Our Own Backyard

“Compelling and elegantly written. . . . [LeoGrande] has risen above partisanship to produce a book central to any historical evaluation of those troubled times.” — Foreign Affairs

“A masterly and comprehensive chronicle of U.S. policy toward Central America in the 1980s. . . . Our Own Backyard makes the reader squirm as it dredges up memories of dishonest arguments concerning the unsavory friends with whom the United States allied itself and the equally nasty enemies against whom it fought by proxy in El Salvador and Nicaragua. . . . The definitive account of America’s part in that murderous conflict.” — Atlantic Monthly

“LeoGrande’s copious study is . . . skillful and accessible. He takes the reader confidently through a complex, often tortuous story, starting with the Carter Administration’s paralyzing uncertainty about how to respond to the fall of the Nicaraguan President, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, through the bitter Washington battles over human rights in El Salvador and aid to the Nicaraguan contras, to the Iran-contra affair and ultimately the 1990 Nicaraguan elections that ended Sandinista rule. Throughout, the analysis is thorough and clear.” — New York Times Book Review

“Full of unorthodox, original perspectives, LeoGrande’s clearly written, magisterial study holds timely post–Cold War lessons that transcend the Central American setting.” — Publishers Weekly

“[LeoGrande] offers the most compelling and authoritative account to date of the United States' involvement in Central America from the Carter administration to that of George H.W. Bush. . . . This is a fascinating and thorough study — easily one of the most authoritative studies of U.S.-Latin American relations and the twentieth century.” — Historian

“An eminently clear, accessible and restrained account of a lamentable phase in US-Latin American relations. It will undoubtedly be an indispensable work of reference for many years to come.” — International Affairs

“A marvelous investigation of how foreign policy is really made. . . . LeoGrande brings history to life in 589 pages of the most definitive and instructive history of what he calls 'the last battle of the Cold War.'” — CHOICE

“An impressively researched account of the debate over United States economic and military aid for the Contras and the Salvadoran government. . . . Our Own Backyard could be considered the best starting point for exploring the debate over Central America.” — Journal of American History

“[This book] offers an arsenal of information permitting students to enrich paradigms and other abstractions with real-life events. . . . Professor LeoGrande has provided an invaluable resource for academics, policy-makers and non-governmental organizations. . . . This is an obligatory reference work for Latin Americans.” — Latin American Studies

“LeoGrande’s well-written volume will serve for a long time as a most serious analysis of Reagan’s Central American policy.” — American Historical Review