The diplomatic history of Ecuador, most especially its prolonged and often difficult relationship with the United States, has been little studied and is poorly understood. Therefore, this interpretative analysis by Ronn Pineo, a professor of history at Towson University, is a most welcome addition to the literature. His book is the latest in a series of similar studies published by the University of Georgia Press and dedicated to a wider understanding of the forces and issues that have shaped the western hemisphere's experience. Like many of its predecessors, Ecuador and the United States: Useful Strangers is a clear and readable account that deserves a wide audience.

In the introduction to the book, the author sets out to tell how Ecuador has often bested the United States in an unequal relationship that began soon after Ecuador gained independence from Spain in 1822. As he says in the introduction, ‘This book is about the dynamics of power in the relations between a very large if distracted nation when dealing with a very small but determined nation, an investigation that reveals a great deal about both’ (p. 2). Consistent with the other volumes in this series, Pineo's focus is on economic and political relations; however, he also examines the social and cultural side of this bilateral relationship. In so doing, he argues that Ecuador provides a useful context to explore critical issues in the broader US–Latin American relationship.

The author's treatment of the subject is largely chronological, with selected themes developed in each chapter and summarised at the end. The first two chapters focus on the nineteenth century, a time in which bilateral ties between Ecuador and the United States were at a formative stage and remained limited. In addition to his discussion of Ecuadorian relations with the United States, the author does an admirable job of analysing Ecuador's relations with neighbouring Colombia and Peru during this period. As he points out, ‘Ecuador's foreign relations officers [at this time] did not spend much time thinking about the United States; they were much more concerned about Peru and Colombia’ (p. 61). Diplomatic intercourse between Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in the nineteenth century had a direct and lasting impact on the course of Ecuadorian history as well as on Ecuador's future relations with the United States.

Chapter 3 takes the reader into the twentieth century with an emphasis on US involvement in the railway construction boom that began in Ecuador in the late 1890s. Bilateral trade also increased in this period, with the United States by 1915 becoming the number one buyer of Ecuadorian exports, a position it retains today. By the end of the First World War, the United States had also become the most important supplier of Ecuadorian imports – again, a position it retains to this day. In the fourth chapter, the author examines the inter-war period, a time of severe economic and political crisis in Ecuador. Twenty-three presidents attempted to govern Ecuador between 1925 and 1947, with each lasting about a year and none finishing his legal term of office. It was also a time in which the United States demanded more from Ecuador, including debt repayment, cooperation in the Allied effort during the Second World War, and above all, military bases. During the war, the United States had constructed airfields in Ecuador, and it hoped to retain them in the post-war period. However, when Ecuador did not get the deal it wanted, it balked, and the United States eventually walked away from any agreement.

Chapter 5 focuses on the two decades after the Second World War, a time in which the bilateral relationship between Ecuador and the United States underwent dramatic change. At the end of the war, few Latin American states shared the US preoccupation with the Soviet Union; instead, in the wake of its 1941 war with Peru, Ecuador was fixated on any possible sign of Peruvian aggression. This concern coloured Ecuador's approach to several policy areas, including disarmament, military aid and the peaceful resolution of disputes. At the same time, Ecuador's leaders quickly learned how to play on US fears of international communism to obtain the economic and military aid they desired to counter any possible Peruvian menace. In turn, the United States for the first time began to use its great power advantage against Ecuador, involving itself increasingly in Ecuadorian internal affairs and occasionally playing a significant role in shaping outcomes. In so doing, Washington through its actions contributed to political instability, undermining the goal of building democracy in Ecuador.

The decades of the 1960s through the 1980s brought new and more contentious troubles to an already complicated and often difficult relationship. In the sixth chapter, the author focuses on the two major controversies that emerged: Ecuador's claim to a 200-mile coastal territory, and the US role in developing Ecuadorian oil reserves. Economic issues were at the centre of both disputes. In the final chapter, the author concentrates on the last two decades of the twentieth century. With the end of the Cold War, US foreign policy in Latin America focused on new issues, like undocumented immigration and drug trafficking – concerns that did not centre on Ecuador. At the same time, the essence of US power changed, although its implications for Ecuador did not. Where it was once largely political, US power by the end of the century had become primarily economic, a reality Ecuador was left to confront.

While the book is generally balanced in content and tone, the author's treatment of the boundary dispute between Ecuador and Peru, especially his treatment of their 1941 war, is biased and incomplete. To suggest Peru ‘wanted war’ (p. 110) as a means to restore national honour lost in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) belies the fact that military probes by both sides into the disputed territory were returned in kind even as an aggressive Ecuadorian press campaign charged that Peru was preparing for war. A more detailed treatment of recent administrations, specifically those of Rodrigo Borja (1988–92), Sixto Durán Ballén (1992–96) and Gustavo Noboa Bejarano (2000–03), to add context to contemporary Ecuadorian foreign policy, would also have been welcomed.

The real strength of Useful Strangers lies in its comprehensive, yet concise, account of almost 200 years of history. To tell the story, Professor Pineo draws heavily in the earlier chapters on primary source materials such as contemporary Ecuadorian newspapers and the diplomatic correspondence of Ecuador and the United States. In the later chapters, he makes impressive use of the secondary materials available in English and Spanish. To supplement detailed notes, which often include suggestions for additional study, the author also provides a wide-ranging bibliographical essay to guide the reader interested in a more in-depth look at the subject.