Sentinels of Empire: The United States and Latin American Militarism

(Hardback)

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This hard-hitting critique of US policy toward Latin America includes a historical sketch of US relations with individual countries. Black argues persuasively that the US has been the major oppponent of needed reforms in Latin American countries and the major proponent of predatory military establishments. The unwavering US goal, she believes, has been preservation of the established US empire in Latin America, but she cites differing strategies to attain this goal used by conservatives (President Reagan) and liberals (President Carter). She sees a weakening of US hegemony, however, as pressures for reform become irresistable. . . . This book should be read by all who view US policy toward Latin America as benevolent. Choice

Reviews

. . . Sentinals of Empire is concisely written, clearly organized, literate, passionate, simpatico and supported by an impressive array of personal interviews.-Latin America in Books
The past two years have brought a number of thoughtful surveys of U.S. Latin American relations; those by Abraham Lowenthal, Henry Molineau, and Lars Schoultz are the most notable. To these Jan Knippers Black adds her Sentinel of Empire, an emotional, well-argued indictment of U.S. policies and actions of the past two decades. . . This is an angry, breathless survey. It is clearly written and well organized. It lacks the elegant, indignant prose of E. Bradford Burn's At War in Nicaragua, but is nonetheless an efficient indictment of U.S. policies and actions. Black's conclusion that the United States should support revolution, for in the long run it engenders stability (as in the case of Mexico), should prove grist for the mill of any course on U.S.- Latin American relations.-HAHR
This hard-hitting critique of US policy toward Latin America includes a historical sketch of US relations with individual countries. Black argues persuasively that the US has been the major oppponent of needed reforms in Latin American countries and the major proponent of predatory military establishments. The unwavering US goal, she believes, has been preservation of the established US empire in Latin America, but she cites differing strategies to attain this goal used by conservatives (President Reagan) and liberals (President Carter). She sees a weakening of US hegemony, however, as pressures for reform become irresistable. . . . Black provides a good bibliography related to militarism and US-Latin American relations. This book should be read by all who view US policy toward Latin America as benevolent. It is a useful successor to Cole Blasier's The Hovering Giant: U.S. Responses to Revolutionary Change in Latin America.-Choice
." . . Sentinals of Empire is concisely written, clearly organized, literate, passionate, simpatico and supported by an impressive array of personal interviews."-Latin America in Books
"The past two years have brought a number of thoughtful surveys of U.S. Latin American relations; those by Abraham Lowenthal, Henry Molineau, and Lars Schoultz are the most notable. To these Jan Knippers Black adds her Sentinel of Empire, an emotional, well-argued indictment of U.S. policies and actions of the past two decades. . . This is an angry, breathless survey. It is clearly written and well organized. It lacks the elegant, indignant prose of E. Bradford Burn's At War in Nicaragua, but is nonetheless an efficient indictment of U.S. policies and actions. Black's conclusion that the United States should support revolution, for in the long run it engenders stability (as in the case of Mexico), should prove grist for the mill of any course on U.S.- Latin American relations."-HAHR
"This hard-hitting critique of US policy toward Latin America includes a historical sketch of US relations with individual countries. Black argues persuasively that the US has been the major oppponent of needed reforms in Latin American countries and the major proponent of predatory military establishments. The unwavering US goal, she believes, has been preservation of the established US empire in Latin America, but she cites differing strategies to attain this goal used by conservatives (President Reagan) and liberals (President Carter). She sees a weakening of US hegemony, however, as pressures for reform become irresistable. . . . Black provides a good bibliography related to militarism and US-Latin American relations. This book should be read by all who view US policy toward Latin America as benevolent. It is a useful successor to Cole Blasier's The Hovering Giant: U.S. Responses to Revolutionary Change in Latin America."-Choice

Author Bio

ack /f Jan /i Knippers