Encompassing the heights of the Andes and the low-lying rainforests near the eastern frontier with Brazil, the Selva Central of Peru has one of the area's most dynamic economies. However, over the past four hundred years, the region has suffered and continues to be plagued by periods of economic and political disorder. Chronicling the region's history from 1635 to the present. Fernando Santos-Granero and Frederica Barclay assess the roles of immigrant colonists and indigenous groups in the political and economic development of Selva Central. They show how early missionary and mining endeavors paved the way for colonial expansion and analyze the effects of plantation agriculture and the timber industry on the region's ecology.