Latin America (Modern World Cultures)

Geography is the key that unlocks the door to the world’s wonders. There are, of course, many ways of viewing the world and its diverse physical and human features. In this series - MODERN WORLD CULTURES - the emphasis is on people and their cultures. As you step through the geographic door into the ten world cultures covered in this series, you will come to better know, understand, and appreciate the world’s mosaic of peoples and how they live. You will see how different peoples adapt to, use, and change their natural environments. And you will be amazed at the vast differences in thinking, doing, and living practiced around the world. The MODERN WORLD CULTURES series was developed in response to many requests from librarians and teachers throughout the United States and Canada.

Welcome to Latin America, one of the world’s largest, most homogeneous, and most fascinating culture realms! Strangely, most of the norteamericanos (Northern Americans, or residents of Canada and the United States) know very little about their southern neighbors. Sadly, too, much of what they do ”know” about the region is false. Stereotypes, misconceptions, and general ignorance abound. Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes once said, ”What the United States does best is to understand itself. What it does worst is understand others.”
To understand other places and people, we must learn about them.

CONTENTS

Introduction
Introducing Our Latin American Neighbors
Diverse Natural Landscapes
Native Cultures
European Heritage
Population and Settlement
Cultural Geography
Political Geography
Economic Geography
Latin America Looks Ahead
History at a Glance

Further Reading
Index