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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.730728
EAN num: 9780393309645
ISBN number: 0393309649
Label: W. W. Norton & Company
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 452
Printing Date: 1993-01
Publishing house: W. W. Norton & Company
Sale Popularity Level: 165277
Studio: W. W. Norton & Company
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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.
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Rated by buyers 
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Written by a distinguished historian of American foreign relations, Inevitable Revolutions is a well written and well documented history of USA policy towards Central America from the end of the 19th century to the Reagan/Bush 1 period. Lafeber provides not only the basic narrative but a nice analysis of the basic structural features of US-Central American relations. The fundamental structural feature that emerges at the end of the 19th century is essentially an colonial one. The Central American nations are the site of considerable US investment and their role in the US economy is to provide primary products for the US market and markets for US industries. In addition, the Central American nations (like several Caribbean nations also subject to US domination) are close to crucial sea lanes, a fact enhanced by the construction of the Panama canal. To guarantee political and economic stability, the US government underwrites the power of local oligarchies. In the very first decades of the 20th century, this involves numerous direct military interventions. By the 30s, however, US power rested on indirect rule via indigeous governments, usually oppressive military regimes like that of the Somoza family, ruling in tandem with a small upper class. The nature of the economic relationship between the US and the central American nations, and continued population growth, resulted in progressive impoverishment of the majority of people in central American. The ultimate result is that political and social change are possible only via violent political revolutions, either coups to transfer power within the ruling elites, or actual attempts at real social revolutions aimed at the reconstruction of society. Since the USA was the guarantor of the status quo, the attempts at actual revolution, or even relatively moderate levels of reform within these societies, were intrinsically anti-American.
Added to this combustible mixture were the anxieties of the Cold War with the lamentable tendency of Washington policy makers to assume all attacks on the status quo as manifestations of Soviet revolutionary policy. This led to increased military support for almost Central American states, often transforming the primitive militaries of these natiions into more professional but frequently independent and highly destructive political forces. Even the well intentioned efforts to promote economic growth under the Kennedy administration tended to exagerrate existing social inequalities and promote social conflict. This situation results in the inevitable revolutions of Lafeber's title.
Lafeber devotes the last 2 chapters to an incisive and scathing description and analysis of the Reagan/Bush years. This is a sad tale of ideological blindness, simplistic belief in the value of military power, overemphasis on Presidential executive power, and simple stupidity. As Lefeber is careful to point out, US actions had the effect of markedly exacerbating the conflicts in Central America. The consequences were horrible. In El Salvador in the early 1980s, our client government may have been responsible for as many as 50,000 deaths. Since El Salvador had a population of about 4.5 million, this would be the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of deaths in the USA.
As the events regarding the CAFTA negotiations appear to demonstrate, its not clear that the fundamentals of the US - Central American relationship have changed greatly.
Rated by buyers -
"A reader" wrote a scathing review of this book, which actually inspired me to read it. "A reader" obviously has never read the book, and relies on the back cover quotes to critique the entire book. He uses the common "mistake" defense: if America causes a atrocity, it is a "mistake".
This typical, preprogrammed, ideological, response just shows "a reader" has never read the book. Lafeber meticulously goes through the ENTIRE history of Central America and shows that America's support of dictators and the frequent American intervention is not a "mistake". Americas foreign policy instead is a very successful and profitable policy for American business interests and a small Latin American elite.
"it is very clear that this is agenda history or left-wing propaganda more than it is history."
When you boil down what "A reader" is trying to say is that if this book does not sing the praises of Americanism (the religion of Americans), he will not read it.
"but if you are writing a "history" book be fair and objective and not so obviously political."
What "a reader" means is a "history" which praises America, similar to high school textbooks. A history which ignores or justifies away all of America's massacres.
If a history book doesn't have this tone, "a reader" will not read passed the back cover, nor unfortunately, will most Americans, to our neighbors to the south's detriment.
Thanks "a reader" your mindless Americanism encouraged me to read this book!
Rated by buyers -
This is top notch historical scholarship
The book is well researched, but a little hard to follow due to the fact that it is not chronological.
Aside from this, the book is seemingly "left wing" or "revisionist." I would normally discard such a book because it is clearly biased. However, all of the events described in this book are very well documented and not public knowledge for very good reasons.
If your interest lies in exposing the covert actions of the United States government for the last 100 years in Central America this book is definitely for you.
I can honestly say that I was saddened when I saw this book because it is the book I one day hoped to write myself.
Rated by buyers -
The U.S. domination of Central America from the time of the Monroe Doctrine (which was a reservation for Empire-building in 1823) until the present is the preoccuppying theme of this great book. The United Fruit Company, Standard Fruit Company, Wrigley Gum Ltd., Exxon, and other U.S. multi-national corporations have repeatedly sodomized the Central American people and made them into their catamites. Moreover, the ruling elites of the Central American vassal states were the only ones who benefitted from the profiteering and exploitation. The peasant majority were incessantly driven to the margins while the oligarchs and the corporations appropriated the best lands (Dictator Somoza of Nicaragua is on the record as saying,"Nicaragua is my farm" and he meant it as he owned huge tracts of tillable land). In fine, this book is a real eye-opener for those who feel they are being bamboozeled by the media. A must read.
Rated by buyers -
I read this book as part of a Political Science course I took, "The Politics of Revolution". I found this work both highly enjoyable and informative. The author does and excellent job of analyzing American foreign policy towards the region of central america as a whole, and then breaking it down and reviewing US involvement in each of the countries. Whether this book has a "politcal agenda" or not (I don't see how any book on history or political science could not) is not the issue. The author points out mistakes in US foreign policy, as well as its ambiguities and paradoxes. I also found the book to be well written and easy to read, I found myself reading 100 pages one night without even putting the book down. Many of my classmates however, found the book to be difficult to read, so that must be taken into account as well. But, for me, I found the book to be an excellent one-volume work on the region and US involement there in the 20th century, and the results of such involvement. It should not be so neatly wrapped up and generalized as being "left-wing presentist bias" as some people seem to do.
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