THE CENTRAL AMERICA CRISIS READER

by Robert S. & Barry Rubin--Eds. Leiken ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 29, 1987

The title of this mammoth reference volume is somewhat misleading because the book focuses on only two Central American countries--El Salvador and Nicaragua. Like US policymakers, the editors see crisis as a potential imbalance of power in US-Soviet relations. Presumably, other countries like Guatemala, site of tens of thousands of political deaths in the last few years, and Honduras, home to a massive US military buildup and contra bases, do not yet qualify. From conquest to Contadora, the book does contain an impressive array of documents. They cover much of the ongoing controversy, but few of the substantive issues. The editors have covered a wide territory, and one wonders why the material wasn't divided into two books. While the editors concede that poverty lies at the root of turbulence in both countries, they devote neatly every reading to the study of who has seized, or would like to seize, power: US and Central American government officials, reformists, guerrilla groups, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. Much of the never-before-published material sheds interesting light on the guerrilla groups active in the region since the 1930's. Previously unpublished documents from Pravda and other Soviet sources indicate, according to the editors, that Russia is ready to step in wherever the US loses its foothold. In one gem of a reading, Walter Lippmann (1927) argues that in the US, we refuse to recognize that we rule an empire because the idea is morally repugnant. But, he says, foreigners do not look at what we say or feel; they look at what we do. Readers might bear this in mind when sifting rhetoric from reality in the book.

Pub Date: April 29, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Summit/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION