An outstanding book, well written and extremely well conceived in its coverage and structure. This is a major contribution to cold war history, and will undoubtedly become the standard work on Latin America and the cold war. Brands has produced an important study that provides a real service to readers. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of The Global Cold War In an entertaining yet rigorous book, Brands walks the reader through the key events of the cold war in Latin America. Contrary to the thesis that revolutions are inevitable throughout Latin America, he shows that they are actually rare, and that conservatism more nearly reflects the trajectory of Latin America than revolution. This intelligent, sensible, and convincing work argues that Latin America's international conflicts require a comprehensive understanding of the perspectives of all the key actors, not just the United States. -- Robert A. Pastor, American University Based on prodigious research in twelve countries, this feisty volume challenges dominant trends in the literature and moves the debate to a new level by questioning the hegemonic status of the United States, attributing real menace to the Soviet threat, and ascribing a large measure of agency to Latin Americans. Brands tells their story with perspicacity. Specialists and general readers alike will find this book illuminating. -- Mark T. Gilderhus, Texas Christian University
Hal Brands is Assistant Professor of Public Policy and History at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University.
Brands takes aim at those mainstream historians writing on Western Hemispheric relations who have portrayed the United States as an overwhelmingly powerful hegemon whose destructive interventions are responsible for the region's sufferings. Delving into Latin American archives, Brands counters that Latin Americans have been active participants in their own history--in both their domestic politics and international diplomacy. During the Cold War, Washington and Moscow often had poor understandings of these local dynamics, so their ill-designed policies frequently failed; even those strategies that momentarily succeeded generated blowback and unintended consequences. As Brands persuasively argues, the true story of Latin America's role in the Cold War lies in the dynamic interactions between international forces and domestic actors. Tragically, both the United States and the Soviet Union exacerbated the region's already polarized politics, and the ensuing violent clashes rendered asunder fragile democracies. Fortunately, today many citizens in Latin America and many in Washington policy circles have drawn the right lessons from history, seeking to strengthen democratic institutions--and not overreacting to the provocations of the latest crop of neopopulists. -- Richard Feinberg Foreign Affairs 20110301 Globally, analysts claim that the Cold War provided stability and structure. Brands finds a different outcome in Latin America of the four decades of the Cold War (i.e., the 1940s through the early 1990s)...Brands's study will stand as the definitive work in the years ahead. -- J. A. Rhodes Choice 20110401
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