Fate of the Maine

When the U.S.S. battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, it set off the Spanish-American War, that "splendid little war" which forever changed the United States' position among nations. "Remember the Maine!" was the outraged public's call for battle, but here it is a call to remember the seemingly star-crossed ship and the more than 260 young men who perished with it. Author John Edward Weems tells the story of the ship from beginning to explosive end, with the help of the Maine's survivors, whom he interviewed in 1957. The text of this edition has not been revised, for good reason. Since the book's first publication in 1958, no conclusive evidence of what caused the fatal explosion has ever been found. When the U.S.S. battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, it set off the Spanish-American War. "Remember the Maine!" was the outraged public's call for battle, but here it is a call to remember the ill-fated ship and the more than 260 young men who perished with it. John Edward Weems tells the story of the ship from beginning to explosive end, with the help of the survivors. The text of this new edition has not been revised, for good reason. Since the book's first publication in 1958, no conclusive evidence of the explosion's source has ever been found. "Whatever the cause of the disaster, . . . it was the beginning of an American imperialism from the dangers of which we are not yet entirely free. . . . John Weems, whose A Weekend in September examined the Galveston flood, has presented the incident with painstaking detail from every possible angle."--New York Times Book Review