Americas

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. (Jan.)