Nicaragua: Living in the Shadow of the Eagle details the country's unique history, culture, economics, politics, and foreign relations. Its historical coverage considers Nicaragua from pre-Columbian and colonial times as well as during the nationalist liberal era, the U.S. Marine occupation, the Somoza dictatorship, the Sandinista regime, and the conservative restoration after 1990.
The thoroughly revised fifth edition features new material covering the return of Daniel Ortega as president after the election of 2006. Thomas W. Walker and new coauthor Christine J. Wade document how the more enduring reality of the country may not be the Sandinista Revolution, but how the historical and ongoing interventions by the United States—the “eagle" to the north—continue to shape Nicaraguan political, economic, and cultural life. Additionally, the new edition includes an extensively revised and updated annotated bibliography.