Nineteenth-Century Nation Building and the Latin American Intellectual Tradition: A Reader is an impressive collection of works from several prominent thinkers (or pensadores) that constitute a philosophical foundation within and from the region. The excerpts cover vast political terrain, in both geographical and ideological terms, and represent accurately and richly a number of historical and enduring debates. The collection is timely and incredibly relevant; many countries in Latin America are currently undergoing profound political, social and economic change. The selected readings provide a historical point of departure for (as well as a multivariate historical understanding of) many present-day debates.

The anthology is organized chronologically, which is useful in that the reader gets a sense of how thought progressed in Latin America throughout the period of de-colonization. The editors identify some of the central themes in the introduction (x-xii) and have included a guide to themes as an appendix (365–66), which refers to various selections that address the central themes: Education for Citizenship and Economic Development; Foreign Relations; History: Its Nature and Uses; Political Organization; Race; Religion; and Women. However, greater integration of historical progression and thematic inquiry might have helped to guide readers through some rather dense theory and disparate historiography.

Many of the pensadores follow in the Enlightenment tradition, which can be discerned in their preoccupation with matters concerning citizenship, civil society, representation, and natural rights. It is remarkable that many of the pensadores seem to have been taken with more collectivistic notions of rights and entitlement. This orientation was shaped, in large part, in relation to the intense individualism of the American republic, which, as the editors state, was “a nation both admired and feared” (ix). The writings of Simon Bolivar, which begin the conversation in this book, demonstrate this conception of rights. Bolivar insists upon the supremacy of law that is generated from the citizens (of Venezuela) and not determined by Washington (8). He asks, “Who can resist the love that is inspired by an intelligent government that simultaneously links individual rights to general rights, that forms the supreme law of the individual will from the common will? Who can resist the rule of a benevolent government, which, with a skillful, active, and powerful hand, directs always and everywhere all its resources toward social perfection, the sole end of human institutions?” (9).

“On the Expulsion of This Republic Born in Spain” by Jose Maria Luis Mora (Mexico), is a compelling (and soberingly relevant) argument concerning justice and citizenship. This essay also addresses (critically) the role of the Catholic Church in nation building (as do many of the other contributions). Andres Bello (Venezuela/Chile) and Jose Victorino Lastarria (Chile) examine the “Black Legend,” which is the “view that the Spanish colonial past left Latin America ravished and unprepared for self-governance” (52).

The perennially important themes of socialism, inequality and revolution are addressed in the selected writings of Francisco Bilbao (Chile), Esteban Echeverría (Argentina) and José Martí (Cuba). Among these selections, and others, there is a rich and varied discussion of both nationalism and pan-Americanism, which certainly resonates in contemporary political contexts. The editors have also included the often forgotten voices of women: Soledad Acosta de Samper (Colombia) and Clorinda Matto de Turner (Peru). However, the excerpts from Martí (arguably one of the most significant contributions in the volume), Acosta de Samper, and Matto de Turner are dis-satisfyingly brief.

The book achieves its goal of making accessible important contributions to the Latin American intellectual tradition throughout the nineteenth century, and demonstrates a complexity and diversity of thought which illuminates contemporary social, political, and philosophical debates. It is ideal for senior undergraduate and graduate courses on Latin American politics or history, as well as courses in political philosophy (which tend to ignore these regional conversations and focus almost exclusively on their European roots), and it is essential reading for anyone interested in developing a better understanding of the region of the Americas.