The Journal of San Diego History
Summer 1993, Volume 39, Number 3
Contents of This Issue

Book Review
Richard Griswold del Castillo, Book Review Editor

Changing Boundaries in the Americas: New Perspectives on the U.S.Mexican, Central American, and South American Borders.

Lawrence A. Herzog ed. San Diego: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD, 1992. 249 pages. Buy this book from Amazon.com

This is a multidisciplinary collection of essays about the historical, political, social, and economic aspects of cross-border relations between countries in the Americas. The authors attempt to assess changing border relations in terms of the vast changes being wrought regionally. The multitude of topics addressed in this anthology are urbanization, economic development, demographic changes, national policy, trading blocs, environmental issues, national security, immigration, and territorial disputes. The introductory essay by the editor discusses the context: the growth of transnational economic and political forces since World War II which has changed traditional notions about borders. He sees growing interdependence of regions in terms of borders being redefined both politically and demographically. All of this has taken place with the growth of what he calls a "new world system," fueled by new technological developments and increased international interdependence so that, "for the first time in history, border regions are beginning to house large populations and vital national economic facilities." (p. 6.) This ambitious collection of essays presents important perspectives that San Diegans can profit from as we enter the twenty-first century.

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