The Auburn meeting was not only a celebration of twenty years of existence of the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers and an inventory and prospect of geographical scholarship in Latin America but also a recognition of the legacy of Preston E. James in our organization. We were pleased to host Eileen James as our special guest at the meeting, and Kempton Webb's introductory paper reflects the influence of Dr. James on his career.

Another special feature of our Auburn program was the welcome participation of a large number of graduate students. There is no question that a new generation of Latin Americanists has emerged and this, in part, fulfills our promise as an organization.

The papers offered here represent the best our sub-discipline has to offer in terms of an inventory of research accomplished during the decade of the 1980s and a prospect of work to be done in the 1990s. The reader will observe that it has been an active decade for geographers in the 1980s, particularly in the larger graduate departments and among the "schools" of geographers they have established by planting their graduates in many smaller departments and as independent scholars in the United States, Canada, and in Latin America. There is much to be done, and many exciting opportunities remain for geographers with interest and competence in Latin America.

This book is a production of the Department of Geography at Auburn University, where it was typed, formatted, and composed for printing after editing by the chairs of the respective sessions at which the papers were presented originally. These session chairs are David Clawson (Ecology and Natural Resources Conservation), Tom Boswell (Population, Migration, and Urbanization), Bill Denevan (Historical and Cultural Geography), Dick Longwell (Commercial Activities), Connie Weil (Geographies of Well-Being), Greg Knapp (Regional and Economic Development), Vicky Lawson (Teaching Latin America), and Barry Lentnek (Research Methodology). Many thanks to Teresa Tidwell, administrative secretary of the department, who managed the process of typing and re-typing, and to Jessica Dixon, Kim Harris, and Patsy Peoples for typing and re-typing the many manuscripts in this book. Many thanks are due Professor James L. Fitch at Auburn University for making his department's laser printer available at crucial times. Errors and omissions in editing remain my responsibility.

T.L.M.
Auburn, Alabama
12/25/91