Crossing empires : taking U.S. history into transimperial terrain /

Crossing Empires is a collection of essays by American historians emphasizing the imperial dimensions of the US in the 19th and early 20th century, as well as the intersections of US imperialism with other empires. The editors explicitly emphasize scholars who investigate US history from a transnational perspective, seeking to move beyond to imperial American history and create a synthetic focus on "transimperial" history. Many of the essays focusing on specific incidents or movements that could be viewed as thematically transimperial are excellent. As an example, Nicole Phelps casts the growth of the US consular service during the country's first 150 years as evidence of transimperial US power. Even anti-imperialism is viewed as transimperial, as Marc-William Pelan's chapter on transatlantic free-trade radicals illustrates. A few of the volume's final essays, while offering interesting looks at transimperial history in the context of individuals, do not really conform to the collection's chronology. Indeed those articles illustrate the difficulties inherent in creating a coherent theme of transimperial American history from such a diverse collection of essays. Still, the editors and authors should be commended for their efforts. This volume should be read by American historians seeking to understand the US and empire. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. --Jim Rogers, Louisiana State University Alexandria