E-mail this pageSuggested Readings and Preparatory Materials for LAS110
North Country High School Model Organization of American States (NCHS-MOAS)
Spring, 2006
The following list is of country and region specific books that provide background in the several Member States of the OAS. The list is broken up into regional blocs (NAFTA-North America, CARICOM-Caribbean, GRUCA-Central America, Andean Group-South America, MERCOSUR-Southern South America, and the Non-Aligned Nations of Chile, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Books that are starred (*) are the first recomendation of the NCHS-MOAS Director, other books are suggested for further information.
General and Foreign Relations
- *Mace, Gordon, and Therien, Jean-Philippe, Foreign Policy and Regionalism in the Americas (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1996) Takes 10 nations and shows how their evolving foreign policies relate to the growing regional integration in the Hemisphere
- Joseph, G. M., Close Encounters of Empire: Writing the Cultural History of U.S.-Latin American Relations (Durham, NC: Duke University, 1998)
- Stoetzer, O. Carlos, The Organization of American States (Westport, CN: Praeger, 2nd Edition, 1993)
- Joseph S.Tulchin and Ralph H. Espach, eds., Latin America in the New International System (Denver, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001), ISBN 1-55587-917-9, 232 pp
NAFTA
Canada
- LaSelva, Samuel V., The Moral Foundations of Canadian Federalism : Paradoxes, Achievements, and Tragedies of Nationhood (Montreal: McGill-Queen's Universities, 1996.) JL27 .L36 1996
- Verney, Douglas V., Three Civilizations, Two Cultures, One State: Canada's Political Traditions (Durham: Duke University, 1986.) JL15.V47 1986
- Francis, R. D., Destinies : Canadian History since Confederation (Toronto: Harcourt Brace Canada, 1996) F1033 .F768 1996
- Vaughan, Frederick., Contemporary Issues in Canadian Politics (Scarborough, ONT: Prentice-Hall of Canada, 1970) JL65 1970.V3
- Redekop, John Harold. Approaches to Canadian Politics (Scarborough, ONT: Prentice-Hall Canada, 1983) JL65 1983.A68 1983
Mexico
- *Colin M. MacLachlan and William H. Beezley, El Gran Pueblo: A History of Greater Mexico (Englewoods Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 3rd Edition, 2003), PB, ISBN 0-1377-8374-4 The best available survey, though lengthy
- Krauze, Enrique, Mexico: Biography of Power : a History of Modern Mexico, 1810- 1996 (New York: HarperCollins, 1997) F1231.5 .K72 1997
- Aguilar Camin, Hector, and Meyer, Lorenzo, In the Shadow of the Revolution: Contemporary Mexican History , 1910-1989 (Austin: University of Texas, 1993)
- Hamnett, Brian R. A Concise History of Mexico ISBN: 0-521-58120-6 (hb) 0-521-58120-6 (hb) DOCUMENT TYPE : ONORDER.
- *Daniel C. Levy and Kathleen Bruhn, Mexico: The Struggle for Democratic Development (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2002), PB, ISBN 0-520-22831-6 Links events of recent years with pivotal episodes of Mexico's past, with chapters on Mexico-United States relations
- Smith, Clint E., Inevitable Partnership: Understanding Mexico-U.S. Relations (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000)
CARICOM
General
- *Randall, Stephen J., The Caribbean Basin: an International History (Hebron, KY: Taylor and Francis-Routledge, 1998) Good general survey
- *Jan Rogozinski, A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present (New York: Penguin, 2000), PB, ISBN 0-4522-8192-8 Very good general survey, with excellent illustrations, and maps for each country.
- *Richard S. Hillman and Thomas J. D'Agostino, eds., Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003), PB, ISBN 1-55587-959-4 Very fine anthology covering the principal disciplinary perspectives to examine a region (including geography, history, economics, the environment, race/ethnicity, international relations, women, religion, popular culture, and migration)
- Knight, Franklin, The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism (New York: Oxford University, 2nd Edition, 1992)
- Beckles, Hilary, and Shepherd, Verene, eds., Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present (Princeton, NJ: Marcus Weiner, 1996) HN192.C37
- Tulchin, Joseph S. and Espach, Ralph H., eds., Security in the Caribbean Basin: The Challenge of Regional Cooperation (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000)
Antigua & Barbuda
- United States. Embassy (Antigua and Barbuda) Foreign Labor Trends Report, Antigua and Barbuda (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O) L 29.16:AN 8/995-96
Barbados
- Richardson, Bonham C., Economy and Environment in the Caribbean (Barbados: University of the West Indies, 1997) HC155.7.Z9 E57 1997.
- Handler, Jerome S., Plantation Slavery in Barbados: an Archaeological and Historical Investigation (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1978) HT1105.B3 H34
- Gmelch, George and Sharon Gmelch, The Parish Behind God's Back: the Changing Culture of Rural Barbados (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1997) F2041 .G54 1997
- United States. Dept. of State. Office of Public Communication. Editorial Division., Background Notes, Barbados (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Public Communication, Editorial Division) S 1.123:B 23/998
Belize
- Bolland, O. Nigel, The Formation of a Colonial Society : Belize, from Conquest to Crown Colony (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1977)
- Dobson, Narda, A History of Belize (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: Longman Caribbean, 1973) F1446.D56 1973
- Grant, Cedric Hilburn, The Making of Modern Belize: Politics, Society, & British Colonialism in Central America (Cambridge, New York : Cambridge University, 1976) F1448.G73
Commonwealth of the Bahamas
- Craton, Michael, Islanders in the Stream : a History of the Bahamian people (Athens: University of Georgia, 1992) F1656 .C72 1992 v.1
- Saunders, Gail, Bahamian Society after Emancipation (Princeton, NJ: Marcus Wiener, 2003), 220 pp. ISBN 1-55876-313-9 Covers the early 19th century to the 1950s
- Albury, Paul, The Story of the Bahamas (London: Macmillan Caribbean, 1975)
Grenada
- Ambursley, Fitzroy, Crisis in the Caribbean (New York : Monthly Review, 1983) F2183.C74 1983
- O'Shaughnessy, Hugh, Grenada: an Eyewitness Account of the U.S. Invasion and the Caribbean History That Provoked It (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1984)
- Payne, Anthony, Grenada : Revolution and Invasion (New York: St. Martin's, 1984)
Guyana
- Waddell, D. A. G., The West Indies & the Guianas (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1967)
Jamaica
- *Sherlock, Philip, and Bennett, Hazel, Story of the Jamaican People (New York: New Press, 1997), PB ISBN 1-55876-146-2 A good overall survey
- Beckford, George L., Small Garden-Bitter Weed: the Political Economy of Struggle and Change in Jamaica (Morant Bay, Jamaica: Maroon Publishing House,1982)
St. Kitts & Nevis
- Richardson, Bonham C., Caribbean Migrants: Environment and Human Survival on St. Kitts and Nevis (Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1983) JV7339.S75 R52 1983
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
- Shephard, Charles, An Historical Account of the Island of Saint Vincent, Cass Library of West Indian Studies, No. 23 , (London: Frank Cass & Co, 1997)
- Rubenstein, Hymie, Coping with Poverty: Adaptive Strategies in a Caribbean village (Boulder: Westview, 1987) HC156.5.Z7 S296 1987
Trinidad
- Fraser, Lionel Mordaunt, History of Trinidad, vol. 1 (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1971) F2120.F72 1971
- Joseph, Edward Lanzer, History of Trinidad , (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1970) F2120.J6 1970
- Meighoo, Krik, Politics in a Half-Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago, 1925-2002 (Princeton, NJ: Marcus Wiener, ), 292 pp. ISBN 1-55876-307-4
GRUCA (Central America)
General
- Bethell, Leslie, ed., Central America since Independence (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1991)
- Chomsky, Aviva, and Lauria-Santiago, Aldo, Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-State: the Laboring Peoples of Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean (Durham: Duke University Press, 1998)
- LaFeber, Walter, Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America (New York: Norton, 1984)
- *Vilas, Carlos M., Between Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Market, Strategy, and the Revolutions in Central America (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1995), PB A creative interpretation of the relation of race/ethnicity, development, and political change in the region
- *Woodward, Ralph Lee, Jr., Central America: a Nation Divided (New York: Oxford University, 3rd Edition, 1999), PB, APS CENAM3 The best current survey of the region
Costa Rica
- *Navis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz, and Karen Z. Biesanz, The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1999), PB Thorough background for post-1945 evolution of Costa Rica's democratic, social-welfare society
- Gudmundson, Lowell, Costa Rica Before Coffee: Society and Economy on the Eve of the Export Boom (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986) HC143 .G83 1986
- Chomsky, Aviva, West Indian Workers and the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica, 1870-1940 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1996) HD8138.5.B55 C48 1996
El Salvador
- Byrne, Hugh. El Salvador's Civil War: a Study of Revolution (Boulder, CO: Lynne Reiner, 1996) F1488.3 .B95 1996
Guatemala
- Fletcher, Lehman B., Guatemala's Economic Development: the Role of Agriculture (Ames, Iowa State University, 1971) HD1807.G78
- Handy, Jim, Gift of the Devil : a History of Guatemala (Boston: South End Press, 1984) F1466.35.H36 1984
- Fischer, Edward F., Maya Cultural Activism in Guatemala (Austin: University of Texas, Institute of Latin American Studies, 1996) F1435.3.E72 M39 1996
- *Smith, Carol A., ed., Guatemalan Indians and the State, 1540-1988 (Austin: University of Texas, 1990), PB Analyzes the central dynamic in Guatemalan history
Honduras
- Acker, Alison, Honduras: the Making of a Banana Republic (Boston, MA : South End Press, 1988)
- MacCameron, Robert, Bananas, Labor, and Politics in Honduras, 1954-1963 (Syracuse, N.Y.: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, 1983) HD5336.A6 M32 1983
- Peckenham, Nancy, and Street, Annie, Honduras: Portrait of a Captive Nation (New York: Praeger, 1985) F1506.H82 1985
Nicaragua
- Walker, Thomas W., Nicaragua, the Land of Sandino (Boulder: Westview, 1981) F1526.W175
- Rosset, Peter and John H. Vandermeer, The Nicaragua Reader: Documents of a Revolution under Fire (New York: Grove, 1983) F1528.N5175 1983
- Dobson, Michael, and O'Shaughnessy, Laura N., Nicaragua's Other Revolution: Religious Faith and Political Struggle (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1990)
Panama
- Howarth, David Armine, Panama: Four-Hundred Years of Dreams and Cruelty (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966) F1566.H6
- McCain, William David. The United States and the Republic of Panama ( New York, Russell & Russell, 1965), E183.8.P2 M2 1966
Andean Group
General
- Morner, Magnus, The Andean Past: Land, Societies, and Conflicts (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985)
Bolivia
- Morales, Waltraud Q., Bolivia: Land of Struggle (Boulder: Westview, 1992) F3321 .M75 1992
- Alexander, Robert Jackson, Bolivia: Past, Present, and Future of Its Politics (New York: Praeger, 1982) F3321.A43 1982
- *Klein, Herbert S., Bolivia: the Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society (New York : Oxford University, 2nd Edition, 1992), PB, APS KLEIN2 Best available survey of Bolivia in English
Colombia
- Bushnell, David, The Making of Modern Colombia: a Nation in Spite of Itself (Berkeley: University of California, 1993) F2271 .B78 1993
- Henao, Jesus Maria, History of Colombia (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1938) F2271.H51
- Randall, Stephen J., Colombia and the United States: Hegemony and Interdependence (Athens: University of Georgia, 1992) E183.8.C7 R35 1992
- Lecaros, Claudia Gonzalez, Regional Development: Education and Income in Rural Colombia (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International, 1981) LA566.L42
Ecuador
- *Allen Gerlach, Indians, Oil, and Politics: A Recent History of Ecuador (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resourcs, 2003), PB, ISBN 0-8420-5108-2. Probably the best book available on the recent history of Ecuador, detailing the origins and evolution of Indian mobilization and militancy, focusing on the last three decades.
- *Melina Selverston-Scher, Ethnopolitics in Ecuador: Indigenous Rights and the Strengthening of Democracy (Miami: Lynne Rienner, for the North-South Center Press, 2001), PB, ISBN 1-57454-091-2. A more specialized study, but one explaining the new politics emerging in Ecuador in over the last two decades.
- Blanksten, George I, Ecuador: Constitutions and Caudillos (New York: Russell & Russell, 1964) JL3011.B55 1964
- Marcella, Gabriel, and Downes, Richard, Security Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Resolving the Ecuador-Peru conflict (Coral Gables: North-South Center, 1999) F3738.2 .S44
Peru
- *Peter Flindell Klaren, Peru: Society and Nationhood in the Andes (New York: Oxford University, 1999), PB, APS KLPERU One of a series by Oxford, this survey provides a solid background in Peruvian history
- Marcella, Gabriel, and Downes, Richard, Security Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Resolving the Ecuador-Peru Conflict (Coral Gables: North-South Center, 1999) F3738.2 .S44
- *Mauceri, Philip, State under Siege: Development and Policy Making in Peru (Boulder, CO: Westview , 1996), PB JL3431 .M38 1996 Very good for the late 20th century
Venezuela
- Richard Hillman, Democracy for the Privileged: Crisis and Transition in Venezuela (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994). Not in paperback
- Lombardi, John V., Venezuela: the Search for Order, the Dream of Progress (New York: Oxford University, 1982) F2321.L58 1982 Good historical survey, but only up to 1980
- Salazar-Carrillo, Jorge, Oil in the Economic Development of Venezuela (New York: Praeger, 1976) HD9574.V42 S36
- Hellinger, Daniel, Venezuela: Tarnished Democracy (Boulder: Westview, 1991) F2326.H36 1991
- Winthrop Wright, Cafe con leche: Race, Class, and National Image in Venezuela (Austin: University of Texas, 1990)
- Camarys Canache, Venezuela: Public Opinion and Protest in a Fragile Democracy
(Miami: North-South Center Press, 2001) ISBN 1-57454-086-6
Mercosur
General
- *Roett, Riordan, Mercosur: Regional Integration, World Markets (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner,
1999) Excellent for understanding the emerging regional integration of the four countries of eastern South America
Argentina
- *Daniel K. Lewis, The History of Argentina (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), PB ISBN 1-4039-6254-5 Focus on the post-1945 period
- *Jonathan C. Brown, A Brief History of Argentina (New York: Facts on File, 2003), PB, ISBN 0-8160-4959-9 A good survey
- *Tulchin, Joseph S., ed., with Alison M. Garland, Argentina: The Challenges of Modernization (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1998) Focus on the late 20th century
- Luis Alberto Romero, A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century , translated by James P. Brennan (State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University, 2002), ISBN 0-271-02306-6 in paperback
- Rudolph, James D., Argentina: a Country Study (Washington, D.C.: Foreign Area Studies, American University, 1985) F2808.A6537 1985
- Keeling, David J., Contemporary Argentina: a Geographical Perspective (Boulder: Westview, 1997) HC175 .K44 1997
Brazil
- *Colin M. MacLachlan, A History of Modern Brazil: The Past Against the Future (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 2003), PB, ISBN 0-8420-5123-6 Under 300 pages, with a focus on both politics and culture/identity
- *Levine, Robert M. The History of Brazil (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), PB, ISBN 1-4039-6255-3 Emphasis on the 20th century
- Levine, Robert M., and Crocitti, John J., The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics (Durham, NC: Duke University, 1999) F2521 .B768 1999
- *Thomas Skidmore, Brazil: Five Centuries of Change (New York; Oxford University, 1999), PB, APS BRAZI5 A good general survey, probably the best covering both colonial and modern eras
- Guimaraes, Roberto Pereira. The Ecopolitics of Development in the Third World: Politics & Environment in Brazil (Boulder, CO: Lynne Reiner, 1991)
Paraguay
- Hanratty, Dennis Michael, and Meditz, Sandra, eds., Paraguay: a Country Study (Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Dept. of the Army, 1990) F2668.P24 1993
- Lewis, Paul H., Political Parties and Generations in Paraguay's Liberal Era, 1869-1940 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1993) F2688.L49 1993
- Lewis, Paul H., Paraguay under Stroessner (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1980) F2689.L48
- Williams, John Hoyt, The Rise and Fall of the Paraguayan Republic, 1800-1870 (Austin: University of Texas, 1979) F2686.W54
- Warren, Harris Gaylord, Rebirth of the Paraguayan Republic: The First Colorado Era, 1878-1904 (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, 1985) F2688.W375 1985
Uruguay
- Brito, Alexandra de, Human Rights and Democratization in Latin America: Uruguay and Chile (New York: Oxford University, 1997), JC599.U7 B75 1997
- Lavrin, Asuncion, Women, Feminism, and Social Change in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, 1890- 1940 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1995) HQ1532.L38 1995
- Hudson, Rex A., and Meditz, Sandra, eds., Uruguay: a Country Study (Washington, D.C.: Headquarters, Dept. of the Army, 1992) F2708.U855 1992
- Weinstein, Marvin, Uruguay: Democracy at the Crossroads (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1988) F2728.W43 1988
- Weinstein, Marvin, Uruguay: The Politics of Failure (New York: Greenwood, 1975)
Non-Group Members
Chile
- *Simon Collier, A History of Chile, 1808-2002 (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2004), PB, 53484-4. An overview of the country's political, economic, and social evolution from independence, but also examining recent events in depth.
- Hickman, John, News from the End of the Earth: a Portrait of Chile (New York: St. Martin's, 1998) F3081 .H48 1998
- *Loveman, Brian, Chile : the Legacy of Hispanic Capitalism (New York: Oxford University, 3rd Edition, 2001), PB, APS CHILE3 Best available survey of Chilean history in English
- Constable, Pamela, and Valenzuela, Arturo, A Nation of Enemies: Chile under Pinochet (New York: W.W. Norton, 1991)
- Schneider, Cathy Lisa, Shantytown Protest in Pinochet's Chile (Philadelphia: Temple University, 1995) HV4076.S26 S36 1995
- Oppenheim, Lois Hecht, Politics in Chile: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Search for Development (Boulder: Westview, 1993) F3100 .O66 1993,
Dominican Republic
- *Frank Moya Pons, The Dominican Republic: A National History (New York: Marcus Wiener), PB A good survey of modern Dominican history ISBN 1-55876-192-6
- Ernest Sagas and Orlando Inoa, eds., The Dominican People: A Documentary History (New York: Marcus Weiner, 2003), PB, ISBN 1-55876-297-3
- *Cambeira, Alan, Quisqueya la Bella: the Dominican Republic in Historical and Cultural Perspective (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997) F1935.C36 1997
- Ayala, Cesar J., American Sugar Kingdom: The Plantation Economy of the Spanish Caribbean, 1898-1934 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1999) HD9114.C89 A96 1999
- David Howard, Coloring the Nation: Race and Ethnicity in the Dominican Republic (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001), PB, ISBN 1-55587-998-5
- Wiarda, Howard J., and Kryzanek, Michael J., The Dominican Republic, a Caribbean Crucible (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1982)
- Aquino, Miguel, Holocaust in the Caribbean: The Slaughter of 25,000 Haitians by Trujillo in One Week (Waterbury, CT: Emancipation, 1997)
Haiti
- *Robert Fatton, Jr., Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2002), PB, ISBN 1-58826-085-2 Focus on the last two decades, from the fall of the Duvalier regime in 1986, through 2001
- Davis, Harold Palmer, Black Democracy: the Story of Haiti (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967) F1921.D263 1967
- Robert Debs Heinl and Nancy Gordon Heinl, Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People , 1492-1995 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2nd Edition, 2006), 902 pp.
- James, Cyril L.R., The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Overture and the San Domingo Revolution (New York: Random House, 1963)
- Nicholls, David, From Dessalines to Duvalier: Race, Colour, and National Independence in Haiti (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1979)
- Foster, Charles Robert. Haiti-Today and Tomorrow: an Interdisciplinary Study (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984) F1912.5.H35 1984
- Weinstein, Brian, Haiti: the Failure of Politics (New York: Praeger, 1992) F1921 .W45 1992
Contact Information
Dr. Stuart Voss
Distinguished Service Professor of History
Director North Country High School Model OAS
Office: Champlain Valley Hall 224
Phone: (518) 564-5214
E-mail: vosssf@plattsburgh.edu