With the death of Hubert Herring on September 29, 1967 we have lost one of the wisest of the pioneer historians of Latin America. The bare facts of Hubert Herring’s career fail to capture the man’s vitality or to appreciate his vast influence on the study of Latin American history in the United States. Iowa born, Hubert Herring received his B.A. from Oberlin College, and his M.A. from Columbia University. In 1913 he graduated from Union Theological Seminary. Perhaps because of his unorthodox educational background, Herring’s view of Latin America was never restricted by preconceptions or prejudices.

Where most historians of Latin America are fortunate to make one or two countries their own, Hubert Herring’s catholic perspective embraced them all. His wide-ranging and frequent visits to the countries south of the Rio Bravo enabled him to acquire a first-hand acquaintance of Latin American leaders and people and a breadth of understanding of Latin American problems that will be difficult to duplicate.

Although Professor Herring, during his years on the faculties of Pomona College and Claremont Graduate School in California, wrote many articles and books on various Latin American themes, his greatest monument is his History of Latin America. Where most textbooks are dull or at best pedestrian, Hubert Herring’s is alive and exciting. Where most textbooks lose the student in a maze of undigested detail, Hubert Herring’s illuminates the trends, patterns, and significance of Latin America’s history. A History of Latin America introduced and will continue to introduce countless students to the rich and complex past of Latin America.

As might be expected from his textbook, Hubert Herring was an outstanding teacher. His lectures were invariably exciting, and his enthusiasm proved irresistibly contagious. Even after his retirement from active teaching his willingness to aid and counsel students was proverbial. Moreover, age never seemed to dim the spark of his imagination or freeze the flexibility of his mind. It is, then, with a deep sense of loss that we note here the passing of Hubert Herring.

Part I. FOREGROUNDS AND BACKGROUNDS

Part II. THE IBERIANS IN THE NEW WORLD

Part III. THE NEW WORLD BREAKS WITH THE OLD

Part IV. MEXICO

Part V. THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA

Part VI. THE LNADS OF THE SPANISH MAIN

Part VII. THE INDIAN LANDS OF THE ANDES

Part VIII. CHILE

Part IX. THE REPUBLICS OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA

Part X. BRAZIL: EMPIRE AND REPUBLIC

Part XI. LATIN AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES
TABLES

Written from deep understanding, long acquaintance, and extensive knowledge, Hubert Herring's brilliant A History of Latin America is unquestionably the finest and fullest history of the complex and turbulent world of Latin America and its people. For this third edition, it has been extensively rewritten and brought completely up to date to tell the story of the Latin American experience from the Indian, Iberian and African backgrounds to the tumults of the mid-twentieth century. It cover Chile's epochal 'revolution by ballot' under Edurado Feri and the Christian Democrats; Brazil's recent military upheavals; Argentina's disappointing relapse into dictatorship; and the extraordinary rule of Fidel Castro in Cuba. The bibliography has been thoroughly revised and the statsitical tables include the latest available data. The colourful and verigated history of Central and South America provides the author with a challenge that is superbly met. Political, social and economic history are covered in great detail, but not at the expense of intellectual or cultural history; and the impressive personalities who have appeared with such profusion in this area are vividly portrayed. A History of Latin America is an authoritative and perceptive book, and one essential for any reader who wishes to understand the importance of this explosive continent in the world history.