Peter F. Klarén is professor of Latin American history at George Washington University and a professorial lecturer on Andean history and politics at the School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University. Thomas J. Bossert teaches political science at Sarah Lawrence College and lectures on politics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Peter F. Klarén is professor of Latin American history at George Washington University and a professorial lecturer on Andean history and politics at the School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University. Thomas J. Bossert teaches political science at Sarah Lawrence College and lectures on politics at the Harvard School of Public Health.

A staple at George Washington University, "Promise of Development" surveys various development theories applicable to modern Latin America. The introduction breaks down the development theories into three broad categories: one associated with the capitalist West utilizing Weber's theories of Protestant thrift; a second one associated with the communist East, namely the theories of Karl Marx, Lenin, Trotsky; and third the corporatist theories of Emile Durkheim associated with Catholic societies during medieval times. These three approaches to development in Latin America depending if you are on the right, left or in the middle are discussed in detail in this excellent survey work. The section on Marxism is particularly sharp as it explores dependency theory and the modes of production controversy as exemplified by the polemics between Gunder Frank and Ernesto Laclau. The section on corporatist theory examines what is called the bureaucratic authoritarian (BA) model of many countries in South America. A brilliant book. Highly recommended.