Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños: Revolución y Terror en la Colonia Americana

by Nelson A. Denis

En 1950, después de cincuenta años de ocupación militar y gobierno colonial, el Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico montó una fallida revolución armada contra Estados Unidos. La violencia arraso con la isla: comandos nacionalistas fueron enviados a Washington a matar al presidente Harry Truman, se desataron tiroteos en ocho municipios, se incendiaron cuarteles policiacos y oficinas de correo. Para sofocar esta insurrección, el Ejército de Estados Unidos desplegó miles de tropas y ametralló dos pueblos desde el aire, marcando la primera vez en su historia que el gobierno estadounidense atacó de esta forma a sus propios ciudadanos.

Nelson A. Denis cuenta este impactante relato a través de la vida controversial de Pedro Albizu Campos, quien fuera el presidente del Partido Nacionalista. Abogado, ingeniero químico y el primer puertorriqueño en graduarse de la Escuela de Derecho de la Universidad de Harvard, Albizu Campos fue encarcelado por veinticinco años y murió bajo circunstancias misteriosas. Siguiendo su vida y su muerte, Denis nos muestra cómo la trayectoria de Pedo Albizu Campos es parte integral de la gran historia de Puerto Rico bajo el colonialismo norteamericano.

Por medio de narraciones orales, entrevistas personales, relatos de testigos oculares, testimonios del Congreso de Estados Unidos y archivos recientemente liberados al público por el FBI, Guerra Contra Todos los Puertorriqueños nos relata la historia de una revolución olvidada y su contexto en la historia grande de Puerto Rico, desde la invasión estadounidense de 1898 hasta la lucha actual por la plena autodeterminación de los puertorriqueños. Denis relata un episodio dramático y crudo, llena de balaceras, motines carcelarios, intrigas políticas, actividad encubierta del FBI y la CIA, y la histeria colectiva que acompañó este tumultuoso período de la historia de Puerto Rico.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Race, Audiobook, Historical

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, Puerto Ricans are Americans. I just want to establish that right away because I'm always surprised by the number of Americans that don't know that. Also, knowing that, it makes the US policy towards Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans even more depressing.

What Denis does here is present a compelling (if admittedly one-sided) history of the island and how that history manifested in an ultimately failed attempt at independence in the 1950's. Along the way he highlights many of the atrocities the people of Puerto Rico and their leaders have both suffered and made possible. Reading these kinds of histories can be frustrating. You want to find a silver lining, but it's tough to find one when you're reading about torture that sounds frighteningly similar to "enhanced interrogation." Again, I repeat, Puerto Ricans are Americans.

I picked up this book mainly because I'm interested in the financial catastrophe that's unfolding on the island today. Because of their unique colonial status they can neither file for bankruptcy nor go to international bodies like the IMF for cash. Granted, neither of these are good options, but they seem a lot rosier when you consider that the US Congress is on the verge of installing a financial oversight scheme that will further undercut Puerto Rican's limited autonomy. Denis' analysis, while not specifically about the debt crisis, helps to contextualize how we got to this point.

I recommend this book for anybody who is interested in American history, politics, or narratives that explore the ongoing ramifications of colonization, predatory capitalism, and straight-up racism. Really, the situation is deplorable.

If you liked this, make sure to follow me on Goodreads for more reviews!

[Marisol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! If you have any interest in the history of Puerto Rico and its relationship to the U.S., you must read this book. I was aware of many of the events that took place, however not much of the details. And let me tell you the devil is in the details! The author has meticulously researched his topic (going through FBI files and such). As a person of Puerto Rican heritage I was offended and as a U.S. citizen, I was embarrassed! The author's writing style is fantastic. I felt like I was reading a suspense thriller....someone needs to make a movie out of this book!

[Chris Blocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been trying to read more non-fiction in recent years, but I'm highly selective on what I pick up. War Against All Puerto Ricans is my most recent selection. Having married into a Puerto Rican family, I thought knowing a little more about Puerto Rican history could be beneficial (especially if that history is completely unknown and counter to my in-laws patriotic American fervor *wink, wink*). I learned quite a bit.

War Against All Puerto Ricans certainly gives us an image of America's territorial island that has largely been covered up. Some of us may know how Puerto Rico was a conquest of the Spanish-American War. Some may recall that the assassination attempt on President Harry Truman was made by Puerto Rican nationalists. Aside from these two details, few contemporaries likely know the ripples of discontent that have surrounded relations between Puerto Rico and its powerful overseer. Most do not know of the massacres that occurred on Puerto Rican streets, civilians mowed down for merely talking of independence. They do not remember when possessing a Puerto Rican flag would land you in jail for anywhere from two months to ten years. They are unaware of the sterilization programs that systematically reduced the numbers of “an inferior race” from an island the United States wished to possess largely for its military advantage and corporate possibilities. They do not know of the war that started and was quickly snuffed by the might of the United States, resulting in the first bombing of American civilians by the U.S. Military. And they've probably never heard of Pedro Albizu Campos, president of the Nationalist Party, and Puerto Rico's answer to Che Guevara, Simón Bolívar, et cetera. Nor of the years Campos spent in prison, subjected to experimentation, i.e. total body irradiation.

War Against All Puerto Ricans tells this story, albeit a bit jumbled and repetitive. Like many non-fiction works, War Against... doesn't have quite enough material to fill its length and could be condensed for the sake of a streamlined narrative. That aside, Nelson A. Denis' book provides a history that needs to be told and not forgotten. It is a fairly complete, justly one-sided narrative, that shows ample research and passion. A highly recommended read for Puerto Ricans wanting to know more about their history and history buffs with a strong interest in the abuse by colonial powers.

[Mariella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for all. However its incomplete. I learned so much about the other people involved in the revolution but I was surprised that it ended the story in 1965. The struggle continues, and I also would have liked more on the Spanish occupation history as well, who I really don't care that they were there for 400 years, they too invaded and occupied. But oh so necessary for everyone to finally get a picture of the colony's status today.
I didn't know that the only time that the US bombed its own citizens was in Puerto Rico. I didn't know the PR flag's possession was illegal on the island. The poems my mom can still recite I didn't know were part of a targeted effort by the US to force English on to future generations through the public school system. I didn't know Munoz Marin was a opium addict who had all the privileges in life but didn't use any of them.
I didn't know is my response so the book's aim has been accomplished.

[Macartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for any American. A thoroughly engaging, eminently readable, well-researched account of the life of Albizu Campos and the Puerto Rican Nationalist party he helped lead. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know most of the history presented here. The actions of the U.S. Government on the island of Puerto Rico on behalf of U.S capitalist interests were more than shameful—they were downright criminal. Besides being a necessary recounting of the island's story, this exceptional history is another marker of how the post-war, "anti-Communist" behavior of the U.S. Government destroyed not only a political ideology ("the left"), but also doomed American workers and the poor to a life of inequality, as they and the political system has been dominated by and under the control of the oligarchs and industry. Denis subtly hints at a way forward, for an island and people still besieged and under yoke. One great first step is for everyone to read this phenomenal book.

[Zach Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, you read U.S. history and think to yourself 'however much you think you hate the U.S., it's not enough.' Reading through the history of torture, fascism, colonialism, biological warfare, and imperialism in what's been referred to as 'our little region over there' is numbing. And what's more - the history of U.S. colonialism on the island is not Puerto Rico's complete history. The genocide following Columbus' arrival in 1493 decimated ~90% of the Taino population, and the United States' colonial predecessor from the Iberian peninsula was no more benevolent. Independence now!

[Xavier Patiño · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m Puerto Rican but was but born and raised in the United States. My parents and the generations before them were born and raised in Puerto Rico. My parents emigrated to New Jersey in the late 1970s. We would travel to the island often in my youth and I came to see it as my second home. I know her verdant mountains, her curvaceous roads, and the melodious song of the island’s indigenous tree frog, the coqui, conjures beautiful memories of humid, moonlit nights.

What I wasn’t aware of was her tempestuous history. On our drives to the beach, I would see graffiti excoriating the FBI and the government, but I didn’t understand why. What constitutes a Puerto Rican? I submitted my DNA to Ancestry and learned that I’m 32% indigenous (Taino), 24% Portuguese, and 19% Spanish (the rest is a mix of African and European ancestry). Upon learning this, my interest skyrocketed. I’ve never been to Spain or Portugal, and perhaps my ability to grow a great beard and develop a nice brown tan are gifts of my lineage! But I digress, enough genetics for today.

The book is fantastic, a treasure trove of information detailing the horrors of American colonialism. Once America wrestled control of the island from Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898, they immediately installed American-born governors who saw Puerto Rico as a dipping well and its inhabitants as lazy degenerates. Violence by police and the National Guard stifled any kind of rebellion (see The Ponce Massacre). FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered agents to swarm the island to gather intelligence on the Puerto Rican Nationalists, a group fighting for independency. Their leader, Pedro Albizu Campos became public enemy number one, and was repeatedly hassled until he was finally arrested on bogus charges and convicted by a sham trial (the jury was handpicked by US officials). He was sentenced to 10 years in a U.S. prison. His detention didn’t stop the crackdown of his followers, however.

Nationalists were simply gunned down or placed against a wall and executed. Two towns were bombed by US planes. Homes, schools, and businesses were frequently raided. Due to the Gag Law (PR Law 53) passed by Governor Luis Marin Munoz, it was illegal to possess and fly the Puerto Rican flag. Munoz, by the way, was an opium addict with a long FBI file, essentially converting him into a puppet of the U.S. government.

This was a somber read. There’s context now behind the words sprayed on street signs and walls around Puerto Rico that decry police abuse. I hope this history is being taught in schools. It needs to be. America should acknowledge its past and do something to repair the damage done. Today the island’s job prospects are low, and the crime rate is high. Can granting it statehood help? Can she stand on her own through independency? I’m not sure what the future holds, but I hope to see the “Pearl of the Antilles” prosper one day.

[Aventurera Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lifechanging. LIFECHANGING.

[Gladys Landing-Corretjer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boricua, despierta!

I loved the book! Denis showed careful detail, and researched the truth and exposed it. Bravo! I have learned so much by reading his book! This new learning, is helping me understand the current crisis.
This book is a MUST read for all Puerto Ricans!

[Roxanna López · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually more like 3.2 starts. Written with more passion than scholarship, this book is three books in one: an attempt at history, a biography of various characters, and an attempt at memoir, none of them completely successful. The writing style is good, even exciting at times, but it seems the author could not decide what kind of book he wanted to write and that diminished his overall effectiveness. I also found several factual errors that could have been easily corrected, misleading/confusing use of facts, and many, many, many misspelled words in Spanish. Overall, I did like this book somewhat but I am disappointed because with all the research the author did he doesn't seem to get the easy parts right. I'm also disappointed because this is history that has been ignored and needs to be told, and I feel the previously described failures of the book make it a missed opportunity.

[Bart Thanhauser · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There is a great deal at stake in determining whether the US government ‘irradiated’ Pedro Albizu Campos. If it did not, then one might conclude that he was insane, which would substantiate the logic of the US government: that no one in his or her right mind would wish for Puerto Rican independence. If, on the other hand, Albizu was irradiated, then the US government acted with scientific savagery, using physics and mathematics for the purpose of assassination, burning defenseless prisoners alive in their cells.” (239)

This quote sums up the book well. Denis tells an important history, a history he feels deeply, but one that would have benefited from a sharper historical research, more telling / less prosletyzing, more patience. The above quote is obviously false. Not because either scenario is false--if anything, the book's preceding two hundred plus pages show the depth of brutality of U.S. colonialism over Puerto Rico to the point that murdering Puerto Rico's leading independence leader through radiation poisoning seems possible, even likely--but because it's a false choice, a rhetorical gimmick more than an explanation. Well, that's lots of the book. Denis is not a historian. And he doesn't haven't have the patience to write like one. That will appeal to some. Instead, Denis writing is so visceral, written like it's told by an enraged seatmate in a coffee shop rather than a scholar that it's felt more than explained.

At times, this works. I did learn a lot (though was coming to the topic of Puerto Rican history from close to null). The Gag Law of 1948, which made the PR flag illegal. The fact that U.S. planes actually bombed Puerto Rican towns during the short-lived Nationalist uprising in 1950. Muñoz Marín's, first elected governor of Puerto Rico, who was essentially a beatnik in Washington Square Park before entering island politics and likely carried an opium addiction with him through his life. The savagery of Dr. Rhoads, J. Edgar Hoover, and on and on.

But more often than not, this feels like a book felt shallow. Chock full of anecdotes, gossipy horrors (the prisoner who was fed his murdered son by guards), fawning or hating rather than explaining. There's also a sort of structuralist argument--that war is fought purely for the benefit of corporations, WWI, WWII, you name it. At times, the argument is interesting, especially when describing the history of the sugar industry in Puerto Rico. But in Denis' telling it seems cartoonish and weakens the rest.

There's obviously more than two paths to history. Whether Campos was irradiated or not does not detract from the power and depth of his movement and his cause. Whether the U.S. government irradiated him or not does not detract from the cruelty and disrespect that we continue to show the island. Real passion is having the patience and thoughtfulness to acknowledge this, to write better and give your beliefs more power.

[Armando Negron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly has a lot of historical tales that are not mainstream in Puerto Rican education. Reading some of the accounts for the first time sent some chills down my spine. It kind of brings into perspective the roots of many of the social issues that afflict the island nowadays.

That being said, the narrative of the book is a little awkward. The structure that the author selected makes for repeated stories throughout its chapters.

[Sixto Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este definitivamente que es un libro un tanto perturbador de leer. Me enojaba y me irritaba, pero, quería seguir leyendo. Reconozco el esfuerzo de Nelson Denis de traer al "mainstream" de nuevo mucha de las cosas que algunos puertorriqueños ya sabíamos y que todos deberían saber. He visto que el libro es tanto controversial en la isla por su "poca objetividad" y por utilizar la historia oral o "el cuento de barrio" como total verdad. Quizá sea cierto que evidentemente Denis está contando un punto de vista desde la perspectiva nacionalista y su revolución en 1950 liderado por Albizu Campos, pero, en realidad toma eso como base para demostrarnos la gran movida y el verdadero atropello que enfrentaban los puertorriqueños desde el 1898 (con base y fundamento) e incluso hace comparaciones con la actualidad en el Epílogo del libro. Denis de igual manera nos prove un apéndice con más de 20 páginas con notas, fuentes, metodologías, etc. Y para ser sincero el libro contiene muchas cosas que ya yo sabía. Así no entiendo porque tanto la controversia, de que quizá Denis tira para un lado en específico, quizá sí. Pero, debemos quitarnos las gringolas partidistas y juzgar el libro como un trabajo periodístico serio que trae a colación diversos datos y hasta documentos sumamente interesantes que han sido desclasificados recientemente. (Uno de ellos sumamente controversial). La gente puede debatir ciertas cosas del libro, evidentemente para mí no es perfecto, pero, su objetivo para mí lo cumple y en realidad nos enseña desde un principio la verdadera guerra contra todos los puertorriqueños.

De igual manera, es menester mencionar que me sorprendió la manera en cómo está escrito, tiene un estilo narrativo casi de novela. La mayoría de las veces este estilo de narración funciona, a veces Denis se podía tornar un tanto repetitivo haciendo alusión a eventos sucedidos en capítulos anteriores, pero, eso nunca me molestó. Me gustó mucho esa idea y quizá puede motivar a más personas a leer el libro y aprender un poco más sobre nuestra lamentable pero importante historia.

[Tony Delgado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Denis has a compelling enough subject, and being a boricua myself, I was a very promising audience. However, Denis's material, although strongly researched, is rather thin. This causes him to repeat himself frequently, which makes the book seem a bit meandering.

Additionally, his analysis at times lacks nuance as I never get a sense of any of the historical figures as anything other than thinly portrayed martyred heroes or avaricious villains. I'd like a little more insight.

Lastly, Denis's style is rough. At it's best, it is plain newspaper prose. At it's worst, it is filled with corny or ham-handed rhetorical devices that are annoying.

It's really only for the truly interested.

[Hiram Crespo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I had been hesitant to read for months, but ultimately came around to reading and could not put it down.

Nelson Denis documents the early decades of the American occupation of Puerto Rico, and how the local population was tamed into submission by the military industrial complex, particularly under anti-Communist paranoia which was at its height just as nationalists were most indignant and most prepared for a revolution against the greatest empire on Earth.

The author is a brilliant and engaging narrator, and the book reads like a novel, although it’s entirely historical and contains nearly 100 pages of sources which took decades to compile. WAAPR contains colorful and funny characters, side stories and anecdotes that are either a pleasure to read, or deeply shocking.

Another benefit of the book is that it helps people who have not lived in a colony to begin to understand the profound psychological repercussions of colonialism. There are many intangible things about living in Puerto Rico that can only be understood by living there. How media persistently presents a Spanish-speaking people with English-speaking cultural and aesthetic ideals, and how this slowly and daily erases the legitimacy of oneself. How the currency is in English and Spanish-language currency looks like fake money. How one’s identity is unclear and people question even whether Puerto Rico is a country, and whether they are in fact Americans. All these things, day in and day out, hammer into the collective psyche of a people, and Puerto Ricans are only uncomfortably, marginally, and awkwardly half-ass embedded into America’s collective psyche as outsiders who are also insiders.

WAAPR is not for the faint of heart, and one must be careful to read dispassionately. There were times during the reading when I had to put the book down. Then there were the instances where I had to remind myself not to blindly idealize people merely for their pro-nationalist views. Few people discuss how Albizu Campos, the hero of the Puerto Rican nationalist movement, was a devoted Catholic who saw no distinction and no clear boundary between his patriotism and his faith: he probably would have instituted a loathsome theocratic-like regime on the island, if he had had his way. Yes, he was a great orator with unequaled passion, but so was Hitler: and for that same reason people need to stop themselves from following blindly after someone without digging deeper into the details of that person’s ideas.

Also, many people today are calling for the release of Oscar Lopez, who was a nationalist terrorist in the 70’s, and even have the audacity of comparing him to Mandela. Well, he’s no Mandela. The reason why dozens of other nationalists were set free and he wasn’t is because he has declared war on the US and refuses to give up violence as a tactic. He has basically sworn to continue engaging in the same acts that got him into jail. Do independentistas really want a terrorist who has vowed to kill innocent people again for the sake of his ideals to roam the streets, and become the image and the voice of their movement? That is the LAST thing Puerto Rico needs.

And so while I understand and share the anger and indignation that drove the author to write WAAPR, it’s important to evaluate the recklessness of some of these nationalists in honest light of the hard facts. And also, it’s important to remember that, in the end, their tactics DID NOT free Puerto Rico. The US is the most militarized empire in the history of humankind and the decolonization of the island, whether in favor of statehood or independence, must happen without the use of weapons.

The book painfully ends up with a reflection of America itself and at what cost she came to be “great”. It does not spare words of honesty in this regard. Maybe if enough people read this book, this false sense of exceptionalism, and the many sad dysfunctions that it masks, can be tackled honestly and overcome.

Read the full review here.

[zara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched, deeply engrossing, and wildly enraging. A must-read.

[nini · Rating 5 out of 5]

while it is not perfect and i openly took the criticisms it did urge me to research further and ask new questions to my grandparents (this is also still so recent to the point of remembrance of having family with carpetas, alliances, etc) + i have new places to uncover and visit on the island now which is beautiful to me ; i had so many raging moments because our history is truly tragic and cyclical but it needs to be told heard cared about to be changed — esta es nuestra isla hay que creerlo sentirlo y tener morales que reflejen eso 🌴💥

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject: Good
The book: Bad

A meandering treatise in need of better editing. The author has a tendency to repeat himself often, describing events in detail and then describing them again later on, as if the reader had completely forgotten entire chapters. The book seems to lack a central thesis other than "Puerto Rico got screwed" and instead flits around between multiple personages without weaving their stories together into a tight, singular narrative. This would make sense if the book was a collection of essays or articles that Denis had written previously for newspapers or his own website but it is not; it's original writing created for a single book.

The meandering nature is especially apparent in the book's copious usage of annotations, some of which span several pages. The annotations have the occasional interesting tidbit but rarely anything revelatory. They don't even save the main text from getting bogged down in detail; Denis often goes off on tangents or mentions things that have no relevance. I remember one particular instance where he mentions that so-and-so got out of jail, but I didn't recognize the name so I did a search on Kindle and found out it was the first mention of said person in the entire book.

I get that Denis did a lot of research, and it's incredibly admirable what he was able to dig up, including newspaper articles, radio recordings and government documents obtained through FOIA. The problem is, a good portion of the book is sourced from hearsay and it's given just as much weight as the historical documents. Hearsay doesn't fly in court, and should not fly in historical scholarship.

While I do believe most of the accounts given in the book, there are a few that really should have been given closer scrutiny, like the story of the man who was fed his own child. Maybe it did happen, but it also lacks any of the crucial details that would ground it in reality. It sounds like a story you tell around the campfire (or in a prison cell). Same goes with the assertion that Cornelius P. Rhoads gave his patients cancer: Yes, he wrote that nasty letter about killing Puerto Ricans, but injecting cancer into someone... isn't really a thing that works. And yet Denis recounts a story of one person who died of cancer after seeing Rhoads and makes that connection, brings up that letter without ever questioning if such a thing was possible or just an unfortunate coincidence.

There is no such thing as a truly objective piece of historical scholarship, but Denis clearly had an ax to grind, and things like his hatred of Luis Muñoz Marín really drags the book down as he stops to talk about how much the guy sucked, or about how awesome Pedro Albizu Campos was. As with the historic events, he gets bogged down in their biographies and repeats facts about these guys a lot. Also, while I totally believe the story about Campos being poisoned by radiation in prison, that entire subject could have been an entire book on its own: you don't just mention secret government experiments and then just... move on.

If you're interested in reading about the awful, contentious relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States I'd recommend How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States instead, which covers some of the same ground but with a clearer thesis. It's not as detailed as Denis' book, but it also places Puerto Rico into a better historical context by talking about the United States' other territories (which Denis seems to have conveniently forgotten about, calling PR America's "only" colony), why the US felt the need to have overseas possessions at all, and why Alaska and Hawaii were made states while places like PR remain in limbo.

(Spoiler: It's racism. It's always racism.)

[Mark Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking. Terrifying. A red stain on all of us.

Denis is writing as a socialist and backing the Puerto Rican nationalist independence. He and I represent complete opposite wings of the political spectrum. I'm an ardent capitalist and globalist. I'm quite certain there are few things we would agree on politically. That's ok. We can all disagree on our politics and yet agree racism, torture, mass arrests without cause, mass murder, bombing our own cities are all bad.

I've long known Puerto Rico (along with other territories and what could have been other states) was never made a state out of nothing but racism. It is larger than several of our smaller states combined. BUT...it is largely made of Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans weren't as white as many would have liked when it was decided they'd never be a state. If it had just been made a state much of this needless violence could have been avoided.

Quite frankly I ended this book, as usual, frustrated with myself for knowing so little about my own country. Not just about the little things. This story is a big one.

[Dr Zorlak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond its more obvious editorial deficiencies, this is an important, relevant, necessary book. An inspiring book. A book for your edification. About Puerto Rico and its unwholesome relationship to the United States there are so very few books: I'm thankful that this one exists.

It has been a controversial book among the Puerto Rican intelligentsia, both in and out of the island... Good. It means it touched a nerve. Let's keep it going.

Reading some of the comments in this wall, I confirm what I've always observed: educating the people of the United States about how their government deals with the "rest of us" is an uphill battle and a thankless job. I am glad Nelson A. Denis has taken it upon himself to do it with such brio, passion, and verve.

[poetic interludes · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect intro book to learn more about puerto rican history: from its colonization, subsequent struggles/revolts for independence, and american tactics used to oppress its people. ashamed to admit how little i knew about puerto rico going into this book, but it has opened my eyes to a chapter of history that is still being written. puerto rico still currently struggles with economic, political, and social issues: direct consequences of being an american colony.

def recommend this book to anyone who doesn't really know too much about puerto rico, as this is a great primer. the authors writing style is very effective, and his words carry the anger and frustration associated with the puerto rican struggle.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial thought concerning this book was that it was probably biased against the United States. Aware of this limitation in myself I tried to read it with an open mind. I think the author impressed me. His research was very thorough, as detailed in his methodology, so the book felt more factual than opinionated. As a result, I felt sympathy for the Nationalists' struggle for independence and wondered what a better situation for Puerto Rico (with or without the US) could realistically look like today.

[Tamar Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upsetting and informative history of US atrocities in PR and the lengths the US federal government went to coming after Puerto Rican Nationalists. The organization of the book was a little funky with jumping back and forth in time to follow different stories, but overall a great read. Super problematic history that I'm glad I learned more about before coming.

[Rafael Malaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible read and left me utterly depressed.

Increíble lectura y me dejó absolutamente deprimido

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put Nelson A. Denis's War Against All Puerto Ricans in the mind-blowing category: as an Anglo-American, Puerto Rico's history is a huge blank spot in my historical knowledge. Denis's book offers an angry, passionate examination of America's abuse of its Caribbean quasi-colony from the Spanish-American War to the early 1950s. Far from a benign governorship, as we usually assume, Puerto Rico's exposed as a fiefdom for American capitalists, abusive police and racist governors who seem to relish stomping on any signs of Puerto Rican nationalism. This occurs in ways both obvious (the Ponce Massacre of 1937, something I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't heard of prior to reading this) and more subtle (forcing generations of Puerto Rican students to learn English, the FBI blackmailing a nationalist leader into becoming an American puppet), in a desperate attempt to force conformity. The balance of the book focuses on the brief but violent rising of the early '50s, remembered on the Mainland for the failed assassination attempt on Harry Truman and not the street fighting, aerial bombings and all-out warfare on Puerto Rico itself. At worst, Denis's book is rambling, discursive (there's a long chapter on cinema in Puerto Rico which is interesting but not strictly necessary) and has a loosey-goosey structure that causes him to retread events at several points. Still, for the sheer amount of revelatory information contained, these are minor reservations. If ever you wondered why Americans could let an entire island of its citizens suffer after a hurricane without batting an eye (or, in the case of certain orange Muppets, gloat over their misfortune), this book offers a disquieting explanation.

[Pablo Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book frustrating because it has a lot of important information that Americans should know about but it's presented in a disorganized and repetitive manner. A book like this should have a "narrative through line," a central thesis that is clear and cohesive. Instead a lot of time is spent on anecdotes that, while perhaps being historically accurate, do not really contribute to this central thesis. Do we really care about the intricate details of Luis Muñoz Marin's new york city "tour" scheme? Additionally, a good chunk of the events recounted read like the author would have liked to write historical fiction. "Everyone in the bar cheered." Really? Everybody? These issues and more make it hard for me to recommend this book and easy for people who want to suppress the information in this book to dismiss it, and that's my real problem. These events are a vital part of American and Puerto Rican history, Americans need to know how their country has suppressed democracy in Puerto Rico, but when the books that tell that story are not organized and presented well, Americans can live in ignorance another day.

[Rodolfo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite this being a historical book, it is a thrilling page-turner. The story of all US abuses in Puerto Rico which lead up to the 1950 Puerto Rican uprising is beautifully told both from a narrative perspective, aswell as a historical one: everything is well-sourced (including a third of the book which are historial notes). This is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Puerto Rico, and how it was brought back into line despite its attempts of the state/colony/country to rebel against US rule.

[joepr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho; algo repetitivo pero es una lectura fácil. Los capítulos que me encantaron son las que presentan al barbero, Vidal Santiago. Que se merece su propio libro dedicado exclusivamente a él. Si algo no me gustó del libro es que muchas veces sentí que no había objetividad y todo era "Luis Muñoz Marín es un drogo mal esposo padre patriota de lo peor y Albizu es tan bueno y nunca hizo nada mal probablemente nació de una virgen ". Aparte de eso es una buena lectura. Si quieren saber más sobre estas historias pueden visitar la página "La voz del centro ".

[Ivan Kapersky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lots of missing or inaccurate facts. I discuss the book with my uncle which is known archaeologist in Puerto Rico and says that the author misses lots of important events and details. The narrative of the book, you get an impression that is written by an amateur on Puertorrican history. The author goes back and forward trying to capture the missing details of important events that happened in the island.

[Janine Colon-Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review may be biased since I am Puerto Rican but I stand by the fact that every American (which includes Puerto Ricans) should read this book. We need to learn from this and grow and evolve. Help our people.