REMEMBERING THE MAINE

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	REMEMBERING THE MAINE
	by SAMUELS PEGGY Sales Rank: 1114999	$2.50 At Amazon on 8-4-2008.

*Features* Cover Type: Hard Cover with 360 pages Published by: Smithsonian February 17, 1995 Written in: English ISBN 10 Number: 1560984740 ISBN 13 Number: 978-1560984740 Book Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches Weighs: 1.4 pounds *From Library Journal* One hundred years ago, Congress commissioned a remarkable warship, designed and built in America, a potent symbol of pride to a nation attaining its majority as a force in world affairs. In a clumsy and potentially disastrous diplomatic move, President McKinley ordered the Maine to the hostile Spanish colony of Cuba. After three idyllic weeks at anchor in Havana Harbor, the ship mysteriously exploded, with a devastating loss of life. When an official U.S. inquiry implicated Spain as the perpetrator of the incident, jingoistic factions in America welcomed an excuse for what the authors call "an unnecessary and immoral war." The Samuelses, coauthors of several books on art history, have examined many previously secret contemporary documents on the Maine disaster and reached a plausible solution to the mystery. Moreover, their reasoned but vividly written narrative explores the colorful personalities behind the diplomacy and makes some telling points about the origins of U.S. gunboat diplomacy in the 20th century.?Jamie S. Hansen, Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. *Reader Reviews* Samuels, Peggy and Harold Samuels 1995 Remembering the Maine. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC and London ISBN 15609847430 Even though this volume uses non-neutral terms e.g. "jingoism" and "yellow journalism," which are so tactlessly and unnecessarily accepted in some academic circles, this book is surprisingly even handed. It carefully details and patently examines each and every exhaustively researched point. One notes a previous review (see below) accusing the authors of bias because they aggressively examined the life and writings of each witness or analyst and sought endless obscure details. Yet I found these examinations necessary, impartial and courteous. In my view, this book most carefully examines each hypothesis of cause, and gives them a fair hearing, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. For instance, this book considers and explores the possibility that Cuban independence fighters could have set the first explosion that then is suggested to have triggered the blasts in the coal bunkers and the magazines. However, when they do this the Samuels carefully point out that the direct action Weylerite Voluntarios, who were unconditional supporters of Spanish hegemony, had far greater cause, access, history and motivation and thus must be considered primary suspects in any deliberate action hypothesis. However, the book is not without flaws the example of Cuban rebel action involving the sinking of a Spanish patrol boat on the Cauto River is incomplete (it was carried out by Carlos Garcia Velez, a son of General Calixto Garcia, a fact not mentioned in this text see page 150). This is because the authors do not mention that Garcia Velez's action was accomplished with dynamite (not gunpowder) as were other Cuban rebel ambushes such as a very effective action against a troop formation directed by Antonio Maceo and attacks on a least one train carrying Spanish soldiers. However, the authors carefully point out the supply of dynamite available to the Cuban rebels. The missed point of this argument is that after the authors spend time explaining that gunpowder, not dynamite, is far more consistent with the observed lack of fish kill (often cited by the Spanish authorities in support of the accident hypothesis) they do not apply their own conclusions to this particular hypothesis. Neither do the authors note that Cuban forces were also very short of gunpowder and small arms ammunition propelled by gunpowder ("black" and smokeless). On the other hand the Spanish loyalist "Guerrilla" scouts (a rural version of the Voluntarios) often used older rolling block rifles which presumable, (unlike the Spanish regular forces who used Mauser rifles with smokeless powder) still used black powder cartridges. Despite these particular points made here in this review, this book is the most careful examination of the facts of this tragedy I have ever read, and presents the best and most impartial evaluation of the circumstances of the Maine disaster presented to date. Comment \| \| (Report this) Back To Top
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