This edited volume is comprised of selections of primary source material and secondary analysis and interpretation by a range of specialists in the field of history and gender in Latin America since 1800. The structure and scope of the book make it ideal for teaching courses on gender and the history of gender in the region. However, it would also constitute a welcome addition to broader survey courses on modern Latin America, which often lack an integrated gender perspective on key topics. The inclusion of translated primary source material, which can be difficult to find for history students without Spanish-language skills, also makes this a relevant and valuable resource for teachers and students. It is not, though, a standard textbook as many of the themes and debates that the material addresses require some background knowledge of Latin American history; and the discussion of the topics and historiographical questions that the book is designed to facilitate is often left open-ended. This, though, is a strength. For, while providing information, insight and analysis in a concise volume, the book also encourages independent thought and stimulates class debate.

The first chapter on the independence period considers women's participation in anti-colonial struggles and ponders the extent to which independence challenged women's subordinate place in patriarchal society, or not. The contributions also look at gender and symbolism and the relationship between gender, slavery and social hierarchy in contemporary political culture. The second chapter examines women's roles in the post-colonial societies that emerged in the period c. 1820–70, particularly emphasising the continuing influence of Iberian norms and ideas of patriarchy on women's everyday lives. Chapter 3 discusses the significance of gender for liberalism, citizenship and the public sphere during nation-building, c. 1830–80. All chapters draw in class, ethnicity and race as factors influencing women's experiences in the post-colonial setting and seek to consider continuity and change after 1820. However, a clearer synopsis of Iberian patriarchy, particularly women's legal status, and reversing the order of chapters 2 and 3 to look first at the significance of gender in the political ideas and institutions that formally structured the states and societies of the new republics and then the continuing influence of Iberian culture and gender relations would have helped to develop a more coherent analysis of how and why women's subordinate status continued and/or changed after independence as well as more clearly suggesting similarities and differences with women's experiences elsewhere in Europe and the Americas during the ‘Age of Revolution’.

Chapter 4 examines the development of modern feminism in Latin America between 1880 and 1930, pointing to similarities with contemporary feminist movements globally, and the broader context of economic modernisation and mass political organisation in which they developed, as well as highlighting regional particularities, notably the significance of Catholicism and the championing of domestic and maternal virtues as the basis for claiming new rights within the private and public spheres. Chapter 5 examines women, labour and economic modernisation, particularly in industry and domestic service, and suggests both the opportunities and costs experienced by working women in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century as well as the impact such changes had on society more broadly. Chapter 6 looks at the influence and role of gender, as well as women's personal experiences, during the age of Nationalism and Social Revolution, 1930–80. While most of these movements lacked a clear gender focus, their commitment to bettering the lives of the growing urban middle and working classes and expansion of public services had a profound impact on women. Although much research in this field has been done on Mexico, the selections in the book focus on Argentina, Nicaragua and Cuba. This is to be welcomed, although a comparison with Mexico would have helped to further deepen the discussion and analysis. Nevertheless, the examples chosen, Evita Perón in Argentina and the revolutionary socialist movements in Cuba and Nicaragua, illustrate very well many of the characteristics, possibilities, limits and contradictions of gender relations, changing gender roles and women's participation in the public sphere during this era and provide much material for debate.

The selections in the last three chapters of the book reflect not only changes in Latin American societies after the late 1960s, the rise and fall of military dictatorships in the context of the Cold War, democratisation and the debt crisis, but also changes in the paradigms used by historians and social scientists to analyse politics and society in the ‘postmodern’ era. Chapter 7 looks at women, gender, military government and human rights struggles in Chile, Argentina and El Salvador, highlighting both the conservative and radical potential of maternalist discourse as well as women's experiences under military rule. Chapter 8 takes up the topic of sex, marriage and family during the period of demographic transition in Latin America after 1960. It highlights state policy, broader cultural shifts and women's individual choice in limiting family size, as well as looking at the role of fatherhood and ambivalent attitudes to the Catholic Church. The final chapter considers women and accelerating ‘globalisation’ after 1980 through transnational ideas and processes such as the maquiladora industry, immigration, indigenous rights movements and internet use. This collection of readings provides an effective, although necessarily partial, insight into the complexities of questions of gender, identity and social and political relations in Latin America during the latter part of the twentieth and early twenty-first century.

Overall this book is an excellent resource for teaching courses on women and gender in Latin America since independence. It provides a comprehensive overview of gender in the region in terms of economics, politics, culture, and social relations and highlights the role of class, race, nation and state policy in influencing women's experiences and identities. It also provides a nuanced introduction to many of the main historiographical questions in the field. It is stronger on the twentieth than the nineteenth century. A number of countries are omitted entirely, and some areas of study such as the law and the Hispanic roots of gender differences could perhaps do with greater examination. It also lacks a principal argument or mode of analysis and specific historiographical debates are not explicitly explored. However, as an edited volume that covers two centuries of change and that is designed to provide primary and secondary material to stimulate discussion and guide students in developing their own analysis and arguments regarding women and gender in Latin America it is highly recommended.