Choice Review

This collective work of two editors and thirteen authors encompasses five countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The essays are uneven in quality, exhibiting a lack of unity and deviation from the purposes stated by the editors in the introduction and conclusion. One objective of the book is to compare the problems of the Andean countries, which the editors classify as having a "high degree of instability." The text has three parts: struggle for identity, conflict and violence, and political changes and democracy. The first part deals mainly with issues in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru and features a fine contribution by Amy Lind on women's movements in Ecuador and Bolivia. Parts 2 and 3 focus on Colombia and Venezuela. Although experts on the Andean countries might not find much new here, Mark Ungers's chapter on the Defensoria del Pueblo, a sort of "independent national ombudsman mandated to investigate human rights abuses," is an exception. This rather novel institution has had some positive impact in the development of human rights and democracy in the Andean nations. The bibliography of nearly 500 items is most valuable. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Undergraduate collections and above. C. W. Arnade University of South Florida