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CHOICE Review

Stone, the distinguished Jamaican political scientist and pollster, has written a valuable and much needed book. For the first time, students of Caribbean politics have available a comparative analysis of regimes that not only provides a useful classification, but links it with a variety of empirical indicators. In addition, Stone includes the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America that are often excluded from such analyses. Of particular interest is Stone's commitment to a nonpolemical approach to understanding trends in the region, including the association between regime type and economic success. For example, Stone points out that success in economic growth is not confined to any one type of system, but includes such diverse countries as Cuba (populist), Barbados (democratic/pluralist), and Guatemala (authoritarian). At the same time, he notes that although the distribution of the economic benefits is associated with regime type, a democratic society like Costa Rica can achieve results similar to those of socialist Cuba. Empirically based findings that confound much popular wisdom on the Caribbean are found throughout the volume. One criticism of Stone's analysis is the basis for his support of a middle way between the ``consumerist'' development model of democratic pluralist regimes and the ``basic needs'' model of revolutionary socialist governments. Stone's middle way requires a high degree of political consensus and pragmatism that may not be present in the region. Recommended for graduate and undergraduate students of the Caribbean.-P.M. Leary, College of the Virgin Islands