Latin America in the world economy : mercantile colonialism to global capitalism /

Frankel (Univ. of Witwatersrand, South Africa) has written extensively on South Africa's military, including Pretoria's Praetorians: Civil-Military Relations in South Africa (CH, Sep'85). Soldiers in a Storm is a revised and updated version of his 1998 study commissioned by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). It analyzes the sensitive negotiations leading to the creation of the SANDF out of previously warring armed forces; the fits and starts of SANDF transformation in the postapartheid era; and the internal and external crosswinds propelling SANDF toward an uncertain future. Frankel ably places these military developments firmly within the context of South Africa's extraordinary political metamorphosis, aided by interviews with key participants and access to official sources (six pages of a 17-page bibliography). On the other hand, the absence of comparative or theoretical context limits its value for students of cross-national political-military relations. Highly recommended for university libraries and collections specializing in African studies and military affairs. J. P. Smaldone Georgetown University