MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES

by Robert Clayton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 1971

The series format, variously serviceable for the physical and economic geography of The British Isles and The USSR (both 1970, p. 1344, J-540), is strained by the number and variety of nations represented here -- some of the thirty only nominally, it is true, and others not even that. At best, what one learns of those accorded from two (Puerto Rico) to six (Mexico) pages is slight; save for the topographic and resource maps in color, a young encyclopedia serves equally well. At worst, what is conveyed does not reflect the current economic situation (Cuba) or fairly represent cause-and-effect (ascribing Haiti's poverty to the slave rebellion and related property destruction); one might question, too, the terms in which the contrast between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is put (particularly unfortunate is the notation that in the prosperous Dominican Republic ""there are far more white people or mixed Negro-whites than in Haiti""). Some ballast re weather, land forms, vegetation generally, otherwise uneven, overall skimpy: you can do better.

Pub Date: Feb. 24, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: John Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION