Richard Feinberg

Cuba   May/June 2019 Capsule Review

Cuban Foreign Policy: Transformation Under Raúl Castro

A volume of essays edited by H. Michael Erisman and John M. Kirk struggles to decide whether the foreign policies of Raúl Castro represented continuity or a break with...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Crime & Drugs   May/June 2019 Capsule Review

Homicidal Ecologies: Illicit Economies and Complicit States in Latin America

Deborah J. Yashar seeks to explain the alarming rise in violence in many Latin American countries.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Americas   May/June 2019 Capsule Review

The Longest Line on the Map: The United States, the Pan-American Highway, and the Quest to Link the Americas

Eric Rutkow explores the history of the Pan-American Highway. 

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Refugees & Migration   May/June 2019 Capsule Review

Two Books on Immigration

Beth C. Caldwell argues that citizenship should be based on a person’s cultural associations rather than on national boundaries. Noelle Kateri Brigden catalogs the...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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U.S. Foreign Policy   March/April 2019 Capsule Review

The Peace Corps and Latin America: In the Last Mile of U.S. Foreign Policy

Thomas J. Nisley offers an account of the Peace Corps program in Latin America since its inception in the early 1960s.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Economic Development   March/April 2019 Capsule Review

Desarrollo, integración e igualdad: La respuesta de Centroamérica a la crisis de la globalización (Development, integration, and equality: The response of Central America to the crisis of globalization)

Richard Feinberg reviews a comprehensive, data-rich account of the social and economic progress of Central America since 1960, with an emphasis on the last five years.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Corruption   March/April 2019 Capsule Review

Report of the Expert Advisory Group on Anti-Corruption, Transparency, and Integrity in Latin America and the Caribbean

Richard Feinberg reviews a powerful indictment of Latin American institutions by an all-star team of eight governance and anticorruption experts.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Trade   March/April 2019 Capsule Review

The Future of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Context of the Rise of China; Latin America–China Trade and Investment Amid Global Tensions: A Need to Upgrade and Diversify

Ellis warns of a possible dystopian future for Latin America. González worries about economic tensions between China and the United States but also foresees plentiful...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Post-Conflict Reconstruction   January/February 2019 Capsule Review

After Insurgency: Revolution and Electoral Politics in El Salvador

Sprenkels gives a nuanced, humane assessment of the lives of former revolutionaries in peacetime.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Food & Agriculture   January/February 2019 Capsule Review

We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time

This book tells the inspiring story of the rapid response by Andrés, a celebrity chef and restaurateur, to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Refugees & Migration   January/February 2019 Capsule Review

Detain and Punish: Haitian Refugees and the Rise of the World’s Largest Immigration Detention System; Immigration Policy in the Age of Punishment: Detention, Deportation, and Border Control

Lindskoog examines the precedents for the system of mass incarceration of immigrants in U.S. policies toward Haitian immigrants since the 1970s and in the use of...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Americas   November/December 2018 Capsule Review

Empire by Invitation: William Walker and Manifest Destiny in Central America

This account of the life and times of the American adventurer William Walker, who briefly seized the presidency of Nicaragua in the 1850s, defies the conventional...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Politics & Society   November/December 2018 Capsule Review

The Tango War: The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds, and Riches of Latin America During World War II

McConahay reveals the essential truth that, in a time of great peril, the United States and most of Latin America found common cause against a shared enemy.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Law & Institutions   November/December 2018 Capsule Review

Military Missions in Democratic Latin America

Pion-Berlin persuasively argues that democratic regimes in Latin America can now safely turn to their armed forces to perform important tasks, such as fighting...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Politics & Society   November/December 2018 Capsule Review

Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America

In this richly documented study, McClintock finds that democracies where presidential candidates need only a plurality of the vote to triumph are in serious danger of...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Cuba   November/December 2018 Capsule Review

Our Woman in Havana: A Diplomat’s Chronicle of America’s Long Struggle With Castro’s Cuba

This candid memoir features many revealing and entertaining anecdotes from Huddleston’s time as head of the U.S. mission in Havana.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Americas   September/October 2018 Capsule Review

The Neighborhood: A Novel; In the Midst of Winter: A Novel

For readers unfamiliar with Peruvian politics, The Neighborhood, which recounts a fictionalized version of Montesinos’ machinations, is an entertaining introduction to...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Economics   September/October 2018 Capsule Review

Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean

Despite their favorable geographic location and abundant natural resources, many Caribbean countries have fallen into a distressing trap of low growth and high...

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Politics & Society   September/October 2018 Capsule Review

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

In this breezy, well-crafted primer, Selee marshals overwhelming evidence of the mutually beneficial economic and social integration of Mexico and the United States.

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

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Politics & Society   September/October 2018 Capsule Review

AMLO: Con los pies en la tierra (AMLO: With His Feet on the Ground); Andrés Manuel: La invención de un político (Andrés Manuel: The Invention of a Politician)

Who is Andrés Manuel López Obrador?

Reviewed by Richard Feinberg

This article is paywall-free.