1980The Cry of My People: Out of Captivity in Latin America.
Friendship Press. A compelling, but controversial,
Christian plea for understanding and call for the praxis
of liberation from the political and economic entities
which deny justice and righteousness for Latin Americans.
(ABM)
Asturias, Miguel Angel
1963 El Se' or Presidente. Atheneum. The ultimate novelistic
expression of life under a Latin American dictator. (RR)
Atkins, G. Pope
1989 Latin American in the International Political
System. 2nd Edition. Westview Press. A
comprehensive study of Latin America's position as
a subsystem in international politics, with special
attention to the impact of transnational presence
in religion, multinational corporations, commerce
and social struggle. (DCC)
Beezely, William H. and Judith Ewell
1987 The Human Tradition in Latin America: The Twentieth
Century. Scholarly Resources. From soccer players to
tenant farmers to urban slum dwellers, twenty-one Latin
Americans tell their own stories. Insightful views of
the average Latin. (JR)
Black, Jan Knippers, ed.
1991 Latin America, Its Problems and Its Promise. 2nd Edition.
Westview Press. An important multidisciplinary
introductory reader that analyzes the cultures and
societies of Latin America. Provocative reading. (ABM)
Booth, John A. and Thomas W. Walker
1989Understanding Central America. Westview Press.
A cogent look at the forces and roots of underdevelopment and the
dynamics of change and proposed change, including
liberation theology. (DCC)
Borges, Jorge Luis
1962Ficciones. Grove Press. The best stories of one of the
world's greatest short story writers. (RR)
Brown, Diana DeGroat
1986 Umbanda: Religion and Politics in Urban Brazil. Iowa
State University Press. A systematic presentation of the
history and development of Umbanda. Brown examines the
Brazilian urban middle class practitioners'
contextualization of original Umbanda ritual and belief.
(ABM)
Brown, Lyle C. and William F. Cooper, eds.
1980Religion in Latin American Life and Literature. Baylor
University. A book of great breadth, this volume
provides a many-faceted view of Latin American religion
from the role of the Virgin in Mexican culture to the
religious views of Garcia M rquez to the contemporary
Catholic right in Brazil. A most valuable compendium.
(JR)
Burns, E. Bradford
1986 Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. 4th
Edition. Prentice Hall. One of the best concise general
works that covers Latin American History from the
conquest to contemporary concerns. (ABM)
Butterworth, Douglas and John K. Chance
1981Latin American Urbanization. Cambridge University Press.
Anthropologists and missionaries have worked successfully
in tribal societies but state societies with complex
urban contexts remain an enigma for most. Without
postulating a theory of urbanization, the authors look at
the rapid social change currently transforming Latin
American cities and attempt to interpret the processes of
change. Emphasis is given to rural-urban migration,
adaption to urban life and to the poor. Worthwhile
reading. (TP)
Canak, William L.
1989Lost Promises: Debt, Austerity, and Development in Latin
America. Westview Press. Gives a good historical
perspective of the unending story of Latin America's
political economy; dependence on the global community
institutions and the implementation of austerity policies
to meet the debt. (DCC)
De Cordoba, Pedro
1970Christian Doctrine for the Instruction and Information of
the Indians. University of Miami. An important book for
those who would break free from traditional evangelistic
methodologies. This is a translation of an early 16th
century Dominican "how-to-convert-the-Indians" manual for
missionaries. Compellingly current. (JR)
Delaguilar, Juan M.
1988Cuba: Dilemmas of a Revolution. Westview Press. A
comprehensive examination of the contradictory rhetoric
and policies that have brought Cuba to where she is
today--especially interesting as a background to the
recent deterioration of relations with the Soviet Union.
(DCC)
Dussel, Enrique
1981A History of the Church in Latin America: Colonialism to
Liberation. Eerdmans. Dussel writes from a
liberationist perspective, but provides important
insights about the history of Catholic Christianity in
Latin America. (ABM)
Freyre, Gilberto
1956The Masters and the Slaves. Alfred A. Knopf. This is
the classic study in the development of Brazil's
civilization by Brazil's most eminent man of letters.
Filled with essential insights for those who would
understand today's Brazil. (JR)
Galeano, Eduardo
1973Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the
Pillage of a Continent. Monthly Press Review. Although
Galeano has marxist presuppositions, he demonstrates the
reasons for the anti-North American sentiment that still
prevails in Latin America due to economic exploitation.
(ABM)
Gallet, Paul
1972Freedom to Starve. Penguin Books. This timely
work of a French priest pointedly expresses both surprise at the
deep poverty found in Latin America (particularly in
northeast Brazil) and displeasure and dismay because of
the breakdown of the Christian perspective regarding
such. (DCC)
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
1970One Hundred Years of Solitude. Avon. Acclaimed by
some as the most important Latin American novel. A true
vision of the Latin American soul. (RR)
Gibson, Charles
1966Spain in America. Harper and Row. Still the place
to begin any study of Latin America. This brief yet
encompassing analysis explains the acculturation
processes which created the Latin American civilization
extant today. (JR)
Goodpasture, H. McKennie, ed.
1989Cross and Sword: An Eyewitness History of Christianity in
Latin America. Orbis Books. From explorers and
conquistadors to priests, peasants, and protestants,
eyewitnesses narrate the triumphs and tragedies of Latin
America's religious development. History comes to life.
(ABM)
Gutiirrez, Gustavo
1988A Theology of Liberation. Revised Edition. Orbis Books.
Too often one reads secondary critiques of primary works;
read Guti‚rrez first. He writes from the heart of
Liberation Theology. This seminal work should be
required reading for all U.S. missionaries. (ABM)
Hamilton, Nora, Jeffery Frieden, Linda Fuller, Manuel Pastor, JR.,
eds.
1988Crisis in Central America: Regional Dynamics and U.S.
Policy in the 1980's. Westview Press. A collection of
very readable and generally cogent essays by a group who
looks at U.S. policies toward and reactions from Central
American States in their recent histories. (DCC)
Harrison, Phyllis A.
1983Behaving Brazilian: A Comparison of Brazilian and North
American Social Behavior. Newberry House. Excellent
source for all types of habits, social situations,
language, gestures, and other aspects of Brazilian
culture. (GS)
Heath, Dwight B.
1988Contemporary Cultures and Societies of Latin America: A
Reader in the Social Anthropology of Middle and South
America. 2nd Edition. Waveland Press. A recent reissue
of an "oldie but goodie" originally published in 1965.
Heath's monumental work contains a number of seminal
articles by widely respected social scientists which
contain valuable insights for missionaries. (TP)
Landa, Friar Diego de
1978Yucatan Before and After the Conquest. Dover. A full
account of Maya customs, daily life, and history.
Written in 1566. (RR)
Lewis, Oscar
1963The Children of Sanchez. Random House. Still the best
"inside" look at the culture of poverty that operates not
only in Mexico but throughout Latin America. (DCC)
Mafud, Julio
1984Psicologia de la Viveza Criolla: contribuciones para una
interpretaci¢n de la realidad social argentina y
americana. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Distal S.R.L.
Though the original edition was published a number of
years earlier, Mafud's work, which found inspiration in
Max Weber's "Ideal types," continues to have merit for
its excellent interpretations of various "life-styles"
which have evolved in Argentina and why. Mafud weaves
together data from history, sociology, and cultural
anthropology. Major sections are: Man, Culture, Society
and Social Integration. (TP)
Mallea, Eduardo
1989History of an Argentine Passion. LALR Press. Contains
Mallea's concept of the two Argentinas, one real and the
other superficial. (RR)
Martin, David
1990Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin
America. B. Blackwell. Highly recommended sociological
perspective on the rapid growth of Pentecostalism and the
socio-economic forces that facilitate its growth. (ABM)
Martinez Estrada, Eziquiel
1971X-Ray of the Pampa. University of Texas Press. A
stimulating discussion of the origins of political,
economic, and social instability in Latin America. (RR)
McGregor, Pedro
1967Jesus of the Spirits. Stein and Day. A history of the
religious development of Brazil, with an emphasis on the
black influence on this history. The author traces the
development of spiritism, including Kardecism. (GS)
Nida, Eugene
1974Understanding Latin Americans. William Carey Library.
Still one of the best; should be required reading for all
missionaries to Latin American. Nida's insights into the
ethos of Latin American religion remain potent. (ABM)
Nuyez, Emilio A. and William D. Taylor
1989Crisis in Latin America: An Evangelical Perspective.
Moody. Taylor presents an etic perspective and Nu¤ez an
emic one of Latin America's culture, history, politics,
and religion. They provide both a superb starting point
and insightful suggestions for the future direction of
missions in Latin America. (ABM)
Padilla, C. Ren‚
1985Missions Between the Times: Essays on the Kingdom.
Eerdmans. Contextual theology from one of Latin America's
leading evangelical missions scholars. Padilla properly
critiques liberationist perspectives and the North
American pragmatism that underlies evangelism and the
church growth movement. (ABM)
Paz, Octavio
1981El Laberinto de La Soledad. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura
Economica. Also available in English, but would advise
serious students to "take-on" the Spanish version. A
penetrating and pointedly revealing study of the
complexities in the Latin soul, particularly that of the
Mexican male. (DCC)
1972The Other Mexico: Critique of the Pyramid. Grove Press.
An extension of his Labyrinth and an attempt to decipher
the modern Mexican reality. (RR)
Phelan, John Leddy
1970The Millennial Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New
World. 2nd Edition. University of California. A mature
understanding of Catholicism in Latin America demands a
comprehension of the true nature of its origins. In this
unique study Phelan opens new doors of perception, moving
well beyond stereotypical concepts. (JR)
Portnoy, Alicia, ed.
1988You Can't Drown the Fire: Latin American Women Writing in
Exile. Clies Press. An insightful look into the
feminine perspective on contemporary Latin America. (RR)
Powell, Philip Wayne
1971Tree of Hate: Propaganda and Prejudices Affecting United
States Relations with the Hispanic World. Basic Books.
Powell persuasively delimits the prejudicial attitudes
toward Latin Americans which North Americans inherit. An
essential book for the eliminating of biases which most
would-be missionaries hold unawares. (JR)
Reavs, Dick J.
1990Conversations with Moctezuma. William Morris. One
traveler's rich perception of today's Mexico and how that
country's present is inextricably linked to its
indigenous and revolutionary past. (RR)
Rodo, Jos‚ Enrique
1988 Ariel. University of Texas. Peden's translation of this
masterwork of Latin American culture presents a seminal
Latin American view of North Americans. Those hoping to
communicate with educated Latin Americans must understand
Rod¢'s acclaimed perspective. (JR)
Sebato, Ernesto
1988On Heroes and Tombs. Ballantine. One of Latin America's
greatest novelists tells the history of one nation
through the fierce obsessions of one woman and the men in
her life. (RR)
Shipp, Glover
1986"Research as a Tool for Urban Evangelism in Developing
Countries." D.Miss. diss., School of World Mission of
Fuller Theological Seminary. A how-to-resource for those
with little or no background in urban anthropology or
research methods. Shipp offers concrete and practical
examples on doing evangelism in an urban context from his
many years of urban missions experience in Brazil. (ABM)
Skidmore, Thomas E. and Peter H. Smith
1989Modern Latin America. 2nd Edition. Oxford. Perhaps the
best survey portrayal of modern Latin America.
Incisively crafted by two of our most able Latin
Americanists. (JR)
Stallings, Barbara and Robert Kaufman, eds.
1989Debt and Democracy in Latin America. Westview Press. A
reader which compiles the work of a generation of writers
who have had great access to the facts concerning the
political, social, and psychological implications of the
staggering debts that are passed from administration to
administration. (DCC)
St. Clair, David
1971 Drum and Candle. Bell Publishing Co. An insightful
discussion of spiritist roots and practices in Brazil.
The author examines Candomble, Macumba, Umbanda, and
other African spiritist cults, profusely illustrating his
material with photos and drawings. (GS)
Vargas Losa, Mario
1984Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. Avon. A tour de force
novel that explores love and storytelling as well as the
concept of history in Latin America. (RR)
1986 The War at the End of the World. Avon. Perhaps the
Peruvian's greatest novel, War is the story of the cosmic
struggle between Church and State in Latin America. (RR)
Wagley, Charles
1963An Introduction to Brazil. Columbia University Press.
Although old, this book is still a standard reference
work for foreigners wishing to understand Brazil. (GS)
1964Amazon Town: Study of Man in the Tropics. Alfred A.
Knopf. This is an excellent analysis of life, ecology
and culture in a region of the Amazon. The roots of many
of Brazil's cultural patterns, attitudes, and
superstitions are examined. (GS)
Willems, Emilio
1975Latin American Culture: An Anthropological Synthesis.
Harper and Row. Willems, an anthropologist long resident
in Latin America, describes the processes of the merger
of European and indigenous civilizations which produced
the mestizo culture of Latin America. He then elucidates
the particular transformations which have shaped the
contemporary configurations common throughout the Latin
American cultural region. (JR)
Worcester, Donald E.
1973Brazil: From Colony to World Power. Charles Scribner's
Sons. This is a thoroughly scholarly work which traces
Brazil from before the first European contacts in 1500 to
modern times. It is a must for those who want to explore
carefully the background of that nation. (GS)
This site mirrors the JAM site at the ACU web site.
Mirrored by permission of ACU Missions Personnel
Direct questions and comments to Ed Mathews,
http://bible.ovu.edu/missions/jam/latambib.htm
Last updated on February 4, 2013
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