Interpreting Latin American History from. Independence to Today

Ruiz, Ramón Eduardo, Interpreting Latin American History: from Independence to Today, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. [paperback]

Excerpts from the author's preface:

The book is divided into three sections: Section One includes the histories of four republics: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico. The editor chose these countries because, in his opinion, Latin America embraces at least five peculiar historical currents. At one extreme lies what he would call the "European" republics where Europeans and their descendants account for nearly all of the population and where the culture and ideas of Europe predominate... A second category consists of the "mestizo" republics, where the Spanish conqueror superimposed his way of life upon large indigenous populations which, through the mestizo offspring of Spaniard and Indian, survived to modify not only the Spanish "race" but local culture and civilization as well. (...) Spaniard and Negro joined together to produce yet another historical current, particularly in the Caribbean and the Spanish Main. (...) Brazil, the sole Portuguese colony in the Americas, represents a fourth category. (...) Haiti with its French and Negro heritage, forms a fifth category. (...)

In Section Two, the editor has attempted to fill in some of the gaps left by selection of only four countries. It contains topics of particular importance to the histories of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela which, at the same time, represent cross currents of Latin American growth. (...)

Section Three includes topical issues that cut across national boundaries and carry implications for each republic in the hemisphere...

Obituary in The Washington Post, Tuesday, July 13, 2010:

Ramón Eduardo Ruiz, 88, a renowned historian of Mexico and Latin America whose books included in-depth studies of the Mexican and Cuban revolutions, died July 6 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. He had cancer and suffered complications from a recent fall. Dr. Ruiz joined the history department at the University of California at San Diego in 1970 and chaired the department in the early '70s. He wrote 15 books, including "Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People," "Cuba: The Making of a Revolution," "The Great Rebellion: Mexico, 1905-1924" and "On the Rim of Mexico: Encounters of the Rich and Poor."