Cole Blasier draws together eight essays from economists, political scientists, anthropologists, and other social scientists to discuss the growth of Latin American economics during the late twentieth-century. Anthropologist John P. Gillin looks at the impact of industrialization on a Guatemalan village, and sociologists Fernando Cardoso and José Luis Reyna present a pioneering analysis of the effect of industrialization on occupational structure and social stratification. Dwight Brothers takes a critical look at the role of private investment, and fellow economist John Powelson proposes that an integrated social science model of economic growth could resolve some of the conflict between North American economic principles and Latin American political interests. Richard S. Thorn, formerly with the IMF, analyzes the achievements and short-comings of the Alliance for Progress. Literary critic Germán Arciniegas probes the traditional interaction between Latin American intellectuals and politics, and political scientist James Malloy describes the revolutionary movement in Bolivia and its inability to reconcile the competing demands of political control and economic development.

Cole Blasier is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh and founder of its Center for Latin American Studies.