Dewey Decimal973
SynopsisNamed one of the ten best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune A Publishers Weekly best book of 2019 - A 2019 NPR Staff Pick A pathbreaking history of the United States' overseas possessions and the true meaning of its empire We are familiar with maps that outline all fifty states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire," exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories--the islands, atolls, and archipelagos--this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire , Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light. We travel to the Guano Islands, where prospectors collected one of the nineteenth century's most valuable commodities, and the Philippines, site of the most destructive event on U.S. soil. In Puerto Rico, Immerwahr shows how U.S. doctors conducted grisly experiments they would never have conducted on the mainland and charts the emergence of independence fighters who would shoot up the U.S. Congress. In the years after World War II, Immerwahr notes, the United States moved away from colonialism. Instead, it put innovations in electronics, transportation, and culture to use, devising a new sort of influence that did not require the control of colonies. Rich with absorbing vignettes, full of surprises, and driven by an original conception of what empire and globalization mean today, How to Hide an Empire is a major and compulsively readable work of history., Named one of the ten best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune A Publishers Weekly best book of 2019 A 2019 NPR Staff Pick A pathbreaking history of the United States' overseas possessions and the true meaning of its empire We are familiar with maps that outline all fifty states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire," exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories--the islands, atolls, and archipelagos--this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire , Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light. We travel to the Guano Islands, where prospectors collected one of the nineteenth century's most valuable commodities, and the Philippines, site of the most destructive event on U.S. soil. In Puerto Rico, Immerwahr shows how U.S. doctors conducted grisly experiments they would never have conducted on the mainland and charts the emergence of independence fighters who would shoot up the U.S. Congress. In the years after World War II, Immerwahr notes, the United States moved away from colonialism. Instead, it put innovations in electronics, transportation, and culture to use, devising a new sort of influence that did not require the control of colonies. Rich with absorbing vignettes, full of surprises, and driven by an original conception of what empire and globalization mean today, How to Hide an Empire is a major and compulsively readable work of history., We are familiar with maps that outline all fifty states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire," exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories-the islands, atolls, and archipelagoes-this country has conquered and governed? In How to Hide an Empire, Daniel Immerwahr reveals that overseas possessions have played an essential role in America's story-enabling its rise, testing its ideals, and serving as laboratories and launching pads for critical and sometimes dangerous innovations. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he travels to the guano islands, where prospectors planted the flag atop mounds of nitrogen-rich bird droppings, and Puerto Rico, where grisly medical experiments that provoked independence fighters to later shoot up the U.S, Congress. In the Philippines, we witness the construction of a dazzling fantasy city high in the mountains and the destruction of Manila. At the end of the Second World War, the American empire was at its height: the United States claimed jurisdiction over more people living outside the states than in them. But in the years that followed, the country moved away from traditional colonialism. Instead, it put innovations like plastics, antibiotics, and radio to use, devising a new sort of influence that no longer required the control of large amounts of land. Instead, an elaborate network of military bases around the world emerged, giving us the Beatles, Sony, and Godzilla, while also extending American power. Richly stocked with memorable vignettes and a fresh analysis of what colonialism and globalization mean today, How to Hide an Empire is a major and compulsively readable work of history. Book jacket.