The War with Spain in 1898 (Paperback)

by David F. Trask (Author) "On February 25, 1895, a group of dissidents in eastern Cuba uttered the grito de Baíre ("cry of Baíre") to signal the start of an..." (more)
Key Phrases: Cristóbal Colón, mored ships, autonomic government, Santiago de Cuba, United States, Puerto Rico (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Spanish American War is remembered more for its enormous political ramifications than for the actual fighting. It marked the end of the Spanish empire in the New World; secured Cuban independence (under U.S. oversight); transferred ownership of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States; propelled war hero Theodore Roosevelt to the vice presidency and soon the White House itself; and, most important, signaled the rise of the United States as a global superpower. The War with Spain in 1898, David F. Trask's definitive account, balances the political and military aspects of the conflict. Highlights include the sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in the Havana harbor and Roosevelt leading his Rough Riders in a brave charge up San Juan Hill. A Mort Kunstler painting of Admiral George Dewey attacking the Spanish fleet at Manila (where he won a spectacular victory) graces the cover.

Review
"The book's virtues are many: the author's often persuasive judgments, the scrupulous care with which he treats sources, the illuminating integration of American, Spanish, Cuban, and Filipino perspectives... This is, in sum, a work that will long remain the major reference volume on the war of 1898." American Historical Review. "[Trask] examines many of the political and geographical ramifications so often overlooked in popular histories. This is all deftly presented and the battle scenes are exciting." Library Journal.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 654 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (August 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803294298
• ISBN-13: 978-0803294295
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #272,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best single volume history of the war, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

A reader seeking to understand the causes and consequences of the War of 1898 would do well to begin with Trask's analysis. The volume is a broad overview of a pivotal moment in the development of U.S. foreign policy, but it manages to preserve clarity and insight despite its scope. It sharply undermines the standard revisionist interpretation of American behavior, forwarded for example by Perez and Foner, which holds that the United States engaged Spain in a war over Cuba in order to keep the island for itself. It does so by convincingly demonstrating that domestic politics in the United States and Spain set the two nations on a collision course with each other (but see Offner for the best presentation of these politics), although it does not say enough about how racism allowed the United States to ignore the legitimacy of Cuba's claims to independence. It mostly succeeds by showing how simple accidents of history, such as the de Lome letter, the mysterious explosion of the Maine, and the conquest of the Philippines by the United States (which was undertaken for reasons related to basic military strategy, not sinister imperial ambitions) prodded events along and restricted the legitimate options available to policymakers. In retrospect, a war entered into for ostensibly humanitarian reasons but resulting in a global empire for America seems obviously to have been the product of selfish, two-faced conspirators. As Trask's thoroughly documented and ably argued narrative reveals, however, sometimes intellectually coherent interpretations say more about the interpreter than the events themselves. A loaded moment in the history of the United States, Spain, Cuba, and the Philippines, the War of 1898 has generated almost as many interpretations as authors. For the best and least biased account of this episode, consult Trask.