Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the Indigenous Challenge in 'Latin' America by Martin Edwin Andersen (Lexington Books, March 2010), 296 pages.

Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the Indigenous Challenge in 'Latin' America by Martin Edwin Andersen presents a fascinating and comprehensive perspective on Latin American history focusing on the lesser told but nonetheless important story of indigenous rights across the hemisphere.

This comparative study presents a sweeping journey across the Americas, from end to end, with important insights for the fields of indigenous studies, comparative politics, and strategic studies, helping to rebalance the field of 'Latin' American studies so that it includes the indigenous 'Peoples of the Earth' who survived the arrival of European settlers and conquerors, and who have long been a submerged but potent political force that is now emerging to transform the political dynamics of many Central and South American nations, united in their aspiration to reclaim their often unacknowledged, and at times suppressed, contribution to the history and politics of our hemisphere.

One of this book's many strengths is its sheer breadth of study, chock-full of country case studies based on meticulous research, with impressive use of sources. The author is familiar with 'Latin' America, having covered the region as a journalist and author, with two prior books published on the region's political and military history. Peoples of the Earth combines his wealth of knowledge and insight spanning numerous countries, primarily in Central and South America but with insights also drawn from the struggles of Native peoples in the United States and Canada. This makes for fascinating comparative observations and analyses, connecting a long series of dots dating back half a millennium and stretching from the high north to the far south, in a rare but much needed retelling of the story of the 'New World.'

Andersen's work follows impressively in the tradition of esteemed scholars like Donna Lee Van Cott, author of Radical Democracy in the Andes and From Movements to Parties in Latin America: The Evolution of Ethnic Politics. To his credit, Andersen writes an engaging, lively, non-ideological, terminologically-uncluttered language that will make this work appeal beyond the narrow confines of the 'Latin' American studies subfield of political science. This work deserves a broad readership both within and beyond academia. Peoples of the Earth will help to offset the dearth of literature addressing the issue of native rights from a broad, and comprehensive, perspective.

The narrative flows naturally and smoothly, and with a rapid pace and energetic style making the manuscript a delight to read, blending the best of academic analysis with a refreshing journalistic pacing. For those with an interest in the indigenous chapters of inter-American history, this will be a true page-turner. Andersen's scholarship is sound, and the research that went into this book is meticulous and comprehensive, showing a unique depth and breadth of knowledge. The author brings in a wide range of sources including numerous classic works from the fields of Latin American and indigenous studies, as well as blending additional contemporary observations from journalists, columnists, native rights activists, tribal law practitioners, and indigenous leaders -- augmenting secondary sources with fresh current affairs insights and primary perspectives. The breadth of sources enriches the depth of storytelling, with numerous examples and anecdotes provided throughout.

The work's historical depth is impressive, incorporating not just current texts but reaching back to numerous classics and earlier events in the history that have informed the historical development of the Americas, including the emergence of the modern state system as well as the influences of other international dynamics including the worldwide struggle against fascism and the abhorrent racial policies that drove aggression during World War II as well as the long and painful legacy of colonial history and the perpetuation of colonial-era social divisions into the contemporary period in the New World that pitted indigenous interests against those of the newcomers. The author's historical expertise, intimate regional awareness, and comprehensive knowledge of the literature is evident throughout. The documentation of the sources used is also impressive, with the lengthy bibliography chock-full of important sources, including a rich and comprehensive assortment of books, journal articles, news articles, and author interviews in addition to government reports. Numerous and highly detailed endnotes are a further reflection of the depth of scholarship and the meticulousness of the author's research.

This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers, policy analysts, policy makers, governmental decision-makers, and indigenous rights activists in the Americas as well as in other regions such as Asia, Africa and Oceania where similar issues and challenges exist. It will also be of interest to cultural anthropologists and human terrain mapping specialists thrust into the world's hot spots and endeavoring to navigate their complex ethnocultural undercurrents and forge sub-state coalitions with tribal and local communities, often discovering much untold, and untaught, history along the way. Peoples of the Earth makes important contributions to the literatures of several distinct subfields -- notably native studies, Latin American studies, and comparative politics -- as well as strategic and security studies, with relevance to the ongoing GWOT struggle and the many ethnic and civil conflicts around the world where indigenous people continue to struggle to assert their rights, and to protect their proud cultural traditions, from the more populous, modern state.

What is refreshing to this reader is the author's openness to literature not only from different fields, but also from a wide range of ideologies and worldviews, revealing an openness to diversity that enriches the analysis considerably. This work breaks free from any singular ideological lens and reframes indigenous history, culture and tradition as the center of the story. The tone and presentation are both balanced and fair, and the historical detail combines for a unique and much needed contribution to the field. This work deserves to be widely read, from the classroom to the forward operating base, and to remain in print for many years to come, as it fills a need in the field for such a holistic and comprehensive approach to state-tribe relations, in the Americas and around the world.


Barry Zellen is the author of Breaking the Ice: From Land Claims to Tribal Sovereignty in the Arctic; On Thin Ice: The Inuit, the State, and the Challenge of Arctic Sovereignty; and Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic.

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