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CHOICE Review

This useful collection of essays by eminent Latin American scholars and public officials is divided into two sections, the first addressing broad aspects of the debt crisis from the Latin American perspective and the second providing seven case studies. The title is a bit misleading-this is a book about economics. The first half of the book builds a consensus against the current ``muddling through'' approach largely on distributional and prudential grounds. There is considerable repetition here, but the near unanimity of views is impressive. The second half is more informative, bringing together a set of detailed and up-to-date case studies. The variety of economic experience comes through clearly, a point emphasized in the earlier essays. There is relatively little politics in the case studies, though one sometimes gets an insider's view of the economic policy process. The essays throughout the book are well organized and documented, and there is a subject index. The bibliographies presented with the essays provide extensive references to the literature in Spanish (and Portuguese) and English. Highly recommended for undergraduate or graduate/research libraries.-S.A. O'Connell, University of Pennsylvania