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The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898

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This an epic and thorough book on the Spanish-American War of 1898, one of the lesser known wars in American and world history, but nonetheless very important. O'Toole does a very credible and noteworthy job discussing all aspects of the war, detailing not only the land and naval operations during the war, but the diplomatic events preceding the crisis and during it, and actions on the American political scene in Congress, the White House, and the press leading up to and during the conflict. O'Toole discusses as well previous events in relations between the United States, Cuba, and Spain, and how the US had a long involvement in Cuba long before 1898 running guns, smuggling, and otherwise aiding Cuban insurgents and rebels against Spanish authorities. The author shows that the Spanish-American War was practically inevitable given the past history of American involvement and views on the region, and was not out of the realm of possibility that war might have occured much earlier.

The Spanish-American War was in many ways a war between a declining Spain, increasingly weak in Europe, overextended, fighting a war it did not want over a possession that was increasingly more trouble than it was worth, and a rising United States, eager to flex its muscles after the long recovery from the Civil War, increasingly concerned with events outside it borders (the interest in part fueled by a very activist press), and an eager and enthusiastic Theodore Roosevelt building and running an increasingly world class navy. The Spanish-American War pretty much marks the debut of the US as a world power as it closed the war having defeated a major European power and with possessions far outside of traditional home waters.

O'Toole shows in detail the conflicts on land and in the sea, and how truly different they were. The naval conflicts went exceedingly well for the United States thanks to excellent tactics and ships, and casualties were extremely light. O'Toole vividly shows how the Battle of Manila Bay and events in the Phillipines made Admiral Dewey a hero, as well as how Oregon's dash around the Horn made it a legend. The land battles stand in stark contrast, as they were beset by confused leadership at times, ill-preparation, difficult terrain, disease, and a desperate Spanish defense force. Casualties were much higher on land, and O'Toole shows how the fighting in the jungles and mountains of Cuba was far from "splendid."

O'Toole closes the book with a look at the war in the Phillipines, which soon developed into the Phillipine Insurrection. Though he does not spend a great deal of time on this aspect of the war, he does draw some startlingly parallels between this theater of operations and the much later Vietnam War; a war fought in the jungle, where the enemy and the friend were difficult to tell apart, fought by often demoralized troops with hazy objectives, a conflict in which cruel tactics were employed by both sides, far more brutal than was seen in Cuba.

A great read, a must for military historians, students of Latin America, and of American history, as well as anyone wanting to know more about the "splendid little war."

John Hay called it a "splendid little war". One would be hard pressed to find very many average Americans who could recall even the most basic facts of that war, much less any of the major events or issues. G. J. A. O'Toole, in his book The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898 brings the war, at least from the American point of view, to life in vivid detail.

In his acknowledgements O'Toole states that for decades the war was "no more than a colorful episode of the Ragtime Era" and a "matter of little historical consequence". He then declares that the intention of his work is to correct this notion. With The Spanish War, O'Toole clearly achieves his objective. For O'Toole the war was much more than John Hay's "splendid little war", it was a "national rite of passage, transforming a former colony into a world power". Drawing from a rich foundation of documents, letters, memoirs and other works, including primary sources from most of the major participants O'Toole provides a detailed and very readable narrative that succeeds in raising the reader's level of understanding of this truly momentous event.

A recent television mini-series on Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders prompted me to read a book about the Spanish-American War in order to get "the rest of the story" as well as "the real story"; G. J. A. O'Toole's book was an excellent choice. "The Spanish War" objectively recounts all the circumstances surrounding the outbreak, conduct, and resolution of the conflict. While the Spanish-American War was short in duration and decisive in its outcome, Mr. O'Toole points out the difficult realities both sides had to face in terms of logistics, military strategy and command, internal politics, and foreign policy. Supplemented by photographs and contemporary accounts of the time, the author describes in graphic detail the naval and land engagements of the war; his narrative on the explosion of the battleship "Maine" and its deadly aftermath is especially grim. The reader is provided thorough information on the 1898 and 1970s Navy investigations of the cause of the explosion, both of whom contradicted each other. The book is appropriately subtitled "An American Epic", since the war did bring about the overseas expansion of the United States and its subsequent emergence as a world power. However, it is clear from the narrative that not everything on the American side was heroic, and neither was everything on the Spanish side villainous. "The Spanish War" is great reading; in my case, it also reinforced the axiom that you cannot believe everything you see on television

A pretty good book on a "Splendid Little War."
* Events leading up to the war are explained clearly and thoroughly.
* A varied cast of characters are described with enough detail to make them interesting - without being overly indulgent.
* The different perspectives of these characters are represented in a clear manner.
* The different theaters of the war are clearly explained, but still tied to the big picture.
* Implications for the future are made clear during the reading of this book.
* Maps of the fighting in Cuba would have made things a bit more understandable and the book more readable.
* Teddy Roosevelt is neither lionized nor bedeviled, which is a difficult balancing act given his role in the war.

A good book with no major flaws.

I found this to be a well-written and very readable history of what was called at the time "a splendid little war". For Americans, the Spanish-American war of 1898 was both `splendid' in that it ended in an easy American victory and `little' because it lasted less than 4 months. In 400 pages, the author describes the events leading up to the war, the war itself, and some of its consequences. Much of this description is done with the use of anecdotes that provide insight into the personalities of the people involved and a sense of the atmosphere of the times. For me, this made the story interesting and put a human face on history.
Although I am not an expert on this period in history, it seems to me that the author has done his research very well. He covers the military and political aspects of the war from the perspectives of the American, Spanish, Cuban and other nations. He presents the human side by describing the feelings of ordinary people involved in the war. He also recounts the important role that the press played in these events. And he does all this in an even-handed manner.
This is not a dry, scholarly work of history. The author does a good job of conveying the mood of the times and making the story relevant to the average person. For those who are very knowledgeable about the Spanish-American war, it may not be comprehensive enough. But for those, like me, who are unfamiliar with this episode in American history, this book provides an excellent and unbiased overview of the events and I would highly recommend it.

Mr. O'Toole goes into almost excruciating detail about the events leading up to the war--but he retains overall a readable epic that one, chronicles the Spanish War--a splendid little war by some accounts--and two, shows how history is most often a mix of good and bad intentions, well laid plans and chance, dunderheads and geniuses. Highly recommended to somone beginning to study American history who wants to be engaged in a book that gives its reader more than one calorie, and no caffine.

I was impressed with this book as it did a good job of giving enough interesting detail to the political, military and naval aspects of the War, while still accomplishing the task of being an overview book for a general audience. The author manages to deliver an ironic message at the end of the book when comparing how Spain dealt with rebels in Cuba and how the Americans dealt with them in the Philippines. The taste of the Philippines War at the end of the book had me wanting to learn more about both conflicts.

If you want to understand what led the US into Cuba in 1898 then this is the book for you! Mr O'Toole is an excellent writer who really does a superb job. The research into troop movements and communications I thought were impressive. The story of one determined man with an observation balloon is an amusing side note in the conflict and I really enjoy how Mr O'Toole allows the players' characters to develop and unfold on the scene.
Manila is here too but I wish there was a bit more on the Philippines.
Great book!
I also recommend "A Ship to Remember The Maine and the Spanish-American War" by Michael Blow which also explains the Spanish War.

This was a very enjoyable read. Some of the ealry chapters were a little slow but they gave me an appropriate amount of backgorund on the war for a better understanding of how it came about. It provided coverage of both the navl war, which significantly affected the resutls, and the army side. However it did provide only brief coverage of the war in the Phillippines. Overall a very pleasant read.

The Spanish American War would be all but forgotten if President Roosevelt and the Rough Riders were not made famous by this nice little war. I found the book very easy to read with all the important facts, characters, and action laid out in such a way that you could grasp the big picture of what lead to the war and its effects on the present day. I would recommend this book to any American History buff like myself.