{"product_id":"the-puerto-rico-reconstruction-administration-geoff-g-burrows-9781683404132","title":"The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration: New Deal Public Works, Modernization, and Colonial Reform","description":"Honorable Mention, Living New Deal Book Award\u003cbr\u003eAn important New Deal program that shaped the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis\u003cbr\u003ebook explores the history and impact of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction\u003cbr\u003eAdministration (PRRA), the most important New Deal agency to operate in Puerto\u003cbr\u003eRico and the largest created for any United States territory. Geoff Burrows demonstrates\u003cbr\u003ehow the PRRA improved living conditions across the island in the wake of destructive\u003cbr\u003ehurricanes and the Great Depression, while at the same time producing a\u003cbr\u003ereformed, strengthened, and lasting colonial relationship between Puerto Rico\u003cbr\u003eand the United States.\u003cbr\u003eUsing previously untapped archival sources and a wide range\u003cbr\u003eof primary and secondary texts, Burrows follows the agency from its founding by\u003cbr\u003ePresident Roosevelt in 1935 to its ending in 1955, situating its public works\u003cbr\u003eprogram in both Puerto Rican and New Deal contexts. The PRRA built the\u003cbr\u003eCaribbean's first modern cement plant; implemented widespread rural\u003cbr\u003eelectrification through the building of seven hydroelectric dams; constructed\u003cbr\u003ehurricane-proof houses, schools, and hospitals; and improved transportation and\u003cbr\u003ecommunication across the island. Puerto Rican engineers, planners, and\u003cbr\u003eofficials took a leading role in these initiatives, which provided them social\u003cbr\u003emobility and transformed the island's economy from agricultural to industrial.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe first institutional history and critical examination of\u003cbr\u003ethe agency, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003cbr\u003ePuerto Rico Reconstruction Administration\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eengages questions about the New Deal's global reach. It investigates how New\u003cbr\u003eDeal agendas refashioned U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico and indirectly\u003cbr\u003econtributed to the island's current debt crisis and response to recent natural\u003cbr\u003edisasters such as Hurricane María.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Geoff G. Burrows\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1683404130\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781683404132\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Florida Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/30\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.18lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2024","brand":"Geoff G. Burrows","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47424471924991,"sku":"9781683404132","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fac1f72e-6f41-4073-aff0-e06c5764769f.jpg?v=1761530439","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-puerto-rico-reconstruction-administration-geoff-g-burrows-9781683404132","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}