The editing of our field’s leading journal is a challenging and arduous task that brings its own rewards. Among them are the many contacts with colleagues, all sharing the same objective of enhancing scholarship. Foremost among those who have been dedicated to this goal are our colleagues at the University of Florida, who have skillfully shepherded the HAHR over the last six years.

Following the Board of Editors’ vote to transfer the HAHR to Florida International University, the editorial team at the University of Florida, headed by David Bushnell, was remarkably helpful in easing the transition. That period was marked by regular consultations and useful information regarding procedures, file transfers, and the many details that make editing the journal a gratifying experience. To the extent that the transition has been smooth, we owe the UF team a great debt of gratitude.

No major changes in style will take place, except for some greater consistency in applying the Chicago Manual. To this effect, we are publishing the updated Information for Authors in this issue. We are also using a bit more of the modern technology of word processing and bibliographic management. Whenever possible, therefore, we expect authors whose manuscripts have been accepted for publication to provide us with a computer disk containing their document file.

Communication with the editorial offices has now been significantly expanded and dramatically speeded up with the use of BITNET and INTERNET, the electronic mail system that ties together virtually all universities around the world with computer mainframe capabilities. The journal’s BITNET address is HAHR@SERVAX; our INTERNET address is [email protected]. Our “postal box” is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and already we have benefited greatly from getting needed information to and from the authors in a virtually instant fashion. This has been especially helpful during the copyediting process. Thus the HAHR now joins the vanguard of the communications revolution that is allowing historians and other scholars to collaborate effectively. In this regard, I would point to the informative article by Donald Mabry in the February 1991 issue of the American Historical Association’s Perspectives.

The book reviews will, on average, be somewhat longer than in the past. We plan to give our reviewers greater room to analyze for our readers the principal concepts and methodologies, in addition to the substantive contents, of the volumes on which they are asked to comment. Finally, the list of Other Books Received will include all the titles we have received but not yet acted on. This changes the implied nature of this section, which has often been considered a list of works not destined to be reviewed. In the interest of informing our readers about the overall traffic of books in the vast, cross-disciplinary area of Latin American studies, the section will more closely reflect the bibliographic currents.

As the reader can see, these changes are hardly dramatic. We intend to continue the traditions that make the HAHR the leading journal in the field of Latin American history. At the same time, I invite our readers to build on our strengths by communicating their ideas to us.