How to Hide an Empire

A History of the Greater United States

By: Daniel Immerwahr

Narrated by: Luis Moreno

Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

A pathbreaking history of the United States' overseas possessions and the true meaning of its empire

We are familiar with maps that outline all 50 states. And we are also familiar with the idea that the United States is an "empire", exercising power around the world. But what about the actual territories - the islands, atolls, and archipelagos - this country has governed and inhabited? In How to Hide an Empire, Daniel Immerwahr tells the fascinating story of the United States outside the United States. In crackling, fast-paced prose, he reveals forgotten episodes that cast American history in a new light.

We travel to the Guano Islands, where prospectors collected one of the 19th century's most valuable commodities, and the Philippines, site of the most destructive event on US soil. In Puerto Rico, Immerwahr reveals how US doctors conducted grisly experiments they would never have conducted on the mainland and charts the emergence of independence fighters who would shoot up the US Congress. In the years after World War II, Immerwahr notes, the United States moved away from colonialism. Instead, it put innovations in electronics, transportation, and culture to use, devising a new sort of influence that did not require the control of colonies. Rich with absorbing vignettes, full of surprises, and driven by an original conception of what empire and globalization mean today, How to Hide an Empire is a major and fully enjoyable work of history.

©2019 Daniel Immerwahr (P)2019 Recorded Books

Fascinating listen...

I rarely write an actual review of the books I listen too and I listen to many!! In addition I am a dedicated fiction listener and only a few nonfiction books catch my interest... This was one of those books. Most nonfiction listens will produce an “ah well that was mildly interesting” reaction from me this one far exceeded that general spot on the scale. Fascinating information, details in history I’d never heard and hearing those details produced such an “AH-HA so that’s why!” revelation for me that I will never be the same!
Kudos to the author and narrator - together you have produced the History 102 class ALL should hear.

Primer into the Evolution of the American Empire

Great factual story narrated remarkably well. This primer will get you curious on the topic.

Fantastic historical context from the late 1800s until today!

Daniel Immerwahr’s “How to Hide an Empire” fills in details behind US imperialist and hegemonic policies of the the late 1800 to the current time.

It's been a while since I've read a book where I've had so many epiphanies and "connect-the-dots" moments. In the late 1800s, Imperialism was mostly about natural resources and typically the aims of land capture throughout the period. If not that, then it was the strategic location that directed conquest of territories.

Daniel puts into very clear perspective how important resources such as guano and rubber were to newly industrializing nations. Before petroleum became the source for an overwhelming amount of synthetically derived materials, scarcity of natural fertilizers could mean a significant amount of people going hungry. As well, if you look at pictures from Germany during WWI and you’ll see bicycles with metal wheels and springs due to the scarcity of natural rubber.

The major epiphany I had was that even if we could stop using petroleum as a fuel, the super majority of us fail to realize the vast scope of products and materials that are derived from it. It's the source materials or in the chain of production for practically all the things we use on a daily basis. Due to the advent of petroleum derived products, it literally made most natural resources irrelevant and freed former colonies from imperialism around the globe.

“How to hide an empire” is an absolutely fascinating and fantastic read. The material Daniel covers provides immense perspective on why the world perceives our country the way it does. If you have any interest in the topic, this is an absolute must read!

Rebuttal to other negative reviewers

This is the first book i have read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another. I response to the reviewer “Susan - How to beat a straw man to death”- yes, the author outlines the ugly side of political and societal leaders, but he does not, as she says “seemed to think white, American men were unique in their racist, ugly, nationalistic, and patriarchal views of the world”. In fact, he mentions how many times Americans actually fought against the way a political leader behaved, but in the end, often did a similar thing. Problem is, typically we don’t often learn about the less savory things done by American people. We have presidents like Roosevelt who did a great many wonderful things, but also did some not great things- like he was keen to have a war. You can’t explain American history without mentioning the motivations behind many political actions. Like annexing land, but only areas of low population as not to acquire too many people of other nationalities/races. That’s an interesting strategy that explains a lot and can be seen carried over into current American views. Acquire Puerto Rico, American Samoa, etc, but not make them a part of the United States, just a territory. At the time, the motivation was to use a word different than “colony” since we’d fought for independence from being a colony of England and the idea of colonies was unpopular.

This book was not like ” hanging out with the "mean girl," who was gleefully spreading all the terrible gossip she could and twisting things to support her agenda.” Or like another reviewer said “We get it, the US is always wrong”.
The books purely stated things without the shiny, superficial or sugar coated ‘Americans are the best, the strongest, the richest and can’t do wrong’ attitude and instead logically laid out the decisions, actions and results of events that have lead the United States to where we are today and reminds us there is more to the USA than just what is on North America. The how and why there is more was fascinating to learn about. There are mentions of the actions of other countries and their role in the control of or colonization of countries now a part of the USA, but if the author went into more detail about them this book would be too long and no longer the story of HOW TO HIDE AN EMPIRE.

For an over 17 hour listen, I can’t believe I’ve already listened to 7 hours. I feel like I could listen to the rest and then 17 more. This book is well laid out, with many ‘ah ha’ moments as I learned the background to many events and policies and presidential intentions. He does not just offer opinions but uses quotes from people involved with the events of the time. This book should be added to every school curriculum, whether homeschool or public. What a fascinating listen.

This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator ( Luis Moreno ) and I would definitely listen to another. He does a great job narrating this content. His style, diction and cadence was perfect and clear and I could listen to him for many more hours. His narration along with the authors writing style allowed me to take everything in the first time without feeling I missed something and needed to re-listen to parts.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Story 5/5
Narration 5/5

Fascinating

Like most Americans, my knowledge of US territories has only been passing before now. I picked this up after vacationing in Puerto Rico, which had piqued my curiosity in the island’s history. This was so much more. The writing is excellent and the weaving of small focused narratives (the screws, Sony, birth control) as illustrations of global phenomena and the way the stories were stitched together across space and time was really well done. I never got bored and it never felt like he was laboring a topic to death. On the audio side, the performance was fantastic—totally immersive and enjoyable to listen to. I’ll be looking out for other works by both this author and this narrator. And this book is headed to the gift list for the history buffs in my family!

A must read...

... for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes view of US history. Perfect eye-opener for anyone who believes in the sanitized stories pushed in US textbooks...

Weirdly Good

It’s quite chilling in spots, funny in places and even a bit monotonous. But, somehow it works I knew more than I did before I started and am interested in more as well.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a whole bit on screws that took me days to finish, but overall I would read it again. The narrator has an ironic lilt to his voice that sort of makes me think he agrees with me on the screw bit. I liked that, he was on my side.

Looking at history from another window

The book was excellent and depicted some of the American history that isn’t going to be taught in school. It will put America into a different light and perspective. Very politically neutral in my opinion and full of astonishing facts.

Profound + Entertaining

Binge woethy! Should be mandatory reading for every highschool history student in every mainland American public school.

a meandering guide to American history

this book uncovers the sometimes dark history of the modern world and how American industry has shaped it.