Since World War Two, the relationship between the USA and Latin America has been marred by ideological conflict, imbalances of power and economic disparity and dramatic confrontations. This book is the ideal concise introduction to the subject for undergraduate students and general readers, covering and analysing the events of each decade: 1945-1958: cold war, dictatorships and rising expectations; 1959-1970: anti-US sentiment, socialism and U.S. gunboats; 1971-1980: industrialisation, human rights and the violence of poverty; 1981-1990: proxy wars, debt and defiant strongmen; 1991-2005: neoliberalism, drugs and Latina America. It is an ideal introduction to post-war US-Latin American political relations. It is simultaneously published in trade paperback and jacketed hardback editions.