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kecresser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.75
yikesbmg's review
5.0
This book is really damning, and imperialism is truly wild. I’d recommend to anyone who is curious about Puerto Rico, U.S. imperialism, medical torture, and state violence.
The book is really easy to read — the author is a good writer. Sometimes it felt more like a novel then a history book, which was fine except I couldn’t be sure how much detail the author *actually* gather from sources. It touches on a lot: American corruption and white supremacy, agriculture and labor, state violence and people’s revolution, oppression in schools, hospitals, and and jails.
There’s so much about state-authorized police and military violence against *literal American citizens* — it reminded me a lot of the Erik Loomis book on American labor history I read earlier this year. The US bombed its own citizens in Utuado, PR. The police literally massacres unarmed, civilian Puerto Ricans in a peaceful Palm Sunday march in Ponce, and then staged photos to try to change the narrative. This book is really damning. There’s also a ton of examples of how *absolutely corrupt* the governors the American government imposed on the island were. This book really nailed the coffin shut on a few lessons for me: (1) we are long overdue for PR self determination, (2) the carceral system is inhumane, (3) Imperialism and it’s inherent corruption are so intrinsically tied to capitalism.
However, it glosses over how Puerto Rican women experienced imperialism and does not dig into their role in the independence movement. There are only 3-5 pages or so that women are mentioned in a non-romantic context and they’re all towards the end of the book. In general, the book could have paid less attention to individual leaders and more to organized peoples and the movement. It definitely could have replaced all that information about Muñoz Marin’s childhood with more information on boricua women. I want to learn a lot more about how imperialism shaped and decimated PR agriculture, and how that ties into the climate catastrophe the island continues to endure.
The book is really easy to read — the author is a good writer. Sometimes it felt more like a novel then a history book, which was fine except I couldn’t be sure how much detail the author *actually* gather from sources. It touches on a lot: American corruption and white supremacy, agriculture and labor, state violence and people’s revolution, oppression in schools, hospitals, and and jails.
There’s so much about state-authorized police and military violence against *literal American citizens* — it reminded me a lot of the Erik Loomis book on American labor history I read earlier this year. The US bombed its own citizens in Utuado, PR. The police literally massacres unarmed, civilian Puerto Ricans in a peaceful Palm Sunday march in Ponce, and then staged photos to try to change the narrative. This book is really damning. There’s also a ton of examples of how *absolutely corrupt* the governors the American government imposed on the island were. This book really nailed the coffin shut on a few lessons for me: (1) we are long overdue for PR self determination, (2) the carceral system is inhumane, (3) Imperialism and it’s inherent corruption are so intrinsically tied to capitalism.
However, it glosses over how Puerto Rican women experienced imperialism and does not dig into their role in the independence movement. There are only 3-5 pages or so that women are mentioned in a non-romantic context and they’re all towards the end of the book. In general, the book could have paid less attention to individual leaders and more to organized peoples and the movement. It definitely could have replaced all that information about Muñoz Marin’s childhood with more information on boricua women. I want to learn a lot more about how imperialism shaped and decimated PR agriculture, and how that ties into the climate catastrophe the island continues to endure.
yasidiaz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
As a Puerto Rican, born and raised on the island, this was a difficult but necessary read. Oftentimes, I found myself indignant, enraged, and heartbroken. As an independentista (independist) myself, reading about the rise and fall of the Nationalists tore me to pieces, but as Angela Davis reminds me Freedom is a constant struggle. Just like el Maestro, Pedro Albizu Campos, I will never stop dreaming about a Puerto Rico Libre.
The book read like a novel, the way it narrated different key moments of the nationalist movement. The way it described the abuses imposed by the US government on my homeland... I had to stop at times. It is a hard read, but if you want to read more about US Imperialism, this is a very needed read. The Nationalist Party might have died with Albizu Campus, but the need for free Puerto Rico hasn't, the abuses of the empire might not be the same, but are still here.
And lastly,
Puerto Rico y Palestina libres serán.
The book read like a novel, the way it narrated different key moments of the nationalist movement. The way it described the abuses imposed by the US government on my homeland... I had to stop at times. It is a hard read, but if you want to read more about US Imperialism, this is a very needed read. The Nationalist Party might have died with Albizu Campus, but the need for free Puerto Rico hasn't, the abuses of the empire might not be the same, but are still here.
And lastly,
Puerto Rico y Palestina libres serán.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Colonisation, Police brutality, and Gun violence
aaronnovik's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
5.0
This would a great book for people who think non fiction is boring. This book pulls you in so you feel you are in the story. A Compelling scathing critique of American colonialism.
ezreaadingo's review
5.0
I really loved this book, although, as a 3rd generation Puerto Rican in the US...it did enraged me. It clearly laid out the case that, regardless of its status, has been controlled as a colony since 1898. The people on the island have never been treated with dignity or respect by the US or anyone in power on the island (all of which have been corruptly placed in power by the US). However, it does tell the story of the resistance of every day Puerto Ricans, fighting for dignity, respect, and freedom for the people between 1898-1950, culminating with armed revolt. This is a fantastic book that lays bare the brutal/corrupt/insidious control and violence of the US, the military and the FBI on the people of the island. This is a must-read for all those who are a part of the diaspora. Know your history!
mattleesharp's review
4.0
This is the story of the sustained campaign or torture, murder, and plunder of the island of Puerto Rico. America has near infinite blood on her hands that will never dry. I feel like I can just kind of say that stuff pretty emotionlessly. The bloody history of America's oppression is so large that it just becomes this abstract thing in my head.
And that's why I keep reading books like this. That shit gets thrown into sharp relief here. I wanted to vomit or cry at least half a dozen times reading this.
That's kinda why I knocked a star off too though. It's all accurate, but it veers into dramatic storytelling as it wraps up. The author's passion shines, but the epilogue features this rhetorical device where he imagines one particular prisoners last thoughts between the 1-2-3-4-5 steps in his cell. It's a little too stylized and speculative for a book that had done a really great job up to that point of relying only on the facts available. It's a harder history book to recommend because of it, but seeing what's happening in Puerto Rico in the wake of Maria, I feel like this is still required reading.
And that's why I keep reading books like this. That shit gets thrown into sharp relief here. I wanted to vomit or cry at least half a dozen times reading this.
That's kinda why I knocked a star off too though. It's all accurate, but it veers into dramatic storytelling as it wraps up. The author's passion shines, but the epilogue features this rhetorical device where he imagines one particular prisoners last thoughts between the 1-2-3-4-5 steps in his cell. It's a little too stylized and speculative for a book that had done a really great job up to that point of relying only on the facts available. It's a harder history book to recommend because of it, but seeing what's happening in Puerto Rico in the wake of Maria, I feel like this is still required reading.
suebug's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
hushed's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.75
“In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience.”