Description

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Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica are five small countries, and yet no other part of the world is more important to the US.

This book explains the history of US/Central American relations, explaining why these countries have remained so overpopulated, illiterate and violent; and why US government notions of economic and military security combine to keep in place a system of Central American dependency. This second edition is updated to include new material covering the Reagan and Bush years, and the Iran/Contra affair.

About the Author

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Walter LaFeber (1933—2021) was professor of history at Cornell University and the author of The Clash, winner of the 1998 Bancroft Prize, and Inevitable Revolutions.