What do you think?
Rate this book
The Contemporary History of Latin America
For a quarter of a century, Tulio Halperín Donghi's Historia Contemporánea de América Latina has been the most influential and widely read general history of Latin America in the Spanish-speaking world. Unparalleled in scope, attentive to the paradoxes of Latin American reality, and known for its fine-grained interpretation, it is now available for the first time in English. Revised and updated by the author, superbly translated, this landmark of Latin American historiography will be accessible to an entirely new readership.
Beginning with a survey of the late colonial landscape, The Contemporary History of Latin America traces the social, economic, and political development of the region to the late twentieth century, with special emphasis on the period since 1930. Chapters are organized chronologically, each beginning with a general description of social and economic developments in Latin America generally, followed by specific attention to political matters in each country. What emerges is a well-rounded and detailed picture of the forces at work throughout Latin American history.
This book will be of great interest to all those seeking a general overview of modern Latin American history, and its distinctive Latin American voice will enhance its significance for all students of Latin American history.
Beginning with a survey of the late colonial landscape, The Contemporary History of Latin America traces the social, economic, and political development of the region to the late twentieth century, with special emphasis on the period since 1930. Chapters are organized chronologically, each beginning with a general description of social and economic developments in Latin America generally, followed by specific attention to political matters in each country. What emerges is a well-rounded and detailed picture of the forces at work throughout Latin American history.
This book will be of great interest to all those seeking a general overview of modern Latin American history, and its distinctive Latin American voice will enhance its significance for all students of Latin American history.
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
34 people are currently reading
460 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 4, 2021
Un libro un poco difícil de leer, por su gran profundidad, pero muy completo. Me gustó que el autor logró exponer las grandes complejidades sociales de cada periodo histórico. Nunca el pueblo vs el poder opresor, o los locales vs los imperios malvados extranjeros, sino que queda claro que ese "pueblo" no es una masa homogenea, sino que son muchisimos grupos con diversos intereses cuyas perpertuas luchas gobiernan el devenir histórico. Me causa curiosidad saber qué escribiría el autor tras 40 años más de historia en esta Latinoamerica tan nueva pero a la vez tan la misma.
August 25, 2012
Difficult reading, but a thorough exploration of Latin American history from the late colonial period to the 1980s with a focus on the region's socio-economic history. Written by an Argentine historian, this history features a distinctively Latin American voice.
December 31, 2018
Por fin terminé este tomo, y no me quedan dudas que es entre los más impresionantes obras de historia que he leído. Halperin Donghi se queda más en el plano de estructuras sociales y sus lentos giros que en la historia de los eventos, pero sabe hacer de la economía y de la organización social algo parecido a un actor narrativo. Si bien las historias "nacionales" que presenta no podrían satisfecer a la curiosidad que llevaba a los casos que mas me interesaban, todavía no sentí que las detalles estaban totalmente perdidas. Los únicos autores que conozco que han podido cubrir tanto espacio y tiempo en una manera tan satisfactorio son Braudel, en Civilización Material, Economía y Capitalismo y F.W. Mote, en su China Imperial, 900-1800. Esa comparación es el mejor complemento que sé dar a un libro de historia, y Halperin Donghi va entre los más altos modelos para mí en mi vocación como historiador.
October 30, 2012
Embora muito falado e recomendado, não gostei do livro em geral. Achei confuso em diversas partes...
January 4, 2020
As the most recommended history on Contemporary Latin America, I definitely found this to be a helpful/informative overview.
That said, the structure (likely due to writing style and translation) was difficult to follow as the author often flows rapidly from year-to-year and country-to-country in a somewhat aimless fashion.
Regardless - would definitely recommend and found it super helpful as someone who is new to the topic.
A few things I learned or that were reinforced:
- Replacing the portion of a subsistence economy with an alternative can be a dangerous formula for uprisings as it can limit basic needs to a subset of the population
- Mass education and political history are super important...a lot of these economies seemed to follow dangerous cyclical patterns of falling back into similar economic mistakes based on populist leaders/ideologies
- Leaders/governments rise or fall with the economy. Citizens in the historical case studies were often happy with whatever government as long as the economy was strong or accelerating
- Liberalizing an economy / globalizing can be productive but often requires a specialization or niche in which the respective country can outperform with a service/product relative to the rest of the world
That said, the structure (likely due to writing style and translation) was difficult to follow as the author often flows rapidly from year-to-year and country-to-country in a somewhat aimless fashion.
Regardless - would definitely recommend and found it super helpful as someone who is new to the topic.
A few things I learned or that were reinforced:
- Replacing the portion of a subsistence economy with an alternative can be a dangerous formula for uprisings as it can limit basic needs to a subset of the population
- Mass education and political history are super important...a lot of these economies seemed to follow dangerous cyclical patterns of falling back into similar economic mistakes based on populist leaders/ideologies
- Leaders/governments rise or fall with the economy. Citizens in the historical case studies were often happy with whatever government as long as the economy was strong or accelerating
- Liberalizing an economy / globalizing can be productive but often requires a specialization or niche in which the respective country can outperform with a service/product relative to the rest of the world
June 10, 2020
Comprehensive exploration of Latin American history. More succinct than Bethell's volumes, but this history does jump about between states and time periods which can be confusing at times.
January 10, 2023
Libro imprescindible para conocer y entender la historia de América Latina.
Want to read
April 4, 2023F1410 H23413 1993 Memorial Library
November 10, 2008
It should be probably be called "The Contemporary Histories of Latin America." I read this book from the perspective of a generalist with an inclination to learn more about this subject, and I was not disappointed. The occasionally ponderous writing style is only a minor flaw- the book is translated from spanish to english, so I'm willing to cut everyone some slack. The jacket copy bills this as the most widely read single volume history of the area, and based on what I read I imagine it must be favored by universities in the U.S., Latin American and Europe to earn that title.
The history of Latin America encompasses three periods: the colonial period, the emergence of the nation state & the post WWI history of the nations. The idea of a shared "latin american history" for the first two time periods make sense, but only the fact that the nation states developed individual identities quite late in the time period covered makes the third part feel like anything more then a series of tacked on national histories.
As an American, it was interesting to read a take on U.S./Latin American relations that left beyond the Naomi Wolf style histronics of "Disaster Capitalism." I came away from this look feeling a little better about the U.S.'s mixed track record in Latin American foreign policy: It's quite impossible to blame the U.S. for any long term problems in the region- issues of economic underdevelopment and unstable politics have plagued Latin America from the very beginning.
The history of Latin America encompasses three periods: the colonial period, the emergence of the nation state & the post WWI history of the nations. The idea of a shared "latin american history" for the first two time periods make sense, but only the fact that the nation states developed individual identities quite late in the time period covered makes the third part feel like anything more then a series of tacked on national histories.
As an American, it was interesting to read a take on U.S./Latin American relations that left beyond the Naomi Wolf style histronics of "Disaster Capitalism." I came away from this look feeling a little better about the U.S.'s mixed track record in Latin American foreign policy: It's quite impossible to blame the U.S. for any long term problems in the region- issues of economic underdevelopment and unstable politics have plagued Latin America from the very beginning.
Read
October 20, 2017980.03 H1952 1996
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews