Initialed notices were written by Vicente Cantarino, David M. Pletcher, Robert E. Quirk, James R. Scobie, Otis P. Starkey, and Thomas G. Powell, all of Indiana University.
Fewer than three hundred pages of text and fifty-three well selected photographs tipped in on coated paper are little enough to describe one-fifth of the earth’s land area; obviously this survey must be concise. The approach is also systematic, considering most countries first as to physical structure, climate, and vegetation and then by population and economic characteristics. The larger countries are also treated regionally. There are introductory chapters on South America, the Lands of the Andes, Central America and Mexico, and Islands of the Caribbean. A statistical summary terminates the book.
The style, in part to be credited to the unidentified translator from the German, varies from encyclopedic to very interesting. Some details—for example, on the howling habits of Amazonian monkeys—seem out of place in such a compact volume. On the other hand numerous quotations from travel books give excellent word pictures of the countryside and its peoples.
To sum up, this is a good book for the Latin American student lacking in geographic background; however, it will add little or nothing to the knowledge of the expert. It is apparently designed for a rapid survey, and its commentary contains few novel ideas.
