This is everything I like in an academic work: well argued, well researched, and well written. Merrill makes a clear case that tourism should be considered as a part of diplomatic history and the history of foreign relations, as tourists are often at the front and center of U.S. foreign policy and the creation of the U.S. empire in Latin America. Drawing on three case studies [Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico], Merrill shows that both tourists and hosts participated in shaping geopolitical relationships and he also shows that these three places each engaged tourism in a slightly different way, producing different results and outcomes. There's no academic jargon here and Merrill's writing is clear and to the point. He supports his arguments fully with examples drawn from archival research and from existing interdisciplinary research on tourism. The book has copious footnotes and a complete bibliography. Well done. ( )