The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Pan

Musicant has worked together a series of small histories of Western Hemisphere campaigns by America during the last 100 years; his is a wonderfully researched and well-told history. He takes us through the various Cuban and Haitian dramas; wars in Nicaragua and Panama, plus the the Dominican Republic emergency and, finally, the Grenada invasion. In every case there is an intiial effort to explain the politics, followed by an accessible description of the campaign. I fine work that enables people to understand both the politics of Western Hemisphere intervention, plus the military realities. I found the Grenada invasion chapter the best.

This excellent title describes in good detail the small wars that the United States Marine Corps was involved in from 1898-1989 in the Caribbean. Mr. Musicant (a former Marine himself) weaves a well-written tale, which is primarily focused in the military situation, but adding just enough of the political background so that one who has little or no knowledge on the subject comes away with a full understanding of our involvement in these "banana wars". Recommended reading!