Here, available for the first time in English, is a novel account of the academic politics - in their national and international contexts - that carried Latin American social science through its expansion in the 1950s and, most strikingly, through the period of dictatorships. A must-read for all those interested in the history of this most dynamic region of social science.' Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley, USA'A very timely book now that in many parts of the world the academic culture is under stress and intellectual autonomy at risk. A perspective from periphery - and a large and rich one as Latin America - is what we need to get a critical eye on this matter. The book does its job with a wealth of data which are of great interests to scholars worldwide.'Marco Santoro, University of Bologna, Italy
