Leslie Bethell je emeritný profesor dejín Latinskej Ameriky. Jeho práca sa zameriava na politické, sociálne a kultúrne dejiny Latinskej Ameriky, predovšetkým Brazílie, v 19. a 20. storočí. Je uznávaný ako hlavný redaktor rozsiahleho dvanásťzväzkového diela Cambridge History of Latin America, ktoré je považované za kľúčové a autoritatívne v odbore. Jeho analýzy poskytujú hlboký pohľad na zložité historické procesy a kultúrne posuny v regióne.
Published to mark his 80th birthday, this volume is the first collected compendium of the work of Professor Leslie Bethell and consists of seven essays on major themes in modern Brazilian history and politics. The essays are new, but draw from his classic published works: book chapters and journal articles, and public lectures delivered in the ten years since his retirement.
Cuba: A Short History brings together four chapters from Volumes 3, 5, and 7 of The Cambridge History of Latin America to provide for scholars, students and general readers a concise history of this important island nation. Contributors, top scholars in the field, trace the political, economic, and social development of Cuba from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present day. The concluding chapter, updated for this volume, considers the dilemmas and challenges that Castro's Cuba faces in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse. Each chapter is accompanied by a bibliographical essay that many readers will find useful.