This book is a solid contribution to knowledge of an important and somewhat overlooked period in Costa Rican history. It is a detailed, sophisticated analysis of the politics of anti-Communism during the period when the Comintern and Costa Rican workers sympathetic to Communism were working to strengthen and legitimize the Costa Rican Communist Party. The time frame covers the founding of the Communist Party in Costa Rica in 1931 and the Revolution of 1948, which resulted in the outlawing of the Communist Party. It should appeal to those seeking an explanation of the details leading up to the remarkable cooperation of the Costa Rican Catholic Church with the Communist Party to pass legislation in the 1940s on behalf of social security and the protection of workers’ rights. It is an enlightening explanation of a most unusual alliance.
However, it is not a book for the casual reader. Readers’ interest must...
