Coffee and Power: Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America

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Summary: history, agriculture & politics
Review: This book has it all! I loved it; it gave you a real understanding of coffee's power. A lot of liberals are kvetching about the exploitation of coffee countries in labor and land, but this book puts that myth in historical perspective.

Another book that discusses these issues, specifically in the country of Costa Rica, is Costa Rica: The Last Country the Gods Made, by Colesberry & McLean.

The chapter, Coffee! Costa Rica's First Revolution, includes essays such as "Land Crazy and Labor Shy," "Coffee Politics," "Closing the Coffee Frontier" and "The Generation of '89," which touch on many of the subjects discussed in Paige's text.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding study of comparative commodity politics!
Review: This study compares the political economoy of elites and coffee production in central america and goes a long way to explain the political history of the region.

This is extremely well thought out, very nicely written and the underlying intellectual rigor of the book makes it one of the "best reads" for both scholars and just, well, travelers. A really good book