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South American economic handbook
World DevelOpment, Vol. 15, No. 7, pp. 985-988, 1987. Pergamon Journals Ltd. Printed in Great Britain.
B o o k Notes GUY G R A N B o o k Review Editor
On the two year anniversary of this column, a request and an announcement. On the first matter, the author would like more feedback. It remains difficult to find out about both quality research and new reference tools published in parts of Europe and much of the Third World. I greatly appreciate in particular those far away who have made the effort to send me their new reference titles, It is discomforting to uncover something two years late. As the only regular all inclusive coverage of development reference work, this column can only be as useful, complete, and timely as our collective efforts. The announcement is that my own latest bibliographical effort has emerged as An Annotated Guide to Global Development: Capacity Building for Effective Social Change, a spring 1987 paperback for $7.95 from Resources for Development and Democracy (17119 Old Baltimore Road, Olney, Maryland 20832, USA). In about 160 pages it treats four types of material: the best 500 titles on all topics as of mid-1986, arranged in 46 categories; the best 250 reference works and about 40 data bases, both briefly annotated; and a non-annotated listing of the most useful 250 journals. Write for discounts on bulk orders.
REFERENCE: LATIN A M E R I C A Blakemore, Harold, et aL (1986) South American Economic Handbook London. Euromonitor Pub. Ltd. and DetrOit: Gale Research Co. (274 pp., hardback, $80), The fifth contribution to this new regional series of macroeconomic guides is an introductory work, informed by neoclassical assumptions. Three topical and 10 country chapters take up most of the work, additional tables and indexes the last 35 pp. The country chapters briefly survey social contours, recent economic history, political and economic structure, and sectoral growth. Frequent tabular portraits are current to 1983 or 1984. Indexes but no proper sourcing or bibliography complete the work. Many will
quarrel with the relatively rosy assessment of the regional debt burdens. A more serious question is the general utility of a book of this size, cost, and focus, based largely on accessible UN system sources. For $10 more, the Europa volume offers four times the coverage. An even more irreverent question is this: whose interest is served when students, journalists, politicians or business people pursue area studies with this level of superficiality and lack of critical perspective? Bryant, Solena (1985) Brazil. Oxford, UK: Clio Press and Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Ctio (245 pp., hardback, $37.50). In this contribution to the World Bibliographical Series, a New York based librarian and literature scholar struggles with the mandate for English language materials. The results are uneven, with the best efforts in the areas of humanities most familiar. Bryant follows the series format, providing brief abstracts and occasional judgment on some 800 books and articles. Works are arranged by 35 topics and another 20 or so subtopics. The usual author/title/subject index concludes. With some hunting one finds most of the major social science books in English, but not most of the current debates of indigenous writers. Also missing are all UN system material and unpublished dissertations. Consider as well the European efforts, for example, I W G I A publications on the Indians and the International Currency Review on the debt issue. In sum, Bryant has collected samples of the capitalist/political economy debate, but, as this column has been noting, the development debate has evolved and improved. Camarillo, Albert, ed. (1986) Latinos in the United States: A Historical Bibliography, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio (332 pp., hardback,
$32.50). Migration north continues to be a convenient shortsighted means for politicians in North and Central America to avoid facing development 985
B o o k Notes GUY G R A N B o o k Review Editor
On the two year anniversary of this column, a request and an announcement. On the first matter, the author would like more feedback. It remains difficult to find out about both quality research and new reference tools published in parts of Europe and much of the Third World. I greatly appreciate in particular those far away who have made the effort to send me their new reference titles, It is discomforting to uncover something two years late. As the only regular all inclusive coverage of development reference work, this column can only be as useful, complete, and timely as our collective efforts. The announcement is that my own latest bibliographical effort has emerged as An Annotated Guide to Global Development: Capacity Building for Effective Social Change, a spring 1987 paperback for $7.95 from Resources for Development and Democracy (17119 Old Baltimore Road, Olney, Maryland 20832, USA). In about 160 pages it treats four types of material: the best 500 titles on all topics as of mid-1986, arranged in 46 categories; the best 250 reference works and about 40 data bases, both briefly annotated; and a non-annotated listing of the most useful 250 journals. Write for discounts on bulk orders.
REFERENCE: LATIN A M E R I C A Blakemore, Harold, et aL (1986) South American Economic Handbook London. Euromonitor Pub. Ltd. and DetrOit: Gale Research Co. (274 pp., hardback, $80), The fifth contribution to this new regional series of macroeconomic guides is an introductory work, informed by neoclassical assumptions. Three topical and 10 country chapters take up most of the work, additional tables and indexes the last 35 pp. The country chapters briefly survey social contours, recent economic history, political and economic structure, and sectoral growth. Frequent tabular portraits are current to 1983 or 1984. Indexes but no proper sourcing or bibliography complete the work. Many will
quarrel with the relatively rosy assessment of the regional debt burdens. A more serious question is the general utility of a book of this size, cost, and focus, based largely on accessible UN system sources. For $10 more, the Europa volume offers four times the coverage. An even more irreverent question is this: whose interest is served when students, journalists, politicians or business people pursue area studies with this level of superficiality and lack of critical perspective? Bryant, Solena (1985) Brazil. Oxford, UK: Clio Press and Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Ctio (245 pp., hardback, $37.50). In this contribution to the World Bibliographical Series, a New York based librarian and literature scholar struggles with the mandate for English language materials. The results are uneven, with the best efforts in the areas of humanities most familiar. Bryant follows the series format, providing brief abstracts and occasional judgment on some 800 books and articles. Works are arranged by 35 topics and another 20 or so subtopics. The usual author/title/subject index concludes. With some hunting one finds most of the major social science books in English, but not most of the current debates of indigenous writers. Also missing are all UN system material and unpublished dissertations. Consider as well the European efforts, for example, I W G I A publications on the Indians and the International Currency Review on the debt issue. In sum, Bryant has collected samples of the capitalist/political economy debate, but, as this column has been noting, the development debate has evolved and improved. Camarillo, Albert, ed. (1986) Latinos in the United States: A Historical Bibliography, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio (332 pp., hardback,
$32.50). Migration north continues to be a convenient shortsighted means for politicians in North and Central America to avoid facing development 985