Recommended Reading

Drawing on archeological and ethno-historical evidence, Irving Rouse sketches a picture of the Tainos as they existed during the time of Columbus, contrasting their customs with those of their neighbors. 

“Written” by Guaikán, the elderly Taino man who, in his youth, was adopted by Christopher Columbus and saw history unfold, Taino is the Indian chronicle of the American encounter, the Native view on Columbus and what happened in the Caribbean. 

Applying the legend of the “stranger king” to Caonabó, the mythologized Taíno chief of the Hispaniola settlement Columbus invaded in 1492, Keegan examines how myths resonate as history–created by the chaotic interactions of individuals & those write and read about them.

“Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Boricua is a powerful word that tells the origin and history of the Puerto Rican people.”

The House on Mango Street is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous.

Using declassified FBI files, War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico’s history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination.

No se trata de un libro de historia, aunque narra la historia inédita de las acciones audaces de unos pescadores pobres de la comunidad de La Esperanza en Vieques. que a la larga provocaron la salida de Puerto Rico de la Marina imperialista de EEUU.

Katherine T. McCaffrey gives a complete analysis of the troubled relationship between the U.S. Navy and a grassroots mobilization led by fishermen that began in the 1970s.

In Islands of Resistance, Mario A. Murillo examines how Puerto Rican politics have been shaped by 100 years of U.S. economic, military, and cultural domination.

The U.S. Navy ignored the culture of Puerto Rico, introduced racial discrimination, forced the relocation of its population, and showed no concern for the local economy, resulting in their forced removal in 2003.

“This book highlights a political struggle engaged in by Puerto Ricans which raises attention regarding the inconsistencies between the United States as a democratic society and its treatment of a nation that continues to be colonized.”

Tourism and Language in Vieques is an ethnography on tourism, power, and language of Viequense subalterns silenced in the face of tourism to reveal the mechanics of ‘epistemic violence.’