The authors would like to acknowledge any contributions made by the writers of the 1981 edition of Peru: A Country Study. The authors and book editor of the present volume would also like to thank one of those writers in particular, James D. Rudolph, for kindly supplying the official 1989 Peru regionalization map, on which the corresponding map in this volume is based.

The authors are grateful to individuals in various agencies of the United States government, private institutions, and Peruvian diplomatic offices, who gave their time, research materials, and special knowledge to provide information and perspective. Thanks also go to Ralph K. Benesch, who oversees the Country Studies--Area Handbook Program for the Department of the Army. None of these individuals, however, is in any way responsible for the work of the authors.

The book editor would like to thank members of the Federal Research Division who contributed directly to the preparation of the manuscript. These include Sandra W. Meditz, who reviewed all textual and graphic materials, served as liaison with the sponsoring agency, and provided numerous substantive and technical contributions; Marilyn L. Majeska, who reviewed editing and managed production; Andrea T. Merrill, who edited the tables; and Barbara Edgerton and Izella Watson, who did the word processing. Thanks also go to Cissie Coy, who edited the chapters; Beverly J. Wolpert, who performed the final prepublication editorial review; and Joan C. Cook, who compiled the index. The Library of Congress Printing and Processing Section performed the phototypesetting, under the supervision of Peggy Pixley.

David P. Cabitto provided invaluable graphics support, including preparation of several maps. He was assisted by Wayne Horne, who prepared the cover artwork; Harriett R. Blood, who prepared the topography and drainage map; and the firm of Greenhorne and O'Mara. Deborah Anne Clement designed the illustrations on the title page of each chapter.

Finally, the authors acknowledge the generosity of the individuals and the public and private agencies who allowed their photographs to be used in this study.

Preface

Like its predecessor, this study is an attempt to examine objectively and concisely the dominant historical, social, economic, political, and military aspects of contemporary Peru. Sources of information included scholarly books, journals, monographs, official reports of governments and international organizations, and numerous periodicals. To the extent possible, place-names follow the system adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Measurements are given in the metric system.

Spanish surnames generally are composed of both the father's and mother's family names, in that order, although there are numerous variations. In the instance of Alan García Pérez, for example, García is his patronymic and Pérez is his mother's maiden name. In informal use, the matronymic is often dropped, a practice that usually has been followed in this book, except in cases where the individual could easily be confused with a relative or someone with the same patronymic.

The body of the text reflects information available as of November 1992. Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated. The Bibliography lists published sources thought to be particularly helpful to the reader.

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Source: U.S. Library of Congress