Americas: The Changing Face of Latin America and the Caribbean

From Publishers Weekly
Balanced and wide-ranging, this companion volume to a PBS TV series uses a thematic rather than an encyclopedic approach to examine the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Winn, the academic director of the series and professor of history at Tufts University, ably integrates the PBS team's reportage with current scholarship in seven disciplines, ranging from anthropology to economics to sociology. After canvassing the legacies of the European conquerors, Winn examines issues of national identity and economic development by focusing on Argentina. He looks also at the uneven results of development under the Brazilian military. Other discussions survey internal migration, the role of indigenous peoples, the complexity of race relations and the treatment of women. Concluding chapters address U.S. influence in the region, the history and future of revolution there and, briefly, Latin American influence in the U.S. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Written to accompany a television series and college telecourse to be broadcast on PBS this January, Americas is a fairly frantic jump from high spot to high spot through the history to date of Latin America and the Caribbean. Winn, a professor of history at Tufts and the academic director of the series, offers analyses of, among other subjects, the role of women, the influence of the Catholic church, the growing power of the evangelical and spiritualist sects, the three important Latin American revolutions (Mexico in the 1910s, Cuba in 1959, and Nicaragua in 1970), Argentina during the Peron era, and the changing role of indigenous people. The final effect of these essays is a remarkably readable overview of the similarities and differences among the 33 Latin American countries, including the United States and its Hispanic population. Recommended for all public and secondary school libraries and junior colleges.- Nancy Padgett Lazar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. CircuitCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Marie Arana-Ward, Washington Post Book World
"A clear, level-headed snapshot of a region in transition. . . . Winn is most interesting when he discusses the larger issues, and to his credit he does this often."


Abraham Lowenthal, Foreign Affairs
"Prepared by a distinguished social historian as a companion text for a public television series, this magisterial work provides an accessible and engaging introduction to the complex tapestry of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean."


Don Bohning, Miami Herald
"Rare is the book in English that provides a general overview of Latin America and the Caribbean. Rarer still is the good, topical, and largely dispassionate book that contributes to a better understanding of the rest of the hemisphere. Peter Winn, a Tufts University professor, has managed to produce both."


Book Description
Stunning in its sweep, Americas is the most authoritative history available of contemporary Latin America and the Caribbean. From Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, from Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago, Americas examines the historical, demographic, political, social, cultural, religious, and economic trends in the region. For this edition, Peter Winn has updated the book to take account of dramatic changes and developments in Latin America since 1994.


About the Author
Peter Winn is Professor of Latin American History at Tufts University and a senior research associate at Columbia University's Institute of Latin American and Iberian Studies. He was academic director of the PBS series "Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean," for which the first edition of this book was a companion volume.


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Written to accompany a television series and college telecourse to be broadcast on PBS this January, Americas is a fairly frantic jump from high spot to high spot through the history to date of Latin America and the Caribbean. Winn, a professor of history at Tufts and the academic director of the series, offers analyses of, among other subjects, the role of women, the influence of the Catholic church, the growing power of the evangelical and spiritualist sects, the three important Latin American revolutions (Mexico in the 1910s, Cuba in 1959, and Nicaragua in 1970), Argentina during the Peron era, and the changing role of indigenous people. The final effect of these essays is a remarkably readable overview of the similarities and differences among the 33 Latin American countries, including the United States and its Hispanic population. Recommended for all public and secondary school libraries and junior colleges.-- Nancy Padgett Lazar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit


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