How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr

In the modern age (after the word colony was officially ousted from the vocabulary) empire is not a world which one can hear everyday. It is a world which is identified more as a history when we talk about historical empires.

However, it doesn't mean that the idea of one country occupying the territories in a country is unheard of. This idea is very much alive and works with coercion or otherwise. US as a country which is seen as a flag bearer of freedom as long as we don't go in the history of certain countries where US had a presence which was different from a coloniser but the difference between a coloniser and occupier was very faint. It doesn't make much difference if you call it a colony or a base.

But on the other hand, it is also visible that having a US interest in the country brought some indirect wealth to the country. And in a lot of cases opposing the bases was a catch 22 situation. The country does get some benefits by allowing such bases but that makes a dent in their sovereignty.

There is no one way to look at it, and different aspects will or will not make sense depending on whose voice gets the strongest support.

One never thought of US as mainland and colonies but this book gives a good idea around what eventually defined US apart from what is visible to most of the people irrespective of being or not being a citizen of US.

Peace