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sekerez's review against another edition
4.0
"The Forgotten Continent" is a pretty great introduction to the Latin American region as a whole, marked by a comprehensive yet succinct overview, extensive research, passionate storytelling, and engaging prose. Its greatest achievement is probably that of clearly defining and answering one big question surrounding the region: why has development lagged so much over the last century? I would recommend it both to people who have already studied some of the region's history and are familiar with its standing today (like myself) and to complete newcomers who know very little but are interested.
The book is at its best when discussing the region's politics and economics, specifically in the first half. It successfully synthesizes the region's history up to the 20th century in ~40 pages or so, providing an excellent background that is not only narrowly historical, but also institutional and philosophical (the sections on Bolívar and Santander were especially interesting). What follows is a country-by-country political history, which is mostly on the mark, and not without its surprises. Again, what's engaging about these sections is that Reid always provides an informed stance on issues, events, and characters, which are well-argued and interesting even when the reader might disagree.
There are some shortcomings. The latter third drags, especially for people familiar with the region's more recent afflictions. It also somewhat breaks from the structure, talking about common regional issues, from a perspective that's not as centered on politics. Lastly, it doesn't develop some of its most interesting ideas. The pseudo-feudal caudillo institutional structure brought up in the beginning doesn't carry over to the later chapters, and certain political dynamics central to, for example, weak judiciaries, are merely mentioned rather than explored. A lack of continuity between the later chapters makes "The Forgotten Continent" end up feeling more like a collection of essays rather than a cohesive story by the end.
However, I don't really get criticisms from other reviews. Many seem to take issue with Reid being fiscally conservative and downplaying the US's role in LatAm interventions. But anyone who read the book would clearly find mention of almost all such interventions, as well as their disapproval. Chile might be the only exception - Reid highlights popular support for the coup, downplays its violence, and fails to mention the complicity between Kissinger and the Pinochet regime. Ultimately, though, it's a helpful perspective for a country much more polarized on the dictatorship and Allende than may seem from the outside. You may not like it, but it's certainly relevant. Lastly, for anyone who accuses him of being a "neolib"... part of his point is that the discussion on communism vs. capitalism is outdated, and to his credit, he provides good arguments against traditional socialist thinking in line with dependency theory. To sum up, you may not always agree with the guy, but Reid provides an interesting perspective that is always well argued and never morally egregious, and I can't see why anyone would fault him for it.
The book is at its best when discussing the region's politics and economics, specifically in the first half. It successfully synthesizes the region's history up to the 20th century in ~40 pages or so, providing an excellent background that is not only narrowly historical, but also institutional and philosophical (the sections on Bolívar and Santander were especially interesting). What follows is a country-by-country political history, which is mostly on the mark, and not without its surprises. Again, what's engaging about these sections is that Reid always provides an informed stance on issues, events, and characters, which are well-argued and interesting even when the reader might disagree.
There are some shortcomings. The latter third drags, especially for people familiar with the region's more recent afflictions. It also somewhat breaks from the structure, talking about common regional issues, from a perspective that's not as centered on politics. Lastly, it doesn't develop some of its most interesting ideas. The pseudo-feudal caudillo institutional structure brought up in the beginning doesn't carry over to the later chapters, and certain political dynamics central to, for example, weak judiciaries, are merely mentioned rather than explored. A lack of continuity between the later chapters makes "The Forgotten Continent" end up feeling more like a collection of essays rather than a cohesive story by the end.
However, I don't really get criticisms from other reviews. Many seem to take issue with Reid being fiscally conservative and downplaying the US's role in LatAm interventions. But anyone who read the book would clearly find mention of almost all such interventions, as well as their disapproval. Chile might be the only exception - Reid highlights popular support for the coup, downplays its violence, and fails to mention the complicity between Kissinger and the Pinochet regime. Ultimately, though, it's a helpful perspective for a country much more polarized on the dictatorship and Allende than may seem from the outside. You may not like it, but it's certainly relevant. Lastly, for anyone who accuses him of being a "neolib"... part of his point is that the discussion on communism vs. capitalism is outdated, and to his credit, he provides good arguments against traditional socialist thinking in line with dependency theory. To sum up, you may not always agree with the guy, but Reid provides an interesting perspective that is always well argued and never morally egregious, and I can't see why anyone would fault him for it.
cinaedussinister's review against another edition
4.0
A very comprehensive & quite well balanced (I think) overview of (mainly modern) latin american history. Quite insightful, a bit biased at times, but quite good
elliothhh's review against another edition
4.0
Good primer on Latin America. The chapters generally group together trends seen throughout the whole region which is much more engaging than a simple chronological narrative that you normally see in books like this. I doubt you're going to find something as comprehensive under 400 pages.
green_eyes_20's review
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Great summary of the history of "Latin America". Adequately nuanced, though slight right-wing and conservative bias.
bookishthots's review against another edition
1.0
If I wanted this much incorrect, blatant propaganda, I’d pick up an Oklahoma history textbook.
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