Memorc-A Publica

As someone who has lived a highly visible public life on his native island of Puerto Rico, Torres feels privileged to share the story of his place in the island's political history, in the form of what he calls public memory. Torres, who received degrees from the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Chicago, and the London School of Economics, served his country as a soldier, senator, and secretary of education. His lifetime has spanned the convulsions of the 1930s, when a fiery nationalist movement gave way to a reform party whose leader, Luis Munoz Marin, devised the island's current status of U.S. commonwealth. Torres sees Puerto Rican history primarily through this transformation from a poor, politically unstable backwater into a modern state with strong ties to the United States and its economy. Given the volatility of the status issue in Puerto Rico, Torres's point of view is moderate, and his experience in government and politics makes it authoritative. His book works well as an overview of a unique body politic, its internal struggles, and its unusual relationship with the world's most powerful nation. Recommended for East Coast bookstores and political science library collections. Ed Morales, Brooklyn, NY