The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary 50th Anniversary Edition 2023 Edition

A panorama of Puerto Rican life from the 15th to the 21st century

For 50 years thousands of students, and readers interested in the history of Puerto Rico based on facts and documents have turned to this book. During these years the text was updated and expanded in eight editions. 50th anniversary edition 1973-2023. This expanded edition covers 500 years of Puerto Rico’s history, providing a kaleidoscopic view of the island’s past. It begins with a preface by the editors celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book’s first printing and includes new sections on the debt crisis and the end of the bankruptcy procedure in 2022, the COVID pandemic and its consequences, the hurricanes from Maria to Fiona and their aftermath, The 2022 elections and the upcoming plebiscite

An essential sourcebook for a better understanding of the Puerto   Ricans. The editors believe that their experience as a people has been   obscured by propaganda and that a subtle brand of colonialism still   endures. They prove both points. . . . Their book [has] a     kaleidoscopic, fast-paced rhythm that makes it engrossing reading. It   is a welcome addition to both Puerto Rican historicity and to     American ethnological literature.”— The New York Times

“An excellent ‘documentary history’ of Puerto Rico, its problems, present status, tensions, and prospects.”— The Nation

“A pleasure to read. Each page provides a fresh glimpse into the unfolding story of a people. The book captures the human and personal component of sweeping historical changes.”
— International Migration Review


Olga Jiménez de Wagenheim, Rutgers University, is the author of Puerto Rico: An Interpretive History from Pre-Columbian Times to 1900 and Puerto Rico’s Revolt for Independence: El Grito de Lares (both available from Markus Wiener).

Kal Wagenheim, School of Journalism, Columbia University, was a New York Times correspondent in San Juan and is the author and translator of numerous books on Puerto Rico, including Puerto Rico: A Profile.

Luis Martînez-Fernandez, University of Central Florida, is the author of numerous books, including Frontiers, Plantations, and Walled Cities: Essays on Society, Culture, and Politics in the Hispanic Caribbean, 1800-1945.

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