Ever since Walter Millis’ classic 1931 study, The Martial Spirit, most writers have refused to take the Spanish-American War very seriously. Allan Keller is no exception. Following a brief and inadequate treatment of prewar diplomacy, he tells a story of sloppy planning, mismanagement, and incredible stupidity in the American military establishment. Occasionally he captures the essence of war in unforgettable vignettes, such as the account of Richmond P. Hobson’s intrepid efforts to sink a collier in the passageway to Santiago harbor, thus bottling up Admiral Pascual Cervera’s decrepit warships. Too often, unfortunately, he lapses into cliche-ridden passages, such as that dealing with the role of yellow journalism in the coming of the war.
In sum, Keller’s volume is a delightful tidbit, sprinkled throughout with ludicrous episodes. Scholars contemplating serious research on this tired subject may not find much here, but the work could be tapped as a source for stories guaranteed to perk up a tired and bored freshman survey class, which, following its ordeal in Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, is ready for a little military debunking.
