Transatlantische Perzeptionen: Lateinamerika--USA--Europa in Geschichte und Gegenwart (review)

Transatlantische perzeptionen: Lateinamerika-USA-Europa in geschicte und gegenwart. By Hans-joachim König and Stefan Rinke. Historamericana, no. 6. Stuttgart: Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz; Akademischer Verlag Stuttgart, 1998. Illustrations. Table. Appendix. 388 pp. Cloth.

The sixteen insightful papers in this volume resulted from the first of two workshops conducted by the two editors that took place in April 1996 in Eichstätt, Germany. It was sponsored by FORAREA (Bayerischer Forschungverbund Area Studies). The participants included a number of senior American and German scholars as well as a larger number of younger scholars.

The book offers thought-provoking and stimulating analysis of transatlantic perceptions and exchange of ideas between Latin America, the United States, and Europe. The challenging collection of papers spans the period from the impression in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Germany of what Columbus found in the New World to modern-day Mexico and the drug cartels in Colombia in the 1990s. A review as short as this will not do justice to the volume. Several of the themes presented will be discussed, while the majority of the contributions will have to be left out for the sake of brevity.

The sixteen papers are clustered around five themes that are presented in chronological order: (1) Perzeptionen im wandel der zeiten; (2) Eigen-und fremdwahrnehmung Lateinamerikas und der fixpunkt Europa im 19. und frühen 20. jahrhundert; (3) Der Augstieg der USA aus lateinamerikanischer und europäischer sicht; (4) Das transatlantische perzeptionsdreieck zwischen dem ersten und dem zweiten weltkrieg; (5) Perzeptionen in den interamerikanischen und deutsch-lateinamerikanischen beziehungen in der gegenwart. The papers presented employ traditional research techniques combined with innovative methodology to produce uniformly high quality scholarship that is well grounded in archival research with a sound use of secondary material. The papers by Paul Dosal, "Bilder von Kuba und den kubanern in den USA, 1823-1959," and Josef Raab, "Pan-amerikanisches ideal und US-amerikanische vormacht: José Martis sicht des 'vecino formidable'," make a valuable contribution to, and deepen our understanding of, the infinitely intertwined relationship between Cuba and the United States. In scope they parallel and complement the recent book by Louis Pérez Jr., On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture (1999). Studies such as these are recasting how scholars, and hopefully diplomats, will view the relationship between Cuba and the United States, while redressing the misguided American policy toward Cuba in the years following the Spanish-American War.

At the risk of slighting the remaining papers, Sonia Alejandra López's "Der erste tango in Paris: ein argentinischer kulturexport im frankreich der jahrundertwende" should be singled out. It is absolutely delightful and demonstrates how ideas and culture flowed in both directions as the tango craze swept pre-World War I Paris, and made its way even into Germany.

Because the books is so rich in valuable information, one wishes that the editors had included an index. The book under review is volume six in an ongoing series entitled "Historiamericana," which is setting the standard for scholarship in Latin American studies, especially those pertaining to Europe in general, and Germany in particular. Libraries, scholars, and serious students will want to have all of the volumes in this series on their shelves.

Andrew R. Carlson
Western Michigan University

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