Many Americans choose to believe the myth that the U.S. is a nation-state that is merely defending itself in far-off lands. Immerwahl destroys these illusions in his biting and comprehensive history of America in various stages of Empire. The land grabs and forced removals of the indigenous people “domestically” in the 19th Century expanded to the brutal colonization abroad of the Philippines and Puerto Rico with dire circumstances for the natives. A fascinating and lesser known period of resource extraction from the “guano islands” of the Pacific and Caribbean for fertilizer led to the eventual strategic conversion of some of the islands to military functions and listening posts. The next phase of imperialism culminated in statehood for Alaska and Hawaii.
Now, of course, the U.S. occupies over 800 military bases in 80 countries, a troubling situation unique to the world. This brief review merely skims the surface of this wildly readable, fact-filled history where the colonized were “shot, shelled, starved, interned, dispossessed, tortured and experimented on” and has details that most of us don’t know and that will surprise many.
— Will, Annie Bloom’s Books, Portland, OR
If you want a book to dig your teeth into (and maybe something to supplement at-home high school curriculum), you can get recommendations from Annie Bloom’s and other independent bookstores.