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| RELATED PAGES: About the PYM Library · Index of Booklists · Distant Borrowing |
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Overview
Berryman, Phillip. INSIDE CENTRAL AMERICA; THE ESSENTIAL FACTS PAST AND PRESENT ON EL SALVADOR, NICARAGUA, HONDURAS, GUATEMALA AND COSTA RICA.Pantheon, 1985. 166p.One of the best and briefest for a comprehensive outline of the history of the region and the key issues of policy and controversy. Good for an introduction or a helpful review for those with some background.
Blachman, Leogrande, Sharpe, eds., CONFRONTING REVOLUTION: SECURITYTHROUGH DIPLOMACY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, Pantheon, l986. 438p. An anthology that reviews the development of US policy to each country in Central America, the influence of other countries (USSR, Cuba, Latin America, etc.) and offers positive policy recommendations for new approaches.
Krehm, William. DEMOCRACIES AND TYRANNIES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Lawrence , ill, 1984. 244p. A classic history of Central America & the Caribbean, written in the 1940's by a then Time Magazine reporter. Combines solid, hard-to-find history with lively journalistic style that makes for fast reading.
LaFerber, Walter. INEVITABLE REVOLUTIONS: THE U.S. IN CENTRAL AMERICA. Norton, 1983. 357p. An excellent "full-scale," authoritative history of the region.
Lamperti, John. WHAT ARE WE AFRAID OF? AN ASSESMENT OF THE "COMMUNIST THREAT" IN CENTRAL AMERICA. South End Pr., 1988. 110p.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. A JOURNEY TO UNDERSTANDING: A SIX-SESSION CENTRAL AMERICA STUDY GUIDE. Boston, 1987. 315p. A resource for Meetings and groups wanting to organize a series or study group. Also useful for an individual wanting an overview. Includes many graphics, charts, and original source materials.
Individual Countries
- Costa Rica
Biesanz, Richard. THE COSTA RICANS. Prentice-Hall, 1982. 246 p. Excellent overview including historical background and descriptions of the sociology, anthropology, culture and economy of Costa Rica.
Rolbein, Seth. NOBEL COSTA RICA; A TIMELY REPORT ON OUR PEACEFUL PRO-YANKEE CENTRAL AMERICAN HEIGHBOR. St. Martins, 1988. 256p. Current, racy account of a journalist's visit to Costa Rica.
- El Salvador
Argueta, Manlio. ONE DAY OF LIFE. Random House, 1983. 215p. Classic novel of modern Salvadoran life. Gives a vivid humanity to the political issues.
Parkman, Patricia. NONVIOLENT INSURRECTION IN EL SALVADOR: THE FALL OF MAXIMILIANO HERNANDEZ MARTINEZ. University of Arizona Pr., 1988. 168p. Scholarly study of political conflict in El Salvador in the 1940's. Important for background to current events and as a case study in the history of attempts at nonviolent social change.
Wright, Scott. PROMISED LAND: DEATH AND LIFE IN EL SALVADOR. Orbis Bks., 1993. 229p. A memoir of the years 1981-1991 in El Salvador, by a Catholic lay worker.
(For children) Adams, Faith. EL SALVADOR; BEAUTY AMONG THE ASHES. Dillon, 1986. 135p.
- Guatelmala
Hermes, Jules. CHILDREN OF GUATEMALA. Carolrhoda, 1997. Children's book.
Maslow, Jonathan Evan. BIRD OF LIFE, BIRD OF DEATH: A NATURALIST'S JOURNEY THROUGH A LAND OF POLITICAL TURMOIL. Dell, 1986. Fascinating and reflective journal of Guatemalan life and death by a nature writer searching for the quetzal, Guatemala's national bird and symbol of freedom.
Maturin, Anthony. PILGRIMAGE TO CHAJUL: TALES FROM GUATEMALA. Quoin Pres, 1996.
Menchu, Rigoberta. I, RIGOBERTA MENCHU: AN INDIAN WOMAN IN GUATEMALA. Alpine, 1984. 251p. Unique and powerful memoir by a young woman who is one of the key leaders of the Guatemalan opposition, from a family that has suffered enormously for taking leadershop of the peasant and Indian struggles for land and human rights in Guatemala. A valuable window into the Mayan experience and Rigoberta Menchu's personal journey to political involvement.
Morton, Peg. WALK WITH ME: A NONVIOLENT ACCOMPANIMENT IN GUATEMALA. Pendle Hill Pamphlet #333.
Unidad Revoiucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. A JUST AND DEMOCRATIC PEACE: CONTENT OF THE NEGOTIATIONS. URNG Publications. 1992. 33p. Content of the Guatemalan peace negotiations.
- Honduras
Acker, Alison. HONDURAS; THE MAKING OF A BANANA REPUBLIC. South End Pr., 1988. 166p. One of the few books on Honduras available in English.
Alvarado, Elvia. DON'T BE AFRAID, GRINGO: A HONDURAN WOMAN SPEAKS FROM THE HEART. Institute for Food and Development Policy, 1987. 170p. A life history and testimony of a woman leader in rural Honduras. Vivid picture of the peasant way of life, needs and hunger for justice.
- Nicaragua
Everett, Melissa. BEARING WITNESS, BUILDING BRIDGES; INTERVIEWS WITH NORTH AMERICANS LIVING AND WORKING IN NICARAGUA. New Society Pr., 1986. Collected interviews with some of the many US citizens who have chosen to live and work in Nicaragua during the years of the contra war sponsored by the US.
Gelman, Rita Golden. INSIDE NICARAGUA: YOUNG PEOPLE'S DREAMS AND FEARS. Watts, 1988. 189p.
Hirshon, Sheryl. AND ALSO TEACH THEM TO READ. Lawrence Hill, 1983. One of the greatest early achievements of the Nicaraguan revolution was the literacy campanign of rural and adult education. Sheryl Hirshon worked on the literacy campaign and documents its difficulties and accomplishments. Gives insight into the meaing of the revolution for the daily life of the Nicaragua poor who are its main supporters.
Rushdie, Salman. THE JAGUAR SMILE: A NICARAGUAN JOURNEY. Viking, 1987. An interesting account by the Indian-British writer of travels, conversations and debates in Nicaragua. Deals with issues of literature, democracy, censorship, nationalism/colonialism and US policy.
(For children) Adams, Faith. TAKE A TRIP TO NICARAGUA. Watts, 1988. 32p.
Sanctuary
Ashabranner, Brent. CHILDREN OF THE MAYA: A GUATAMALAN INDIAN ODYSSEY. Dodd/Mead, 1986. 97p. Photos and stories of the Kanjobal Maya refugees who came to Indiantown Florida as agricultural workers, their past in Guatemala, experiences in the US, the hardships they have endured seeking asylum.
Davidson, Miriam. CONVICTIONS OF THE HEART: JIM CORBETT AND THE SANCTUARY MOVEMENT. University of Arizona Pr., 1988. 187p. Current history of the development of the Sanctuary Movement and the trials of sanctuary workers in Tucson, AZ. Highlights the participation of Jim Corbett and Friends contribution to sanctuary in practice and philosophy.
Golden, Renny. SANCTUARY: THE NEW UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Orbis, 1986. 214p. Excellent anthology of primary sources on the Sanctuary movement, including accounts by refugees and the first congregations and activists who initiated the movement.
Smith, Michael. SANCTUARY STORIES. Bilingual Press, 1996. Fiction.
The Church in Central America
Berryman, Phillip. THE RELIGIOUS ROOTS OF REBELLION: CHRISTIANS IN CENTRAL MERICAN REVOLUTIONS. Orbis, 1984. 452p. Definitive review of the developing role of the church in Central America, both the grass-roots "polular" church and the process of the Church hierarchy. In an area where the past is quickly politicized, this is one of the best detailed background studies of the social change movements of Central America from the 60's through 1980.
Erdozain, Placido. ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, MARTYR OF SLAVADOR. Orbis, 1980. 98p. Useful biography of the man who is one of Latin America's key inspiriational figures, considered by many to be a saint, assassinated in 1980 because of his strong advocacy of human rights and justice for the poor.
Galdamez, Pablo. FAITH OF A PEOPLE: THE LIFE OF A BASIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNTIY IN EL SALVADOR, 1970-1980. Orbis, 1983. 91p. Looks at the practice and implications of the "theology of liberation" as it has been lived at the essential grass-roots level.
MacEoin, Gary. CENTRAL AMERICA'S OPTIONS: DEATH OR LIFE. Sheed and Ward, 1988. 130p. A review of the Central American situation with special emphasis on the role of Christians and the Catholic church, by a scholar/activist who has followed Latin America and Catholic issues for over 50 years.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM