The Spanish-American War is the most important war Americans don't remember. In "The True Flag," Stephen Kinzer, a longtime scholar on the history of American interventionism, argues that this was the war that really pushed America onto the stage as a global power. Not only did America seize overseas territories in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Cuba, but the debate surrounding the war shaped the discourse on U.S. foreign policy for decades to come.

Despite the title of the book, this book isn't so much about Roosevelt and Twain as it is about the broader intellectual debate about America's role in the world from the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898 to Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency in 1901, which essentially killed the anti-imperialist movement. Kinzer does an excellent job chronicling the key actors and how their arguments changed as the world around them changed. In particular, Kinzer excels at situating speeches and arguments in historical context. As much time as he spends with elites of the era, he also tries to show how the average American might have viewed the debate (as it turns out, often through the eyes of Mr. Dooley, a popular comic strip at the time).

Usually, these types of books make a passing nod to how history is relevant to today. This is mostly for marketing purposes, to convince readers that the book will give them greater insight into the world around them. In interviews, Kinzer has claimed that the history of the Spanish-American War is directly relevant to the debates about globalization that dominated the 2016 election. In the case of "The True Flag," he's absolutely right. However, unlike most books of this sort, Kinzer doesn't just mention the historical relevance in a sentence or two in the epilogue. He actually spends the last chapter chronicling the history of American interventionism during the 20th and 21st century, as well as how the debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists evolved over time. He notes that many of the American same assumptions undergirding the imperialists of Roosevelt's time remain prevalent amongst the foreign policy elite. It's a thought provoking look at both how far we've come since 1898, but also how little we've learned.

Whereas the ending of "The True Flag" does an excellent job covering the consequences of the Spanish-American War for American foreign policy, it doesn't provide a denouement for the personalities that dominated the debate. Despite having Roosevelt and Twain's names in the title, the end of the book doesn't tell you anything about their lives after Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency. Granted, any student of history probably knows about Teddy Roosevelt's 1912 campaign and death in 1920. However, I found this somewhat disappointing because the book introduced me to several intriguing historical characters, including Carl Schurz, but I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what happened to them after 1902. This certainly isn't a big problem with the book, but more a caution that this book is probably best suited to readers who already possess a passing familiarity with late 19th/early 20th century American history.

I highly recommend this book for readers interested in U.S. history and foreign policy.

[Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review]

Several years ago, Stephen Kinzer's Overthrow was a regular part of the Social Studies curriculum and I have some students who are reading it this year for Junior Theme. I know that they and faculty will be interested in his new book, THE TRUE FLAG, especially because of its focus on the debate over America’s role in the world. Kinzer, though, is writing about the debate which occurred over a hundred years ago when Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge and William Randolph Hearst argued for expansion while Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington and Andrew Carnegie advocated against imperialist actions.

The argument itself is fascinating and, of course, well documented by Kinzer, an award-winning foreign correspondent and best-selling author. It echoes debate today, not just in terms of position and content (morality of "water cure" torture), but also in regards to the role of the media and celebrities. THE TRUE FLAG by Stephen Kinzer received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, with the last indicating that THE TRUE FLAG "should be required reading for civics courses."

Another "in the news" topic is the plight of refugees around the world. Our students have been studying this in a variety of courses and I am excited to see and share this list of books to "Help Kids Understand What It's Like to Be a Refugee." This list applies to a variety of ages and I am looking forward to exploring many of the titles. Debates have obviously been raging for a long time and civil discourse is critical to democracy and education. If you have other resources to suggest, please let us know.

Links within post:
http://newtrier.libguides.com/RefugeeCrisis
http://www.readbrightly.com/books-to-help-kids-understand-what-its-like-to-be-a-refugee/