War Against All Puerto Ricans — Nelson A. Denis

The powerful, untold story of the 1950 revolution in Puerto Rico and a history of U.S. intervention on the island.

In 1950, after more than fifty years of U.S. military occupation and colonial rule, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico staged an armed insurrection against the United States. Although ultimately unsuccessful, the revolt unleashed widespread violence: assassins targeted President Harry Truman, gunfights erupted in eight towns, and police stations and post offices were set ablaze. In response, the U.S. Army deployed thousands of troops and bombarded two towns—marking the first time in history that the U.S. government bombed its own citizens.

Nelson A. Denis tells this gripping story through the life of Pedro Albizu Campos, the president of the Nationalist Party. A lawyer, chemical engineer, and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School, Albizu Campos endured twenty-five years of imprisonment and died under mysterious circumstances. Denis traces his life and death to illuminate the broader narrative of Puerto Rico under U.S. colonialism.

Using oral histories, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files, War Against All Puerto Ricans provides a vivid account of the forgotten revolution. Readers encounter gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, and covert FBI and CIA operations, revealing the turmoil and repression that defined Puerto Rico’s struggle for self-determination from the 1898 U.S. invasion to modern times.

This is an unflinching chronicle of resistance, oppression, and the enduring fight for justice in Puerto Rico.

• 15-day returns — Refunds & Returns
• Shipping info — Shipping Policy