Carleton Beals

American authors sometimes are appreciated differently in the US and Latin America. Just after it came out, I read John Gunther's very popular Inside Latin America. I thought it was good, but that opinion was not shared by Latin Americans. Now we have the reverse assessment of Carleton Beals. Emery Gorondy from Argentina writes: "I have never heard of Carleton Beals, but after reading the title of some of his books, I definitely will read them! After writing books like "Banana Gold," "Con Sandino en Nicaragua" and "The Crime of Cuba," I can understand why he is referred to in the USA as a "radical journalist on Latin America!" I strongly believe that if the Dulles brothers (at the CIA and the State Department) had read and understood his assessment of the "REALITY" of the Latin American social and political situation, hundred of thousands of lives would have been saved and there would be no Fidel Castro, "Che" Guevara," Shining Path," etc., etc! "

Emery concludes:"I hope that Tim Brown will have the time to read some of these books and give us his assessment of them!" Tim Brown writes: "As far as I know, Beals is still known in Nicaragua and Mexico only by historians. I read some of his writings on the Sandino war in Nicaragua against the US Marines and found them to be not very useful as historical sources but clearly very effective as partisan pamphleteering, and obviously critical to turning US public opinion against US intervention in Nicaragua. I have no similar feel for his impact elsewhere".

John Wonder writes: "Yes, I remember Carleton Beals and others of his ilk from my undergraduate days. I simply thought their communist ideas were a bore and somewhat quaint and naive. Little did I realize that anyone would take them seriously. Look what has happened now! I guess some people never grow up. I suppose we must put up with the dreadful trendiness of this society".

I received one angry letter from a WAISer protesting because we had not immediately issued a condemnation of the bombing at the American Embassy in Lima. We can't cover everything, especially as soon as it occurs. I, and I am sure other gringo WAISers, do condemn it most heartily. If any Latin Americans feel otherwise they should let me know.

Ronald Hilton - 3/25/02