Customer Reviews

History of Puerto Rico: A Panorama Of Its People

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Essentially, this is an updated and expanded version of the second edition of the brilliant work published in Spanish in 1986. As with his other publications, Pico demonstrates why he ranks among the most magisterial historians of Puerto Rico. The 16 chapters are arrestingly readable and cover the complex history of Puerto Rico with commendable verbal economy. Pico impressively contextualizes the story by consistently placing Puerto Rico in the wider Caribbean, Atlantic, and Hispanic worlds, and does an excellent job with the main outlines of the local history. The book starts with the geological formation of the island; continues chronologically with a description of the first settlers, their conquest and virtual annihilation; and details the Spanish society and economy constructed after 1493. Like all excellent histories of the Caribbean, this one is inordinately rich on the social aspects of community formation and the inevitable cross-imperial relations that invariably frustrated local administrators.

Having read a lot of general history from Europe to South America to the Middle East, you come to really appreciate someone who can write like a person. Professor Pico, without taking anything from the historical record, manages to write from a perspective of "our" history, and frequently uses that possessive along with the word "we", giving a very involved and intimate feel to the chronology.

Writign history is by nature to at teimes write about some of the dullest, but necessary data in the world. Only a seasoned and talented writer like Professor Pico can actually make the transition from one main crop to another interesting. Never before have I encountered a historian so talented as a writer that he can actually use imagery like a farmer lying in his hammock smoking part of his new crop of tobacco.

Some of the best written parts of this book are; the attempted English invasions, described in crisp detail; the radical movements of the 1960s (although he somehow never mentions the FALN by name);, and the reforms of the semi-enlightened Spanish despot, Pezuela.

I do wish there had been more maps in the book, but this is the only downfall. It can be frustrating to read about places and not be able to know where they are.

I had read Fernando Pico's "Puerto Rico, Inside and Out" and so thoroughly enjoyed his unique(although he could easily be compared to Garcia Marques)style of capturing the humanity of his many characters that I looked forward to reading his take on Puerto Rican history, and I was not disappointed. He touches on all the key points of Puerto Rican trials - and tribulations - since the Spanish incursion in 1493 to the American invasion in 1898 and subsequent involvement, and does it in a remarkably rational and most readable way, and the reader comes away better informed and amazingly entertained by the humorous and human manner of his discourse. This is a wonderful read.

This textbook is easy to read. It is not like regular boring history books that put you to sleep. I enjoy reading about Puerto Rico's culture and the history behind it's people. The only thing that troubled me was that it didn't explicitly say if the book was in english or spanish. Luckily the book was in english and i wasn't forced to turn it.