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.
The first edition of Inevitable Revolutions, published ten years ago, was widely hailed and quickly became a bestseller. Now, completely revised and updated--one third of its contents are entirely new--Walter LaFeber brings to a new generation of readers the story, in Arthur Schlesinger's words, 'of a long and squalid history of U.S. exploitation and intervention combined with neglect-a history whose consequences we are reaping today.'
About the Author
Walter LaFeber is professor of history at Cornell University and the author of The Clash and Inevitable Revolutions.
