by Greg Grandin
First published 2007
Greg Grandin examines how the United States developed its imperial methods not by copying British or Roman models, but through centuries of intervention in Latin America. He starts with Thomas Jefferson's dreams of an "empire of liberty" extending into Cuba and Spanish Florida, then moves through successive administrations that used the region as a laboratory for overseas strategies. Grandin demonstrates how Ronald Reagan's backing of harsh Central American dictatorships prefigured George W. Bush's foreign policy approach. The author reveals how Bush administration officials first learned to combine military force with free market promotion in Latin America, while recruiting evangelical groups to support their efforts. Grandin connects these historical patterns to contemporary Latin American resistance against U.S. influence. His central question challenges American imperial ambitions: if decades of intervention failed to create prosperity and democratic governance in America's own hemisphere, can similar tactics succeed globally?
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: Cuba, Latin America, Central America
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
320 pages · Paperback · Holt Paperbacks