Review

"An engagingly written book that offers new insights into the war....his thought provoking book should be on many bookshelves."
-The Past in Review

"Challenges accepted notions of the Cuban War of Independence and provides an important corrective to studies which have fostered a nationalist interpretation of inevitable triumph."
-- Canadian Journal of History

"Makes careful use of Spanish, Cuban and US archives to provide a truly international account of the conflict."
-- Patterns of Prejudice

"This pathbreaking military history sheds new light on Spanish America's last colonial war and the multitudes that died on its 'ever faithful isle.' . . . Entwines vivid retellings of military engagements with nuanced analyses of the varying motives and strategies of the war's leaders. . . . An engaging study with broad appeal for Cuban, Spanish, and U.S. historians."
-- HAHR

"Offers many new insights into the Spanish-Cuban-American War or 1895-1898. . . . Uses a unique approach that highlights the lives of a small number of individuals to communicate the more personal experience of war while at the same time exposing larger historical patterns in--and debates about--the war."
-- New West Indian Guide

"An outstanding work. . . . Extremely well researched. . . . A fine study that will stimulate considerable scholarly debate."
-- History

"Skillful research leads to revisions of past interpretations. . . . [A] comprehensive inquiry. . . . Deserves considerable attention."
-- The Journal of Military History

"Offers a compelling and fresh account of the putative triumph of masculinist realism over the sentimental novel and its largely female readers and writers."
-- Men and Masculinities

"Masterful . . . fascinating and captivating. . . . A must read . . . for anyone who is concerned with current global conflicts and the human rights of noncombatants. . . . Tone does an excellent job of presenting the viewpoint of both the Cubans and the Spanish fairly."
-- H-Net

"Makes interesting reading and will stir academic debate and inspire further research."
-- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"A highly accessible, explicitly revisionist narrative. . . . Told with verve and pathos. . . . Engagingly written, humane and judicious in its appraisals of a complex and contested history. It deserves to be widely read and its implications debated."
-- Cuban Review

"A nuanced perspective. . . . Tone writes well and his work will be accessible to experts and undergraduates alike. . . . A valuable addition to both Cuban and Spanish history and its publication is yet another indication of the high quality of scholarship that has emerged in recent years."
-- American Historical Review

"Adds enormously to our understanding of the political, social and military dimensions of this war and is essential reading for anyone interested in the island's history, the early story of U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean, or Latin American military history."
-- Caribbean Studies

"[An] important and engrossing book. . . . A significant work with much to offer historians in Cuba, Spain, and modern war and society in general."
-- The Americas

From the Inside Flap

The Spanish-Cuban-American war proved pivotal in the histories of all three countries involved. Employing newly released evidence, including hospital records, intercepted Cuban letters, battle diaries from both sides, and Spanish administrative records, Tone offers new answers to old questions concerning the war. His analysis will provoke new discussions and debates among historians and human rights scholars as they reexamine the war in which the concentration camp was invented, Cuba was born, Spain lost its empire, and America gained an overseas empire.