LATIN AMERICA: EVOLUTION OR EXPLOSION?

by Mildred-Ed. Adams ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 1963

The Conference on Tensions in Development in the Western Hemisphere was held recently in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. From this conference Miss Adams has excerpted 17 short papers, together with brief remarks from several others which she quotes in her preface. One wishes she had found a way to include the unguarded responses and heated exchanges which, given the vast range of opinion represented, certainly must have occurred. The participants were politicians, bankers, administrators, economists, educators; they came not only from North and South America but also from Europe and Asia. The three principal areas covered in discussion were: the tensions between New World nations; internal tensions and preconditions for development; and Latin America's relationship to Europe's Common Market. It is difficult to imagine how two books with the same subject, nearly identical titles, and even some of the same advice to offer -- such as this one and Gerald Clark's The Coming Explosion in Latin America (see p. 339)--could possibly be more different in form and effect. Partly this is because Mr. Clark has a volume twice the size all to himself, while here it is a case of too many expert cooks all trying their separate recipes in one small pot; but perhaps the main distinction is that Mr. Clark shows the problems at hand vividly, through actualities rather than abstractions. There are many excellentideas presented in this volume, but at least for nonspecialist readers, The Coming Explosion in Latin America or Carleton Beals' Latin America: World in Revolution (see p. 163) definitely should come first.

Pub Date: May 20, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION