Choice Review

The relatively brief consideration of the topics surveyed in the title proves to be an asset, as Baracco (Univ. of Bradford) successfully builds his study around a few central ideas and works through them in a convincing, if quick, fashion. At other times, it is a weakness, particularly in the discussion of Nicaragua's 19th- and early-20th-century history in chapter 2, where readers unfamiliar with the subject may be confused. The author also has a tendency to jump backward and forward in time, further confusing the narrative. His work's strength lies in the later chapters, which consider how the Nicaraguan nation and nationalism have been conceptualized over time. With specific references to Sandino and the national literacy campaign undertaken by the Sandinista regime in the 1980s, these sections give the book intellectual weight and clarity. The chapters on the interplay of these factors in the Atlantic coastal region among the indigenous Miskitu and the Anglo-American-oriented Creole communities are of great interest. Here, Baracco analyzes the literacy crusade in terms of Benedict Anderson's "imagined community" concept of nationhood, and the challenges to Sandinista rule are cast as responses to traditional Hispanic nationalism. These chapters make the short study worth reading. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries. J. M. Rosenthal Western Connecticut State University