Brazil

Smoking Cobras; Brazil in World War II, by Douglas W. Richmond, pub. Command magazine No.51, pp.32-36, 2 maps, only had a photocopy of the article but managed to obtain a copy of the magazine, it surprised me not to find the Brazilian Commander's account of the expedition amongst the author's list of sources.

Brazil's Volunteer Nurses 1944, by René Chartrand, pub. Company of Military Historians Journal, Vol.51, No.4, pp.174-175, two b/w photos, alas the uniforms shown have no insignia worn other than a cap badge, it would appear that the photos were taken in Brazil before departure, one of the photographs shows a Brazilian private walking with them in his blue uniform, which was changed soon after arrival in Italy.

Central America and the West Indies

A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates, by Captain Charles Johnson, pub. Conway Maritime Press, London 1998, 1st published 1724, don't have many books on Pirates, only one other, that's a reprint from the 1740's, it was initially thought to have been wrote by Daniel Defoe, interesting text, but I know nothing about this subject.

The French Revolution in San Domingo, by T. Lothrop Stoddard, pub. Sons of Liberty, Louisiana 1977, 1st published 1914, pp.410, using mainly data from the French Colonial and War Archives and the Library at Harvard, I believe it to contain useful contemporary accounts, although a writer in the bibliography of his book on this period published in the 1970's thought he had down played the Negro success, I look upon it as a reference book with a French view to the knock on effects of the Colonial Policies brought about by the Revolution and later changes to the French Government through to Napoleon to this island.

Garde D'Haiti 1915-1934, by James H. McCrocklin, pub. The United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland 1956, pp.257, 1 map, illus., I've been trying to buy this book for years, finally managed it, this is the best book on the subject and maybe the only one solely on this unit, a must reference book.

The U.S. Naval Mission to Haiti 1959-1963, by Charles T. Williamson, pub. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, USA 1999, pp.384, illus., a definitive account of this mission and the Haitian politics that surrounded it, a good reference book.

The Immaculate Invasion, by Bob Shacochis, pub. Viking, New York, 1999, pp. 396, 1 map, this is an eyewitness account of the 1994 invasion and occupation of Haiti by U.S. forces, the author spent 18 months there with a team of Special Forces commandos and has managed to produce an interesting and easy to read book of their experiences.

José Martí: Cuban Patriot, by Richard Butler Gray, pub. University of Florida Press, 1962, pp.298, I initially thought that this would be a biographical text of the person, but this subject only accounts for the 34 pages of the 1st chapter, the remainder is on how Martí has influenced political and social thought not only in Cuba but also the rest of Latin America up to the late 1950's, not what I expected but it was interesting reading.

Guerrilla Warfare, by Che Guevara, pub. University of Nebraska Press, 1998, pp. 175, first published in 1961 by the Monthly Review Press, plus 2 chapters from 1963 & 1967, I'm sure most readers are aware the contents of this work, for me most of the text would be just common sense and it was only who the author was that has made this work noteworthy.

Decision for Disaster; Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs, by Grayston L. Lynch, pub. Brassey's, Washington 1998, pp.178, 8 maps, illus., a very helpful book by an ex-CIA man who was with the 2506 Assault Brigade during those days of April 1960, using information from his own experiences and interviews with members of the Brigade, plus recently declassified data, which all helps to make a useful reference work on this action.

Bay of Pigs Invasion, by Edgar O'Ballance, pub. War Monthly, Vol.7, No.5, June, 1979, pp.22-29. The Central American Republics, by F. D. Parker, pub. Oxford University Press, London 1964, reprinted 1968, pp.335, good for the 1920-57 period politics of these countries.

Fire from the Mountain; The Making of a Sandinista, by Omar Cabezas, pub. Crown Publishers Inc., New York 1985, pp.233, covers the years of revolution up to 1975 with his own personal recollections of this time, a very interesting account.

El Salvador in Crisis, by Philip L. Russell, pub. Colorado River Press, Texas 1984, pp.165, illus., some helpful chapters on the Military Governments 1931-1980 and the then present situation.

The Guatemala Air Force, by Jim Dorschner, pub. Air Forces Monthly, September 1999, pp.32-37, always good to keep abreast with these reports on Latin American Air Forces that appear in this magazine, this article also includes a coloured photo of 3 cloth Base badges which was appreciated by me.

Book List

Book List: Pre-Columbian & Conquest, Colonial Period
Book List: Mexico / Texas
Book List: Brazil, Central America and the West Indies
Book List: South America
Book List: General Titles & Miscellaneous