Inside Central America: Its People, Politics, and History

Krauss, State Department correspondent for the New York Times , argues that the U.S. is ``not responsible for everything that has happened in Central America.'' His illuminating survey sorts out the political and cultural complexities of each country in the region, its relations with its neighbors and the Colossus of the North. Shown are: Costa Rica, Central America's only democracy and a country without an army; Guatemala, where Latin America's longest-running civil war revolves around the massacre of Mayan Indians; El Salvador, ``a nation of betrayal and genocide'' for all of Washington's efforts; Nicaragua, where America's divided policy has resulted in an incoherent course of action, displayed most vividly in the Iran-contra affair; Honduras, whose citizens have the highest opinion of the U.S. yet receive the most disrespectful treatment; and Panama, whose people paradoxically hold the U.S. responsible for their problems while at the same time depend on Washington to solve them. The book explains clearly who the Central Americans are and how they differ from one another. (Apr.)