Book excerpt: With 10,000 years of history, Peru, with its formidable Inca and pre-Inca civilizations and its rich colonial and post-colonial past, formed the very foundations of multi-ethnic South American history and society. It is a country rich in natural and human resources, but has been largely confined to a state of underdevelopment for much of its history. However, since 2000 Peru has shown significant signs of economic and political progress as its economy grew rapidly and it polity democratized. The Historical Dictionary of Peru packages in a unique way the course of Peru’s evolution and recent trajectory, with substantial sections devoted to describing and analyzing the country’s history, politics and social order, combined with shorter entries on the important people and events that have contributed to its current state of affairs. It also includes a comprehensive profile of the country based on an array of data, tables and statistics. In short, PERU will be an indispensable introduction and source for high school, college and graduate students, travelers and tourists and American government and business personnel with Peru as a destination. The Historical Dictionary of Peru contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture.