Caliban and the Yankees

“[A] detailed and perceptive account of the important cultural and political awakenings that Trinidad experienced in the 1930s and 1940s.” — Journal of Latin American Studies

“Energetically employs the new perspectives that have influenced international relations scholarship in recent years.” — Latin American Research Review

“Engaging. . . . Caliban and the Yankees should be read by a wide audience for its erudition, lively prose, and deft unearthing of the cultural complexities that can develop when U.S. foreign troops step on friendly foreign ground.” — Journal of American History

“[A] delightful cultural history.” — American Historical Review

“An important book in the international history of the Caribbean.” — Estudios Interdisciplanarios de America Latina y El Caribe

“A refreshing, original, and important work on a formative though largely forgotten episode in the history of two nations. . . . Enthusiastically recommended. . . . Essential.” — CHOICE

“This book on Trinidad and Tobago’s historical development fills the gaps and seeks to correct the narrative in Eric William’s History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago. . . . Perhaps the most significant contribution the book makes is that it puts William’s epic battle for Chaguaramus into context, and it challenges his interpretation of that pivotal interlude in Trinidad’s history.” — New West Indian Guide

“Creatively researched, daringly interpreted, and beautifully written. . . . Offers an original, unexpected, and nuanced story. . . . Will be placed alongside important cultural histories of US imperialism and should be widely read both among and beyond its natural audience in Caribbean history.” — Caribbean Studies

“This richly textured study of the forgotten American occupation of Trinidad during World War II packs a powerful wallop. Neptune’s on-the-ground account of the ambiguities, contradictions, and multiple consequences of U.S. imperialism and American culture poses significant challenges to prevailing paradigms of inter-American relations and the process of ‘Americanization,’ elaborated by diplomatic historians and cultural studies scholars alike. Reading the fragmented official archive against the grain in the best tradition of subaltern studies and patching in insights from Trinidadian popular fiction, music, and visual culture, Caliban and the Yankees brims with new ideas for studying the American Century as it was lived in the interstices of empire.” — Gil Joseph, Yale University

“Neptune provides an engaging analysis of the rise of nationalist sentiments in 1930s Trinidad. Rich in detail, persuasive in its arguments, and balanced in tone, this is a major contribution to the historiography of Trinidad and Tobago.” — Colin A. Palmer, Princeton University