Each country report provides a thorough background section covering geography, history, international relationships, social conditions, economic conditions, sources of political power, and the climate for business. South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1999 . Careful research and thoroughness of detail are the hallmark of the 37 contributors' work on 48 countries. Included are eight introductory essays covering such topics as trade blocs, integration, and the politics of drugs. Economic indicators for the region are evaluated, and the history and economy of each country is complete and insightfully discussed.
Charts are plentiful for each country.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean . Simon Collier, Thomas E. Skidmore, Harold Blakemore, general editors. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Each section has subsections, which include short bibliographies appended to each signed subsection. The articles are supplemented with maps, charts, and photographs.