Puerto Rico, the search for a national policy /

Because of its unique status as an associated commonwealth with the US, Puerto Rico receives little attention in journalistic or scholarly offerings on Latin America. Thus, this book is a welcome addition to the rather sparse literature on the subject. The work is a compilation of papers presented at a conference on Puerto Rico, and therefore the various chapters vary widely in their focus. Chapters range from some rather turgid discussion of the vagaries of the US food-stamp program on the island to calls by various Puerto Ricans for substantive changes in the island's relations with the mainland. Most of the chapters, especially those by the Puerto Rican contributors, are excellent. The history of Puerto Rican-US relations is given in an outstanding opening chapter by Arturo Morales-Carrion; then, two major problems of the island-its faltering economy and future status (statehood, commonwealth, or independence)-are explored from a variety of perspectives. There is no bibliography, but chapter footnotes provide adequate references. The book is valuable for both graduate and undergraduate students taking courses on Latin America and the Caribbean, and possibly American government and US foreign policy. It should be in all college and university libraries.-E.A. Duff, Randolph-Macon Woman's College