How Latin American debts grew and became a barrier to economic development is well analyzed in this first-rate book. It shows the limits of the private and official efforts that have been undertaken to deal with these problems and looks, rather skeptically, at proposals to improve matters. Thanks to Mr. Kuczynski's experience in private banking, the World Bank and the Peruvian cabinet, his book has insights and depth. Although the 1980s are a "lost decade," he refuses to believe that development is dead. His own eclectic prescription focuses on selective deferral of interest and increased activity by multilateral development banks, but suggests a slow process that will call for substantial contributions by all interested parties. It is no fault of the author that the book cannot altogether keep up with events.
