How to Hide an 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.
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What Hacker News says
- The borders were continuously shifting, but they did stay somewhat near a focal point for centuries.
The US meanwhile has an overseas empire for honestly no good reason.
Highly recommend the book “How to hide an empire” which talks about the American version of colonialism.
- > as long as the money can keep flowing
I think you answered your own question there. But then, this was true before history ended too. I strongly recommend "How to Hide an Empire" by Daniel Immerwahr - it's an easy and fascinating read.
- “The Nature & Art of Workmanship” by David Pye.
I picked it up related to my woodworking hobby, but also thought it was an interesting way to think about Risk in a tech company, and how (for example) more and more structure is built around releasing software to minimize risk and increase certainty of success.
I also really enjoyed:
“Joinery, Joists and Gender: A History of Woodworking for the 21st Century” by Deirdre Visser
“Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back” by Cory Doctorow, Rebecca Giblin
“Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World” by David Epstein
“How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States” by Daniel Immerwahr (this one prompted by honeymooning in Panama and learning the US used to control the canal)
- For anyone interested: the article mentions “How to Hide an Empire” by Daniel Immerwahr. It's a very well-written and well-researched book -- Immerwahr does a great job creating a narrative from all the historical events in the book. The reason I mention it here is because it goes into detail about Americans' reluctance to grant full citizenship to residents of its overseas territories.
- Many of these are addressed in the book 'Understanding Power' by Noam Chomsky. It's very readable. It's got hefty footnotes that are available as pdf [1].
Another book is 'How to Hide an Empire' by Daniel Immerwahr.
- It is indeed an empire. Two good books:
[1] How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr https://www.amazon.com/How-Hide-Empire-History-Greater/dp/03...
[2] Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Power-Indispensible-Cho...
