This book presents a contemporary history of Guatemala's thirty-year civil war, evaluating the central protagonists in the turbulent battle for Guatemala—rebels, death squads, and the United States power.

Retorno a la Sonrisa -- Return to Smiles -- Foreword -- Introduction -- Revolution and Counterrevolution, 1944–1970 -- Legacies of the Past: 1524-1944 -- The Revolution of 1944-1954: “The Democracy That Gave Way” -- Counterrevolution and Imperialism -- Rebels and Death Squads I: The 1960s -- Crisis, 1970-1990 -- Economie Growth and Crises of the 1970s and 1980s -- Social Polarization, Social Crisis -- Ethnic and Gender Dimensions of Crisis -- Political Crises of the 1970s -- The Revolutionary Crisis -- Rebels and Death Squads II -- Contradictions of Guatemala’s “Political Opening” -- Popular Bloc and Popular/Revolutionary Convergence -- Restructuring Relations with the United States -- Conclusion: An Unlighted Path Toward the Future -- Central America in the Balance: Prospects for the 1990s -- The Battle for Guatemala -- About the Book and Author