Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great at what it does, but not a social history
Comment: The subtitle of this book, "the evolution of a multi-ethnic society" led me to believe that this would be more of social history than it actually was. It is very well-written and readable, which is particularly commendable since it primarily concerns questions of government and economics: who was in power when, what they did, and how many tons of tin bolivia was exporting at the time. That's slightly exagerated, as the author also very *briefly* discusses developments of early bolivia art, architecture, and literature, and mentions changes in relations between 'white', 'cholo', and 'indian' segments of the population. This is the second edition, published in 1992; I would love to read the third edition, updated to include public uprising against neo-liberalism as in the recent controversy over privatization of the public water service.
This is an excellent book as long as it is judged by its own goals; however, if you are looking for more social analysis of this 'multi-ethnic society', you'll have to supplement this book with additional reading.
