Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898 [Hardcover]

Cesar J. Ayala (Author), Rafael Bernabe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807831131 | ISBN-13: 978-0807831137 | Publication Date: July 11, 2007 | Edition: 1St Edition

Offering a comprehensive overview of Puerto Rico's history and evolution since the installation of U.S. rule, Ayala and Bernabe connect the island's economic, political, cultural, and social past of residents of the island as well as the many Puerto Ricans in the diaspora. The authors discuss a wide range of topics, including literary and cultural debates and social and labor struggles that previous histories have neglected. Ayala and Bernabe argue that the inability of Puerto Rico to shake its colonial legacy reveals the limits of free-market capitalism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An admirable history of Puerto Rico. . . . This book is the standard against which any other about twentieth-century Puerto Rico will be judged."
-New West Indian Guide

"This book goes far to provide the information and analysis necessary to resolve the short shrift that Puerto Rico and its people have received in histories of Latin America and of the United States."
-- The Americas

"A comprehensive overview of Puerto Rico's history and its evolution since the installation of U.S. rule."
-- RepeatingIslands.com

"Not only an excellent introduction to the island for the nonexpert but it is also of value to scholars who are searching for new topics to research on Puerto Rican history and the Puerto Rican diaspora. . . . An excellent contribution to the general history of Puerto Rico during the twentieth century."
-- Hispanic American Historical Review

"Indispensible."
-- Edgardo Rodriguez Julia, Primera Revista Latinoamerican de Libros

"Politics, economics and culture are in constant dialogue within the narrative . . . providing a complex and at many points refreshing perspective of Puerto Rican history."
-- Against the Current

"An exciting . . . volume that stimulates as well as informs; students and scholars on all levels will find much to discuss. . . . Highly recommended."
-- CHOICE

This will be the most important historical study of the island for years to come.
--Arlene Davila, New York University

This book is, simply put, the best one-volume contemporary history of the Puerto Rican people in any language.
--Francisco Scarano, author of Puerto Rico: cinco siglos de historia

About the Author

Cesar J. Ayala is associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of American Sugar Kingdom: The Plantation Economy of the Spanish Caribbean, 1898-1934.

Rafael Bernabe is professor and director of the Federico de On's Hispanic Studies Center at the University of Puerto Rico at R'o Piedras. He has published three books in Puerto Rico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; 1St Edition edition (July 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807831131
• ISBN-13: 978-0807831137
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good synthesis of Puerto Rican history, May 14, 2009

By 

Hugo Johnson (Longmont, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898 (Paperback)

Ayala and Bernabe have written a top-notch synthesis of Puerto Rican history. They combine political history with social and economic developments, always with an eye to the unusual relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. There is a lot of cultural history in here as well. They are fair to all of the players in the "status question" that has so dominated Puerto Rican politics and history.

The book is definitely written by intellectuals for university use, but it would be a good start for anyone interested in Puerto Rican history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weaving Together The Dispersed Fragments of History, January 4, 2009

By 

Pachin Marin "Reader" (Vieques) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898 (Hardcover)

To a certain extent, Ayala and Bernabé have achieved something seemingly impossible: connecting the varied historical strands of the carpet of the Puerto Rican social formation by providing a theoretical frame of reference that helps give sense to the discrete parts. If the tendency in the last years among Puerto Rican intellectuals has been a fragmented vision, pessimistic and iconoclastic of our historical, cultural economic and political life, Ayala and Bernabé provide a peak into another way of imagining ourselves.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, a bit dry, November 30, 2008

By 

CJ (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History since 1898 (Hardcover)

Covers all the bases wonderfully, covers various social/artistic/cultural/economic factors that made Puerto Rico what it is today. I got a bit sleepy in parts, in its completeness the authors lack some flair. Worth reading before going to PR.