This book is a solid overview that is more concerned with what happened than why it happended, and a work that can be a starting-point for those who want an introduction to US-Central American relations or a dependable reference for the more knowledgeable. Although primarily concerned with getting the most important facts recorded, Findling knows when to stop and present interpretative insights (as in his page on the New Deal, which he handles critically and well). Comets come and go, but this book should have a good life as an analysis that serves as a useful reference to a relationship that remains, unfortunately for Central Americans and US foreign policy, too little understood. The International History Review

John E. Findling is professor emeritus of history at Indiana University Southeast. He lives in Wichita, Kansas.