Problems in Modern Latin American History, Fifth Edition

by James A. Wood (Editor), Anna Rose Alexander (Editor)

Now in its fifth edition, this leading reader has been updated with new readings and visual sources. This edition includes an added final chapter on current social movements to help students reflect on the ecological realities that inform their world. In addition, the “Legacies of Colonialism” chapter has been restored to give students an understanding of the deep roots of the problems explored. Instead of a separate chapter on women and social change, women’s voices have been woven more seamlessly throughout the book to reflect women’s parity and equity in history.

With its innovative combination of primary and secondary sources and thoughtful editorial analysis, this text is designed specifically to stimulate critical thinking in a wide range of courses on Latin American history since independence.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2009

Reviews

[Carla Arbelaez]

This is one of the best political science textbooks I've ever read. The selected excerpts from academic journals, essays, newspapers, and political declarations were sentimental and thoughtful time capsules of Latin American history. The best chapters were those on Race and Nation Building, Women and Social Change, Social Revolution, and Historical Memory.

[Lauren S]

read for class, super interesting and useful, i actually enjoyed doing the readings every week.

[Cynthia]

I think what I liked about this book is that the authors did not just write about Latin American history. Instead, in each chapter/subject, the authors used actual letters, speeches, newspaper articles, etc., from all parties and perspectives so that the reader would be able to a more rounded understanding of what was happening in the particular moment in Latin American history.

[Izabella Britten]

I actually really liked this book! I liked the first hand accounts, it provided a range of perspectives and ideas that was really helpful in understanding modern Latin America. I wish it talked a little bit more about some of the smaller countries. I feel like it really focused on Mexico, Argentina and Brazil and little bits of smaller countries but not a whole lot. Other than that I really enjoyed this book. It allowed me to put my AP History document training to use outside of high school so for that I am grateful. All that hard work really does pay off.

[Samuel Pratt]

This is a good compilation of different excerpts from many different sources, all touching on different problems with the history of Latin America. Some of them are a little dry, but many of them are powerful. It introduced me to many books that are now on my to read list. One of the things that I most enjoyed was that many of the pieces from this contained views that I didn’t or don’t agree with, but the way they were presented opened my eyes to another perspective.

[Erick]

Read for thesis. A good overview of contemporary Latin American history, and analyzations of common narratives and historiography. If you do not have prior knowledge of the events listed, you may have trouble understanding the text. Writing varies per subject, but it is overall a decent overview.

[Brad Snyder]

Great synthesis on the Peron movement and its relation to other leaders in Latin America.