The Epic of Latin America, Fourth edition [Paperback]

John A. Crow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1992

Uniquely comprehensive and comparative, praised for its devotion to social and cultural developments as well as politics and economics, The Epic of Latin America is once again revised and brought up to date, with chapters on the great upheavals of the 1980s. The book received the Gold Medal of the Commonwealth Club of California for outstanding literary achievement by a California author and was selected by the American Library Association as one of the "fifty best books of the year."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mr. Crow is a powerfully sustained narrator, able to create colorful and astounding visual pictures. . . . It is all one swift, clear adventure in reading, peopled by human beings and not mere types, alive on every page." -- The Los Angeles Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"The best book on Latin America that I have encountered during my forty years experience."--Hugh Gibson, former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil

"It is must reading not only for the academic world but particularly for responsible business executives and intelligent travelers. Nothing like it has appeared so far and it will make any similar attempts quite unnecessary for years to come."--Julius Klein, former Undersecretary of Commerce, specialist in Latin American affairs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 992 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 4 edition (January 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520077237
• ISBN-13: 978-0520077232
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story., April 24, 2003

By 

Frank S (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Epic of Latin America, Fourth edition (Paperback)

My favorite history writer is Barbara Tuchman and I found some similarities between her and Mr. Crow in how they present history. They both bring a lot of the human element to history telling. I particularly enjoyed learning about Brasil's Dom Pedro II, who seems to get generally brushed over in history. One also gets a good feel for how and why the Latin American economic and political structures developed. It is extremely long, which is great for the amateur history buff, but probably not so great for the college student.

He does have some obvious biases and makes a liberal amount of commentaries. His subjectivity is easy to recognize, enjoyable to read, and he often makes some good points. I appreciate that he doesn't hold back on both praise and criticism of significant people or events. I have a much broader understanding of our southern neighbors and plan to read the book again.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars dagbop, November 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Epic of Latin America, Fourth edition (Paperback)

This book is indeed very, very, very long, but I believe that is to be expected if one wants specific details about names, places and events that span 5 centuries. Mr. Crow's style is not as heavy as many historians, and I found the book an easy, if somewhat tedious read.

The author does get a little random in his thought processes later in the book, as though he was trying to meet a deadline, but didn't want to omit a single relevant thought.

The one theme in the book I found striking was Crow's seemingly constant need to act as an apologist for the Catholic church's role in the conquest and consolidation of the New World. He sometimes tries to justify the Church's actions before he tells the reader about the actual events, and sometimes he does this afterwards, but he does it pretty consistently. Perhaps he feels the prevailing bias against the Church's role in the conquest requires a little overstatement in the opposite direction, I don't know.

At least there is no effort to distort the facts. The author lays them out, warts and all. He just repeatedly tries to suggest that, well, "Everyone else was doing it, too!"

Another peculiarity I noted was Crow's repeated assertion that there is no racial conflict in Latin America, apparently due to the fact that early Portugese and Spanish explorers and colonists brought none of their countrywomen along, and felt free to mate with as many of the indigenous females as possible.

His book repeatedly makes it clear that the Spanish and Portuguese literally used up the indigenous people without reservation, even as they bred themselves a newer, more hardy race of mestizos, yet he consistently commends the conquerors for being so racially "open-minded". If he means being willing to make use of whatever human lifeforms one can find for breeding stock or beasts of burden, I guess maybe he's right.

Nevertheless, I thought it was good book for anyone seriously in this period of world history, and would recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars terrific, May 1, 2004

By 

James P Miller (Sarasota, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Epic of Latin America, Fourth edition (Paperback)

A comprehensive look at various historical and cultural elements of Latin America. I appreciate the scholarly, yet easy-to-read approach. Refreshing in its story-oriented approach to detail.