Book, "The Rise of the Left" by Ronaldo Munck

The Rise of the Left 
by Ronaldo Munck

Book Review of:
The New Mole: Paths of the Latin American Left
by Emir Sader
London and New York: Verso, 2011.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, The United States and Cuba: From Closest Enemies to Distant Friends

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The United States and Cuba: From Closest Enemies to Distant Friends
by Marc Becker

A valuable Cuban overview of the continuities and ruptures in the relationship between the United States and Cuba. López Segrera’s generally optimistic and nuanced account brings the story right up to date with a discussion of the normalization announced on December 19, 2014, and the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in July 2015. In a field dominated by U.S. scholarship, this Cuban-centered analysis benefits from close access to key players in the island’s foreign policy establishment. (Barry Carr, La Trobe University, Australia)

Book, Twentieth-Century Latin American Revolutions

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Twentieth-Century Latin American Revolutions
by Marc Becker

Revolutions are a commonly studied but only vaguely understood historical phenomenon. This clear and concise text extends our understanding with a critical narrative analysis of key case studies: the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution; the 1944–1954 Guatemalan Spring; the 1952–1964 MNR-led revolution in Bolivia; the Cuban Revolution that triumphed in 1959; the 1970–1973 Chilean path to socialism; the leftist Sandinistas in Nicaragua in power from 1979–1990; failed guerrilla movements in Colombia, El Salvador, and Peru; and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela after Hugo Chávez’s election in 1998. Historian Marc Becker opens with a theoretical introduction to revolutionary movements, including a definition of what “revolution” means and an examination of factors necessary for a revolution to succeed. He analyzes revolutions through the lens of those who participated and explores the sociopolitical conditions that led to a revolutionary situation, the differing responses to those conditions, and the outcomes of those political changes. Each case study provides an interpretive explanation of the historical context in which each movement emerged, its main goals and achievements, its shortcomings, its outcome, and its legacy. The book concludes with an analysis of how elected leftist governments in the twenty-first century continue to struggle with issues that revolutionaries confronted throughout the twentieth century.

Book Review, "Mystifying the Brazilian Northeast" by Ronald H. Chilcote

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Mystifying the Brazilian Northeast 
by Ronald H. Chilcote

Durval Muniz de Albuquerque Jr. "The Invention of the Brazilian Northeast."
Foreword by James N Green.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

Book Review, The Topsy-Turvy Path to Twenty-first-Century Socialism. The Limitations of the New Left in Latin America

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The Topsy-Turvy Path to Twenty-first-Century Socialism. The Limitations of the New Left in Latin America 
by Nicole Fabricant

Book Review:
Latin America’s Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-first-Century Socialism.
by Roger Burbach, Michael Fox, Federico Fuentes
London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book Review, Today's Left in Power: Promises and Problems

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Today's Left in Power: Promises and Problems
by Hobart A. Spalding



Book Review for Latin America’s Radical Left: Challenges and Complexities of Political Power in the Twenty-first Century.
by Steve Ellner (ed.)
Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014.

Book, Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Radical Action From Below

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PURCHASE THIS EDITION 

Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Radical Action From Below 

Edited By LAP Editors Richard Stahler-Sholk; Harry E. Vanden and Marc Becker 

This groundbreaking text explores the dramatic evolution in Latin American social movements over the past fifteen years. Leading scholars examine a variety of cases that highlight significant shifts in the region. First is the breakdown of the Washington Consensus and the global economic crisis since 2008, accompanied by the rise of new paradigms such as buen vivir (living well). Second are transformations in internal movement dynamics and strategies, especially the growth of horizontalism (horizontalidad), which emphasizes non-hierarchical relations within society rather than directly tackling state power. Third are new dynamics of resistance and repression as movements interact with the "pink tide" rise of left-of-center governments in the region. Exploring outcomes and future directions, the contributors consider the variations between movements arising from immediate circumstances (such as Oaxaca's 2006 uprising and Brazil's 2013 bus fare protests) and longer-lasting movements (Vía Campesina, Brazil's MST, and Mexico's Zapatistas). Assessing both the continuities in social movement dynamics and important new tendencies, this book will be essential reading for all students of Latin American politics and society.

Book, "The Rise of the Left" by Ronaldo Munck

The Rise of the Left 
by Ronaldo Munck

Book Review of:
The New Mole: Paths of the Latin American Left
by Emir Sader
London and New York: Verso, 2011.

Book, "Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador: Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment" by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Gender, Body, and Medicine in Urban Ecuador. Ethnographic Explorations of Women’s Embodiment 
by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Book Reviews of:
Casandra Paola Herrera Caicedo Cuerpos en re-construcción: El consumo de cirugía estética en la ciudad de Ambato. Quito: FLACSO Ecuador, 2012.
Elizabeth F. S. Roberts God’s Laboratory: Assisted Reproduction in the Andes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
Ann Miles Living with Lupus: Women and Chronic Illness in Ecuador. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. London and New York: Zed Books, 2013.

Book, "Activist Scholarship and Urban Land Invasions" by Marc Becker

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Book Review:  "Activist Scholarship and Urban Land Invasions." 

Paul Dosh Demanding the Land: Urban Popular Movements in Peru and Ecuador, 1990–2005. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.

By Marc Becker

Book, "Activist Scholarship and Urban Land Invasions" by Marc Becker

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Book Review:  "Activist Scholarship and Urban Land Invasions." 

Paul Dosh Demanding the Land: Urban Popular Movements in Peru and Ecuador, 1990–2005. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.

By Marc Becker

Book, "The New Latin American Left: Cracks in the Empire" Edited By Jeffrey R. Webber and Barry Carr

The New Latin American Left 
Cracks in the Empire 
EDITED BY JEFFERY R. WEBBER AND BARRY CARR 
Hardback Paperback eBook

Book Review, "Mystifying the Brazilian Northeast" by Ronald H. Chilcote

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Mystifying the Brazilian Northeast 
by Ronald H. Chilcote

Durval Muniz de Albuquerque Jr. "The Invention of the Brazilian Northeast."
Foreword by James N Green.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

Book, Development in Theory and Practice

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Development in Theory and Practice
by Ronald H. Chilcote - Contributions By Haroldo Dilla Alfonso; Thomas Angotti; Ricardo Antunes; David Barkin and others...

This definitive reader brings together seminal articles on development in Latin America. Tracing the concepts and major debates surrounding the issue, the text focuses on development theory through three contrasting historical perspectives: imperialism, underdevelopment and dependency, and globalization. By offering a rich array of essays from Latin American Perspectives, the book allows students to sample all the important trends in the field. A new general introduction and conclusion, along with part introductions, contextualize each selection. One of the leading figures in development studies, Ronald Chilcote shows in this text why work on imperialism dating to the turn of the twentieth century informs the controversies on dependency and underdevelopment during the 1960s and 1970s as well as the globalization debates of the past decade. If students are to understand development in Latin America, they must not only be familiar with historical examples and recognize that various theoretical perspectives affect our interpretation of events, they must be willing to keep an open mind. Thus, rather than setting out established premises, this reader offers different points of view, raising provocative questions about Latin America that remain largely unanswered even today. Students will come away from this rewarding collection ready to pursue new understanding through critical inquiry and thinking.

Book, The Catholic Church and Power Politics in Latin America: The Dominican Case in Comparative Perspective (Critical Currents in Latin American Perspective Series)

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The Catholic Church and Power Politics in Latin America: The Dominican Case in Comparative Perspective (Critical Currents in Latin American Perspective Series)
by Emelio Betances

Since the 1960s, the Catholic Church has acted as a mediator during social and political change in many Latin American countries, especially the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Although the Catholic clergy was called in during political crises in all five countries, the situation in the Dominican Republic was especially notable because the Church's role as mediator was eventually institutionalized. Because the Dominican state was persistently weak, the Church was able to secure the support of the Balaguer regime (1966–1978) and ensure social and political cohesion and stability. Emelio Betances analyzes the particular circumstances that allowed the Church in the Dominican Republic to accommodate the political and social establishment; the Church offered non-partisan political mediation, rebuilt its ties with the lower echelons of society, and responded to the challenges of the evangelical movement. The author's historical examination of church-state relations in the Dominican Republic leads to important regional comparisons that broaden our understanding of the Catholic Church in the whole of Latin America.

Book, "The New Century of the Metropolis Urban Enclaves and Orientalism" by Tom Angotti

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The New Century of the Metropolis Urban Enclaves and Orientalism

The problems created by metropolitanization have become increasingly apparent. Attempts to limit growth, disperse populations and plan neighbourhoods have been largely unsuccessful. Strategies are needed to improve the world's major cities in the twenty-first century.

Tom Angotti is fundamentally optimistic about the future of the metropolis, but questions urban planning’s inability to integrate urban and rural systems, its contribution to the growth of inequality, and increasing enclave development throughout the world. Using the concept of 'urban orientalism' as a theoretical underpinning of modern urban planning grounded in global inequalities, Angotti confronts this traditional model with new, progressive approaches to community and metropolis.

Book, "Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements" by Marc Becker

Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements by Marc Becker

In June 1990, Indigenous peoples shocked Ecuadorian elites with a powerful uprising that paralyzed the country for a week. Militants insisted that the government address Indigenous demands for land ownership, education, and economic development. This uprising was a milestone in the history of Ecuador’s social justice movements, and it inspired popular organizing efforts across Latin America. While the insurrection seemed to come out of nowhere, Marc Becker demonstrates that it emerged out of years of organizing and developing strategies to advance Indigenous rights. In this richly documented account, he chronicles a long history of Indigenous political activism in Ecuador, from the creation of the first local agricultural syndicates in the 1920s through the galvanizing protests of 1990. In so doing, he reveals the central role of women in Indigenous movements and the history of productive collaborations between rural Indigenous activists and urban leftist intellectuals.

Book, "Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean." Edited By Richard L. Harris and Jorge Nef

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Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean – New Edition 
EDITED BY RICHARD L. HARRIS AND JORGE NEF

For an additional chapter on health and human security: Click Here. 
For suggested resources for each chapter in the book: Click Here. 
For additional resources on ecological and social issues: Click Here. 
For additional resources on indigenous peoples: Click Here.
Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014.

Book, "Today’s Left in Power: Promises and Problems" by Hobart A. Spalding

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Today’s Left in Power: Promises and Problems 
by Hobart A. Spalding

Book Review of:
Latin America’s Radical Left: Challenges and Complexities of Political Power in the Twenty-first Century.
by Steve Ellner (ed.)
Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014.