A huge volume of nearly 800 pages, this first Yearbook was designed to complement another publication of the Hoover Institution, World Communism, A Handbook, 1918-1966. It is anticipated that Yearbooks will appear annually. Their purpose is to make available in English information on the Communist parties of the world in terms of their international politics and their relations among themselves.
Except for a short interpretive introduction the work is strictly factual and documentary. About half the volume is devoted to short studies by countries, stressing primarily the activities and propaganda positions of the various Communist parties. Next comes a “Chronology” of the year’s events relating to the Communist world in the broad sense, essays on six international Communist conferences held during the year, and brief statements of the activities of the eleven international fronts. These are followed by 25 documents, a very brief statement on the Trotskyite movement, and short biographies of 35 leading world Communists. The work is concluded with a very fine index and a selected bibliography of books published in 1966.
The editors devote considerable attention to Latin America. Each republic is given separate treatment in the country studies. Furthermore, seven biographies, two conferences, and five documents are directly related to the area. Most involve Cuba, and the introduction, concerned largely with an overview of the strength and weaknesses of the Communist movement, singles out Cuba, China, and the Soviet Union for special attention in a discussion on the fragmentation of international communism.
Despite its overall value as a work of reference, the volume calls for a few questions and criticisms. The brief country studies lack the analysis necessary to place the national Communist movements in proper perspective with respect to the political systems in which they operate. Front organizations are barely mentioned, and the leaders are only disembodied names. There seems to be a lack of balance in the length of the various country studies—Cuba has six pages, the Dominican Republic five, and Chile seven. Puerto Rico, Guyana, and the two French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe are included in Latin America, while the independent countries of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados are not. Finally, the seven Latin American biographies treat four Cubans (including Che Guevara), a Venezuelan, an Argentine, and an Uruguayan. Conspicuous by their absence are Vicente Lombardo Toledano of Mexico and Luís Carlos Prestes of Brazil. Despite its flaws, the Yearbook is a welcome addition to the increasing flow of publications on the Communist movements. For Latin Americanists it pulls together much obscure information.