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Perhaps due to the cooperation of its government with the U.S.' war on drugs, Colombia is probably America's closest ally in South America. This concise and easily digestible survey is a useful and timely introduction to a country little understood by most people north of the Rio Grande. LaRosa is professor of history at Rhodes College, and Mejia is professor of history at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota. They combine thematic and chronological approaches to offer a broad-based portrait of Colombia in an admirable effort to counteract many of the oversimplified impressions outsiders may have concerning the country. They don't avoid the seamier aspects of historical and contemporary Colombia, including political violence and the curse of the traffic in narcotics. But they also note the nation's considerable cultural achievements and its laudable efforts to build a stable democracy and play a positive role in hemispheric relations.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist