christian religions like Umbanda (a Brazilian blend of African religion and European pseudoscience) and Haitian Voodoo (which, along with Brazilian Candomble, are more purely African).

Chapter eleven looks at the paintings, poetry, music, and literature of Latin America and the Caribbean, looking at among other things the "three greats" of the Mexican mural movement (Rivera, Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente), the samba (Brazil's national dance), and the telenovela (the Latin American soap opera, which has surprisingly old origins).

Chapter twelve looked at international relations (particularly with the United States) and issues of sovereignty. Winn examined U.S. intervention in the region, the struggles of nations like Jamaica to maintain some control over the export of their raw materials (in their case, bauxite), the cocaine trade and its complex legacy in Colombia, and growing regional economic integration.

The thirteenth chapter looks at the problem of rebellions and revolutions in the region and examines several recent examples. He looked at common causes of revolutions, such as economic inequality, unrepresentative government, integration of the state into the world economy which produced economic and social dislocation and rising (and unmet) political and economic aspirations, and identification of the old regime with foreign interests. He examined revolutions and civil wars in Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and most recently in Peru with the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path.

Finally, chapter fourteen looks at Latin American and Caribbean peoples in the United States, looking at their growing numbers in the U.S., examining the history of Mexicans and later Central Americans in Los Angeles, Cubans in Miami, Puerto Ricans in New York City as well as Dominican and Haitian immigrant communities, and closing by examining issues of integration and assimilation of Latinos in the U.S.

This is a vivid and engaging but, to my mind, unsatisfying overview of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean. Each chapter addresses a thematic topic, such as politics, migration, or religion, through several extended examples from different regions of Latin America. Winn's style is lucid and colorful. His treatment of race and ethnicity, in separate chapters on indigenous people and African-American life, is particularly strong. The book includes a large assortment of interesting black-and-white photographs that enrich the reader's picture of Latin American life.

Unfortunately, Americas suffers from a flaw I've noticed elsewhere in texts on Latin American history: it is more descriptive than analytical. Winn gives the reader an excellent sense of what the major issues are but does not offer any overarching explanations of why Latin American nations were so vulnerable to caudillos in the 19th century and military dictatorships in the 20th century, of why race functions differently in Latin America than it does in North America, or of why Protestantism is belatedly making deep inroads into many regions of Latin America. Key terms such as "liberation theology" are present in the index and in the text but are nowhere clearly defined. The book seems to have been written at least in part for use in college surveys, but I would find it difficult to teach with it.

Americas was originally published in 1992, and the 3rd edition, published in 2005, incorporates piecemeal updates. Many chapters continue to emphasize the 1970s and 1980s, with a few more recent observations crammed in towards the end of each section. For this reason, Americas is probably not the best choice if you genuinely want to get an overview of contemporary Latin America, though it is still an engaging read.

I had to read this book for a class but I actually enjoyed it. It was very interesting and gave a good overview of Latin American history.

It is writen in such a way that one can see the anatomy of Latin Amenrican and Caribbean cultures...the truth of their history as cruel and sureal it may sound.

I needed this book for college and once again I was able to find in online for alot cheaper than in the college bookstore!

I like how this book addresses a social issue in Latin America through a specific country's struggle with it. I had to read this book for one of my Latin American History classes in college and it was worth reading.