This textbook, extensively revised and updated in this new second edition, introduces the student to what is most basic and most interesting about Latin America.

Jan Knippers Black teaches at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and is research professor of sociology at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Previously, she has served as research professor of Public Administration at the University of New Mexico and as senior research scientist and chair of the Latin American Research Team in the Foreign Area Studies Division of American University.

Introduction -- The Land and the People -- Physical Landscape and Settlement Patterns -- The Indian Populations of Latin America -- Historical Setting -- Colonial Latin America -- The Continuity of the National Period -- Cultural Expression -- Philosophy and the Intellectual Tradition -- Latin American Literature -- Nationalism and Modern Latin American Art -- Economic and Social Structures -- Economic Aspects of Latin America -- Social Structure and Social Change in Twentieth-Century Latin America -- Political Processes and Trends -- Participation and Political Process: The Collapsible Pyramid -- "Normalization," Popular Struggles, and the Receiver State -- External Relations -- International Relations in Latin America: Conflict and Cooperation -- United States Policy in Latin America -- Latin America in the World -- Mexico -- Mexico -- Contemporary Mexico -- Central America and Panama -- Central America -- Central America's Lost Decade -- Panama and The Canal -- Cuba and the Caribbean -- The Cuban Revolution -- The Caribbean -- The Andes -- Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador -- Peru and Bolivia -- The Southern Cone -- Chile -- Argentina -- Uruguay and Paraguay -- Brazil -- Brazil -- Brazil Today -- Conclusion -- Appendix