8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brave & Original, Sep 4 2009
By William Doonan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Race Over Empire: Racism and U.S. Imperialism, 1865-1900 (Paperback)
I first read a review of this book in the Journal of Southern History, which reported that Race Over Empire is "that rare book that will fundamentally change how U.S. historians approach an important topic - in this case, American imperialism in the late 19th century." I couldn't agree more. This book doesn't take the easy way out - suggesting that racism facilitated U.S. imperialism. Instead, it takes a brave and original approach, discussing racist patterns and institutions within the United States, and how they acted as OBSTACLES to imperial expansion. This is something new and important. After this, no writer can credibly follow that old interpretation - that racism facilitated empire. A must read for any serious scholar of history.