Soviet Relations with Latin America, 1918-1968. A Documentary Survey

It has become an accepted norm of criticism that any product coming from so prestigious a body as the Royal Institute of International Affairs must be outstanding, and the present work is no exception. Excellently edited by the talented Stephen Clissold, this valuable book makes an important contribution to the whole study of Soviet relations with Latin America. It sensibly presents the material by topic, by area, and by chronological sequence; not an easy task but one which works out with remarkable ease and clarity. What Clissold and his associates have done is to divide the ambitious (and long overdue) subject into roughly two main parts: first, an introduction surrounded by ample lists of documents and supplementary notes, and second, documents with their extracts grouped around the different countries of Latin America. If there are any negative criticisms to be made, three may be suggested, and they are only minor. First, the introduction reads too much like a recitation of documentary sources (all richly annotated but which might have been inserted collectively at the end); the reader becomes dazzled by the references and it is as if the writer were afraid to say anything on his own. Second, the whole work lacks a synthesis or unified point of view. At least, one might have expected a conclusion. However subjective such a synthesis might be, the reader is disappointed when no clear message comes across in the final analysis. Finally, a little fuller treatment might have been given to the Hispanic heritage of Latin America; to understand Latin America at any stage of her development without a knowledge of Spain and Portugal is like trying to examine a body without its antecedents. By and large, however, this fine book will stand the test of time and makes an attractive accessory to the piling-high mountains of Sovietana on our private bookshelves.