Reviews for Latin America and Its People: To 1830 (Chapters 1-8), Vol. 1

The average rating for Latin America and Its People: To 1830 (Chapters 1-8), Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-09-09 00:00:00 Kevin Wright I'm a great fan of firsthand historical accounts, and I was looking for fascinating revelations on a part of the world that I myself have lived in. This one was a little to rectilinear for my tastes, however, and had that high-school-coursebook chalkiness. I was on full "skim mode" from about 3/4 through.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-07-22 00:00:00 Mary A. Flatt Obligatory terse review, as things are still hectic around here. I waffled and wavered all over this. First, inclined for a four, then a two, so going for a three. Why? It's concise, clear, non-pretentious prose, not without its bias but not heavily so. It offers the usual summary of political and historical events in Latin America (for Brazil is discussed almost as much as the Hispanophone countries), with a few moments where the author clears up a few things that either are misconceptions or what he considers to be so. The reason I couldn't give it a full raving review is that I believe it's geared to be used as a text, and this man doesn't cite his sources. Ever. Yes, I know, Doris Kearns Goodwin and all that, but I simply couldn't put this in front of my students and say "yes, this is allowed." As a matter of fact, I fight them yearly on the issue. A section at the end of each chapter highlights a particular phenomenon, and there are black and white photos at the beginning of each chapter and each of these end segments, with some good charts interspersed.