"For many readers, this work will prove helpful in engendering a broader understanding of the layers, complexities, and array of approaches in studies of Latin America. Summing Up: Highly recommended." (CHOICE, February 2009) "Blackwell is to be congratulated on offering a comprehensive review drawing together the disparate threads of the history of the many nations which make up the ... Read moresouthern half of the American continent … .For the undergraduate student of the general reader seeking a handy overview to the history of the region the present volume provides an excellent introduction." (Reference Reviews, Issue 7 2008) "The 30 scholars who contributed these 28 essays covering prehistoric times to the present represent the fields of anthropology, archaeology, ethnography, gender studies, history, political science, and Spanish. They furnish readers with an excellent addition to the body of works exploring Latin America. Entries are ordered logically and pragmatically and lend structure to a comprehensive approach to the study of Latin America. This work treats Brazil as a distinctive entity and explores women, gender, family, and modern environmental history. The editor addresses the appropriateness of the descriptor "Latin America." The inclusion of these elements is timely, lending to the completeness of coverage. The maps are important to the few entries that include them and provide the reader with graphical data. However, the small size and indiscernible formatting of the maps undermines their potential usefulness. Because of the scholarly tone and depth of information provided in each entry, readers who already have a foundational knowledge of the region will extract the greatest benefit. Nevertheless, for many readers, this work will prove helpful in engendering a broader understanding of the layers, complexities, and array of approaches in studies of Latin America. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (A. G. Garza, California State University, Stanislaus, Choice, February 2008) "This volume is an accessible and welcome contribution to the general field of Latin American Studies. Overall, the volume is excellent with just the right mix of generalization and particularity. This volume is smartly structured, well informed, and written by top scholars in the field." (The Americas: Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History, April 2007) Show Less