Product Description

SR Books' two popular Human Tradition in Latin America titles covering nineteenth-and twentieth-century history have been combined into one exciting new volume. This collection of the most compelling chapters from these books offers powerful biographies of ordinary people caught in the sometimes devastating historical changes that have occurred in Latin America. From the turbulent struggles for independence in the 1800s to the profound and often overwhelming transformations that have accompanied modernization in this century, The Human Tradition in Modern Latin America personalizes the impact that revolution, economic upheaval, urbanization, the destruction of community life, and the disruption of both traditional family and gender roles have had on Latin Americans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #735238 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 277 pages

Customer Reviews

Latin America comes alive through individual lives.
This book is an outstanding teaching tool for the undergraduate classroom, and a fine introduction to Latin American history for educated laypersons. The individual biographies cover a wide range of historical experiences, but share the unity of revealing the lives of ordinary Latin Americans from c.1800 to the 1980s. Castro, Pele, Evita & Juan Peron, etc. are not here, but the subjects are just as interesting & perhaps more representative. It is well-balanced according to gender, though coverage of individual countries is less so, with Mexico & Brazil well-represented, others less & many not at all. The level of scholarship is consistently high, and just as important, the contributors all write in an engaging & accessible style. Minor criticisms include the lack of any maps & portraits of the subjects, & much less full treatment of Latin American Indians. Further, since this work was boiled down from two larger works (19th & 20th centuries), there are fascinating lives which had to be excluded; personally I would have retained 3-5 more chapters & still kept it under c.350 pages. But one can always quibble.... Also regrettably, co-editors Judith Ewell & William Beezley--who treats his students to "Hawaiian Shirt Day" for extra credit!--justly point out the importance of humor in their intro., but have deleted many of the more exemplary chapters of that kind. Nevertheless, for many kinds of readers, "Human Tradition" is both a pleasure & a treasure.