Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America and What The U.S. Must Do (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“Once again, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Andres
Oppenheimer shows his deep understanding of the dramatic
changes in Latin America, and the impact of America’s ongoing
indifference to the region. For anyone seeking to understand Latin
America’s re-emerging populism and the effects of this
administration’s disastrous foreign policy in the region, this book
is a must read. Oppenheimer gives his readers hope for a new
vision in Latin America.”
—Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico

This new book out in October illustrates in detail how the current administration’s policy towards Latin America is actually creating the very immigration issues President Bush is fighting to solve. Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America…and What the U.S. Must Do, by Pulitzer-prive co-winner and The Miami Herald sundicated columnist Andres Oppenheimer, highlights the Bush administration’s failure to reach out to its own neighbors in order to create a stable environment for the people of the United States.

“When it comes to everyday issues that affect most Americans —whether immigration, trade, the environment or, increasingly, energy— no region in the world has a bigger impact on the United States than Latin America,” writes Oppenheimer.

As an acknowledged expert on Latin America, Oppenheimer uses his experience and reporting skills to show how this region is becoming increasingly less important on the world stage, and the resulting negative effects on the lives of Americans. “This book began as a message to Latin Americans about the decline of their region into global irrelevance. But it soon became clear to me that what I was learning was equally
important to people in the United States,” says Oppenheimer. “Though less apparent to most Americans —and less costly— than its blunders elsewhere in the world, the Bush Administration was making major mistakes in Latin America, among other things by declaring the region a major U.S. priority while ignoring it almost entirely, and reflexively pushing free trade as if that alone would ensure hemispheric prosperity.”

Oppenheimer traveled to China, India, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ireland and more than a dozen Latin American countries to see first-hand what is pushing some nations ahead and others back. And in his characteristic style – mixing travel anecdotes, humor and political analysis – he came to surprising conclusion: that despite its current troubles, Latin America can rise from economic and political obscurity, to become a booming market and an influential player in world affairs.


The Spanish-language version of Saving the Americas: The Dangerous Decline of Latin America…and What the U.S. Must Do (Cuentos Chinos) has sold nearly 200,000 copies throughout Latin America and made the region to take a hard look at itself. Costa Rican President and Nobel Prize laureate Oscar Arias has called Oppenheimer's book "A landmark work...that politicians, academics, journalists and other leaders will be citing for years to come," and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso describred it as "a must-read."
Now the English version is set to cause the same reaction within the United States.

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANDRES OPPENHEIMER is the Latin American editor and foreign affairs columnist with The Miami Herald. His syndicated column, The Oppenheimer Report, appears twice a week in The Miami Herald and in more than 40 U.S. and Latin American newspapers, including La Nacion of Argentina and Reforma of Mexico. He is a regular political
analyst with CNN en Español, and a frequent guest at PBS' Jim Lehrer News Hour. He also hosts his own television talk show in Spanish on current events, Oppenheimer Presenta.

His previous positions at The Miami Herald included Mexico City bureau chief, foreign correspondent, and business writer. He previously worked for five years with The Associated Press in New York, and has contributed on a free-lance basis to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, CBS News, and the BBC.

Oppenheimer is the co-winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize as a member of The Miami Herald team that uncovered the Iran-Contra scandal. He won the Inter-American Press Association Award twice (1989 and 1994); the 1997 award of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; the 1993 Ortega y Gasset Award of Spain's daily El País; the 1998 Maria Moors Cabot Award of Columbia University; the 2001 King of Spain Award, given out by the Spanish news agency EFE and King Juan Carlos I of Spain; and an Overseas Press Club Award in 2002. The Ortega y Gasset and the King of Spain awards are the two most prestigious journalism awards in the Spanish-speaking world.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he studied law for four years at the University of Buenos Aires' Law School, and moved to the United States in 1976 with a fellowship from the World Press Institute. After a year at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, he obtained a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University in New York in
1978.

Oppenheimer was selected by the Forbes Media Guide as one of the “500 most important journalists” of the United States in 1993, and by Poder magazine as one of the “100 most powerful people” in Latin America in 2002.

For more information on Andres Oppenheimer: www.AndresOppenheimer.com

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Random House Mondadori (October 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307391655
• ISBN-13: 978-0307391650
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #221,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars most interesting book in years!, January 17, 2008

By	Jorge Bobadilla (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best book on Latin American affairs I have read in a long time. That's because instead of simply looking at the region, like most authors do, Oppenheimer compares Latin America's development with that of Asia, Eastern Europe and even Africa. I wish more authors would do this kind of comparative work, because it shows how Latin America, despite growing at 5 percent rates a year, is falling behind the rest of the developing world.And on top of it, it's a very entertaining book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You've got to read this book!, October 28, 2007

By	Felipe Martinez - See all my reviews

If you really want to know how our current administration is messing things up with Latin America, just take a look at this book. It's amazing to me how little we take into account this part of the world when making foreign policy decisions, especially since they are our closest neighbors.

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick, Simple read, November 2, 2008

By	Rogelio Garcia (Granada Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Easy to read and to understand, this timely book sums up the major issues currently faced by Latin America. Although the author makes it clear that the book is not written as essays, the chapters and sections read very much in that way. I usually do not like this type of structure; however, I take exception in this case. Mr. Oppenheimer's comfortable and non-academic tone makes this text accessible to this most important issue which most certainly should be understood by a wide audience.
My criticism of the book are few, but must be made clear to potential consumers. First, as mentioned before, this is a non-academic text. The author relies heavily on second-hand resources. His objective is to only to bring the major themes, ideas, and events and provide commentary on them, which he does well. So, if considering buying this book be aware that that this book is non-academic and not appropriate for research.
Secondly, I found the title of the book misleading. The book is a translation of an earlier work in Spanish which carries a different and more appropriate title: "Cuentos Chinos" (Chinese Stories). Oppenheimer spends a considerable amount of time contrasting Latin Americas struggle with its economies and democratization to Eastern Asia. Little mention is actually made about the U.S. with few exceptions. The author provides a "prologue" and an "afterword" to the North American edition, but that is it. Therefore, the subtitle that reads "...and what the U.S. Must Do" should more correctly read "...what the World Must Do" because it certainly isn't written specifically for the U.S.