“No one has heretofore synthesized the filibusterers' activities and analyzed who served, their motivation, ideology, funding, and role in the broader milieu. The author thus provides not only an overview of major and minor expeditions but also a colorful and interesting look at their identities and the consequences of their actions. . . . May has provided a major contribution toward our understanding of the 'underworld' of filibustering.” — American Historical Review
“In this balanced, judicious, and readable account of U.S. filibustering from the 1820s to the 1860s, Robert E. May . . . redesigns the study of filibustering. . . . [An] impressive book.” — Journal of Southern History
“Exhaustively researched and comprehensive in scope, Manifest Destiny’s Underworld is the first book successfully to integrate filibustering into the antebellum American experience. Equally important, the book will be of immense value to scholars interested in the larger, geopolitical role that the United States played during the nineteenth century.” — Military History of the West
“A major new book that merits the close perusal of anyone concerned with mid-nineteenth-century America.” — Pacific Historical Review
“May explores nearly every aspect of the private military expeditions that brought notoriety and dreams of empire to generations of adventurers. . . . May’s book will be the definitive work on filibustering for years to come.” — Journal of the Early Republic
“A well-researched and thoughtful analysis of a neglected yet important topic of American history. This volume, with its unshakable interpretation, pertinent maps and illustrations, copious notes, and engaging style, should emerge as the definitive work on American filibustering.” — North Carolina Historical Review
“This is one of those rare books that combine all the elements of an outstanding work of history by blending an interesting topic, thorough research, and excellent writing to present the best portrayal of antebellum filibustering to date. A new look at pro-slavery expansion into Latin America has long been overdue, and May presents a thorough updating of a misunderstood activity. . . . This outstanding book is appropriate for those interested in the antebellum period, Latin American history, or foreign policy of the era.” — CHOICE
“This book uncovers issues largely ignored by previous scholars . . . and connects filibusterism with the war with Mexico and the Civil War.” — Hispanic American Historical Review
“An important and well-written book that restores to its proper place a little known but significant topic in American history.” — Manhattan Journal of the West
“Well-researched and intelligently argued . . . expressively take[s] up the imperial mindset in American history.” — American Studies
