Not only informative but beautifully written, too, with gorgeous sentences and lively spirit and tension and clear-eyed compassion and the slightest touch of sardonic humor. Impeccably researched and ingeniously organized. REALLY ingenious: Immerwahr repeatedly takes the reader on what seems like puzzling tangents, and each time ties those tangents into the main theme in alarming and sometimes disturbing ways. It's almost like a legal thriller.
I was born in a U.S. colony and spent almost my entire youth there. A close friend is a legal scholar with several publications on territorial law. I thought I was well informed on U.S. colonialism and empire... oh, I had no idea. I learned soooo much from this book, not just about colonialism but about technology, culture, standards, music, health. This is a masterpiece, I can't recommend it enough, and it breaks my heart that all my friends are going to see the title and think, eh, sounds dry.
Not only informative but beautifully written, too, with gorgeous sentences and lively spirit and tension and clear-eyed compassion and the slightest touch of sardonic humor. Impeccably researched and ingeniously organized. REALLY ingenious: Immerwahr repeatedly takes the reader on what seems like puzzling tangents, and each time ties those tangents into the main theme in alarming and sometimes disturbing ways. It's almost like a legal thriller.
I was born in a U.S. colony and spent almost my entire youth there. A close friend is a legal scholar with several publications on territorial law. I thought I was well informed on U.S. colonialism and empire... oh, I had no idea. I learned soooo much from this book, not just about colonialism but about technology, culture, standards, music, health. This is a masterpiece, I can't recommend it enough, and it breaks my heart that all my friends are going to see the title and think, eh, sounds dry.