Konrad Engelmann explores a neglected aspect of twentieth-century development history. His view is discursive and impressionist, drawing heavily upon his personal experience and long involvement in the cooperative movement as it affects major parts of the developing world. Engelmann’s approach is unabashedly pragmatic and quite journalistic. The book is not systematically organized so as to be of maximum usefulness to the reader, who will have trouble capturing and remembering the author’s message. One suspects that the author, lacking a systematic analytic framework, may have misunderstood the significance of many events in which he was a participant.
These comments must not be taken as an unmitigated criticism of the book. The author clearly announces his intention and by hewing to it perhaps directs its readers into some areas which might not be encompassed within a known psycho-sociological framework. It has heuristic value. One of the principal messages of the work is the diversity of goals and of motivations for cooperative establishments. His emphasis upon the need for flexibility is well taken, as is his impression of the great contribution that cooperatives can make in developing countries.
Only a small part of the book deals specifically with cooperative developments in Latin America. This, however, should not count against its use by Latin Americanists. The book has a useful bibliography and presents information which would be useful for the historical scholar seeking an analysis of recent developments in Latin America. Its appearance underlines opportunities for Latin American historians to study cooperativism in their area.