Smuggler Nation

How Illicit Trade Made America

By: Peter Andreas

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

America is a smuggler nation. Our long history of illicit imports has ranged from West Indies molasses and Dutch gunpowder in the 18th century, to British industrial technologies and African slaves in the 19th century, to French condoms and Canadian booze in the early 20th century, to Mexican workers and Colombian cocaine in the modern era. Contraband capitalism, it turns out, has been an integral part of American capitalism. Providing a sweeping narrative history from colonial times to the present, Smuggler Nation is the first book to retell the story of America--and of its engagement with its neighbors and the rest of the world--as a series of highly contentious battles over clandestine commerce. As Peter Andreas demonstrates in this provocative and fascinating account, smuggling has played a pivotal and too often overlooked role in America's birth, westward expansion, and economic development, while anti-smuggling campaigns have dramatically enhanced the federal government's policing powers. The great irony, Andreas tells us, is that a country that was born and grew up through smuggling is today the world's leading anti-smuggling crusader. In tracing America's long and often tortuous relationship with the murky underworld of smuggling, Andreas provides a much-needed antidote to today's hyperbolic depictions of out-of-control borders and growing global crime threats. Urgent calls by politicians and pundits to regain control of the nation's borders suffer from a severe case of historical amnesia, nostalgically implying that they were ever actually under control. This is pure mythology, says Andreas. For better and for worse, America's borders have always been highly porous. Far from being a new and unprecedented danger to America, the illicit underside of globalization is actually an old American tradition. As Andreas shows, it goes back not just decades but centuries. And its impact has been decidedly double-edged, not only subverting U.S. laws but also helping to fuel America's evolution from a remote British colony to the world's pre-eminent superpower.

©2013 Peter Andreas (P)2014 Audible Inc.

The Hidden Story of American History

Any additional comments?

A very solid book about an issue that is often just beneath the surface of American history from the colonial period through today.

There are parts of the story that could have been highlighted more, particularly the issues around smuggling on the frontier in 19th century, but this helps tie together a lot of issues. If you've read a lot of American history this will help you connect the dots to among a huge number of issues.

It fills a lot of little gaps. Also, I liked that Andreas was careful not to oversell his point. Smuggling has often been important, but, except perhaps for the run up to the American revolution, rarely the most important single issue, and he admits that. However, smuggling has been a constant secondary issue in many historical developments and this book fills a lot of those gaps.

Must read for anyone interested in homeland security

This is a crucial reading for anyone interested in homeland security, immigration, drug-smuggling and other illicit trade and travel. Everyone at the Department of Homeland Security and everyone on the office of the President should read it as well. I cannot say enough good things bout this book. Really well done.

smuggling is us

Well paced survey of how smuggling played a role in the history and development of America. Learn about smuggling slaves, booze, drugs....you name it. Some interesting insights into the development of the modern drug trade. Also some factoids on what get's smuggled out of America.