Presents an extensive set of concrete policy recommendations. For most people in the U.S., Central Amer. (CA) has long been what the entire New World was to Europeans of 5 centuries ago: terra incognita. Probably few people could name all the countries of CA and their capitals, much less recite much of their political and social backgrounds. This report proposes attention and help to a previously neglected area of the hemisphere. Contents: a hemisphere in transformation; crisis in CA: an historical overview; toward democracy and economic prosperity; human development; CA security issues; the search for peace.