Gunboat Democracy offers a much-needed corrective to the dominant view that U.S. foreign policy toward the Caribbean and Central America has been driven by nefarious motives, that U.S. imperialism has changed little since the 19th century, and that U.S. interventions have left these countries worse off. Russell Crandall demonstrates with these three cases that U.S. foreign policy has been largely based on security concerns, that it has evolved during the last century, and that its interventions have probably helped to promote democracy and stability. Provocative and insightful, the book's cases are first rate.

Robert S. Snyder, Southwestern University

In this important and well-reasoned study, a former Bush administration official audaciously takes on the academic orthodoxy to defend three U.S. military interventions in the Caribbean basin. . . . Gunboat Democracy is a significant contribution and a compelling revisionist counterweight to the prevailing literature.

Richard E. Feinberg, University of California, San Diego, Foreign Affairs

Russell Crandall has produced a well-written and provocative book that contributes to a critical topic: why U.S. presidents choose to invade. In an era of pre-emptive warfare, it is particularly timely.

Gregory B. Weeks, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, author of The Military and Politics in Postauthoritarian Chile