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This is a comprehensive and detailed account of the economic
history of Puerto Rico from the period of Spanish colonial domination
to the present. Interweaving findings of the "new" Puerto Rican
historiography with those of earlier historical studies, and using
the most recent theoretical concepts to interpret them, James Dietz
examines the complex manner in which productive and class relations
within Puerto Rico have interacted with changes in its place
in the world economy.



Besides including aggregate data on Puerto Rico's economy, the
author offers valuable information on workers' living conditions
and women workers, plus new interpretations of development since
Operation Bootstrap. His evaluation of the island's export-oriented
economy has implications for many other developing countries.

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CHOICE Review

An expert study of Puerto Rico's economy from the time the island was first colonized by the Spaniards in the early 16th century until the 1980s; however, three fourths of the book covers the period since US occupation in 1898. Dietz (California State University, Fullerton) writes from a broadly Marxist frame of reference. He traces the emergence, particularly during the 19th century, of Puerto Rico as an agricultural export economy-principally shipping sugar and coffee. The author then studies the overwhelming predominance of sugar in the first decades of the 20th century and the crisis of the sugar economy in the 1930s. The most controversial part of the book deals with the transformation of Puerto Rico since 1940 from an agrarian to an industrial economy. Sketching first the ``state capitalist'' development program of the Popular Democratic party and Governor Rexford Tugwell during WW II, the author is highly critical of ``Operation Bootstrap'' adopted after 1946, a program designed to induce US firms to establish plants on the island to produce for export to the continent. The volume presents convincing evidence that this program-although resulting in dramatic increases in national income, individual welfare, and social services-made the Puerto Rican economy even more dependent on the US. Dietz underscores the high vulnerability of the island's economy to profit considerations of mainland firms. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Latin American affairs or economic development. Academic and public library collections.-R.J. Alexander, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus