Book Review: Latin America and Caribbean: Trujillo
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206702200169 |
| Published date | 01 March 1967 |
| Author | J. C. M. Ogelsby |
| Date | 01 March 1967 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK REVIEWS
163
alliance"
was
"a
strong
secondary
policy"
upon
which
the
success
of
Rio-Branco's
"primary
goals"
depended.
(p.
204)
Based
on
impressive
multi-archival research,
The
Unwritten
Alliance
makes
a
very
important
contribution
to
our
understanding
of
relations
between
Brazil
and
the
United
States
in
this
period.
It
also
suggests
the
utility,
indeed
the
necessity,
of
undertaking
similar
research
for
other
South American countries.
On
the
other hand,
by
concentrating
on
the
Brazilian
side
of
the
diplomatic
coin,
the
author
does
not
adequately
explore
the
goals
of
U.S.
policy-makers.
Moreover,
he
is
not
altogether
successful
in
placing
the
Baron's role within
the
broader
political
and
economic
forces
at
work.
As
a
result, the
Minister
is
often
left
operating
in
a
great
vacuum,
isolated
from
U.S.
policies on
the
one
side,
and
Brazilian
domestic
politics
on
the
other.
Finally
we
never
really
get
to know
Rio-Branco
himself.
The
personality
and
motivation
of
this
obviously
commanding figure
remain
vague.
And
this
is
un-
fortunate,
because
in
the
last
analysis,
it
is
about
Rio-Branco
that
the
author
has
chosen
to
write.
Prnnceton
Unsversity
ROBERT
CUFF
TRuniLo.
The
Life
and
Times
of
a
Caribbean
Dictator.
By
Robert
D.
Crassweller.
1966.
(New
York:
Macmillan.
Toronto:
Collier-Mac-
millan.
xii,
468pp.
$10.75)
This
is
the
most
satisfactory
study
of
Rafael
Trujillo
yet published.
Mr.
Crassweller has
used
printed
materials
and
interviews
to
recon-
struct
the
life
of
the
Caribbean
strongman
and
his
book
is
not
the
typical
sycophantic
panegyric
published
during
Trujillo's rule
or
a
recapitulation
of
the
worst
excesses of
his
dictatorship.
It
is
a
sur
prsingly
well-balanced
attempt
to
understand
the
man,
his
motives,
and
his
regime.
Trujillo
was the
product
of
the
United
States
occupation
between
1916
and
1924.
Born
in
humble
circumstances
in
1891,
his
career had
been
inauspicious
until
he
discovered
that
he
might
be
able
to
obtain
a
commission
in
a
new
constabulary
being
formed
by
the
occupation
forces.
When
members
of
the
upper
classes
refused
commissions,
be-
cause
they
did
not
approve
of
the
occupation,
the
way
was
opened
for
others
and
Trujillo
applied
for
and
received
an
appointment
as
a
Second
Iaeutenant.
He
had
found
his
vocation
and
energetically
pur
sued
it.
So
energetically
in
fact,
that
within
ten
years
he
was
in
charge
of
the
nation's
armed
forces,
and
by
1930
he was
President.
From
that
time until
his
death
he
ruled
his
country
with
an
iron hand,
and
the
author
lucidly shows how
he
converted
it
into
his
own
personal
estate
through
political
and
economic
manipulation.
A
vain
man, Trujillo
used
the
vanity
of
others
to
achieve
his
goals.
He
thought
everyone
had
his price,
and
all
too
often he
was
right.
Not
only
would Dommicans debase
themselves
in
order
to
receive
the
dic-
tator's
largesse,
but
there
is
evidence,
as
the
author
shows,
that
United
States
Congressmen
and
even
the
Vatican
accepted
favours
from
Tru-
jillo. But
in
his
quest
for
power
he made
more
enemies
than
friends,
and the
account
of
his
decline is
both
informative
and
dramatic.
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