Latin America During World War II - (Jaguar Books on Latin America) by Thomas M Leonard & John F Bratzel (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first full-length study of World War II from the Latin American perspective, this unique volume offers an in-depth analysis of the region during wartime. Each country responded to World War II according to its own national interests, which often conflicted with those of the Allies, including the United States. The contributors systematically consider how each country dealt with commonly shared problems: the Axis threat to the national order, the extent of military cooperation with the Allies, and the war's impact on the national economy and domestic political and social structures. Drawing on both U.S. and Latin American primary sources, the book offers a rigorous comparison of the wartime experiences of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Central America, Gran Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Puerto Rico.

Book Synopsis

The first full-length study of World War II from the Latin American perspective, this unique volume offers an in-depth analysis of the region during wartime. Each country responded to World War II according to its own national interests, which often conflicted with those of the Allies, including the United States. The contributors systematically consider how each country dealt with commonly shared problems: the Axis threat to the national order, the extent of military cooperation with the Allies, and the war's impact on the national economy and domestic political and social structures. Drawing on both U.S. and Latin American primary sources, the book offers a rigorous comparison of the wartime experiences of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Central America, Gran Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Puerto Rico.

Review Quotes

A significant contribution analyzing how the region responded to the events surrounding WW II. Using archival sources from Latin America and the U.S. as well as a wide range of secondary sources, these essays capture the distinctive conditions operating in Latin America. Succinct and well written, these essays serve as a potent reminder of the commonality and differences that influence Latin America. Recommended.

Historians of Latin America should applaud John F. Bratzel and Thomas M. Leonard for assembling this illuminating set of original essays. . . . The contributers have updated older works . . . while clarifying and expanding our understanding in significant ways. . . . One especially impressive aspect of the essays in this volume is the consistantly high level of quality and substance.

Historians of Latin America sould applaud John F. Bratzel and Thomas M. Leonard for assembling this illuminating set of original essays....the contributers have updated older works...while clarifying and expanding our understanding in significant ways....One especially impressive aspect of the essays in this volume is the consistantly high level of quality and substance....

The book employs the most recent scholarship to deepen our understanding of the subject.

This illuminating set of essays will work well in the classroom, effectively setting forth the main issues and showing why the United States and the countries of Latin America responded to the war in distinctive ways.

This is an excellent collection of articles on a too-often-overlooked topic. It fits well with a modern Latin America History course.

About the Author

Thomas M. Leonard is professor of history and director of the international studies program at the University of North Florida. John F. Bratzel is professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures and graduate coordinator in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Michigan State University.