Empire and Education: A History of Greed and Goodwill from the War of 1898 to the War on Terror

The time was March 2003. The United States was on the cusp of invading Iraq and the American public was split over the impending conflict. Some saw the decision to invade as rooted in corporate greed and a desire for control over one of the world's largest oil deposits. Others spoke of spreading democracy abroad, the human atrocities committed by dictator Saddam Hussein, and the alleged threat of weapons of mass destruction. Shortly after the invasion, award-winning author A. J. Angulo began a study on the long history of US occupations abroad and the role that greed and goodwill played in each. The result is this lively and engaging history of Empire and Education. It offers the first single-volume narrative history devoted to the role of education in American interventions abroad from the War of 1898 to the War on Terror. Pulling together isolated case studies and archival research into a coherent, accessible, narrative sweep, this path-breaking volume inspires new directions in the study of American history. It also serves as a cautionary tale filled with familiar names, colorful personalities, and obscure U.S. figures who impacted the lives of others around the world in the name of citizens back home. It's a story that spans 110 years of American efforts to extract wealth and promote democracy abroad.