America, but Bigger: Near-Annexations, from Greenland to the Galapagos

A superbly written, timely examination of America's imperial temptations.
— Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) What if the United States had annexed Greenland, Samoa, all of Mexico, or dozens of other places? All of these were real possibilities that could have dramatically changed America's borders.

America, but Bigger uncovers the surprising, often forgotten history of the territories that could have joined the United States. Over more than two centuries, U.S. leaders considered claims or proposals involving more than 40 present-day countries, from familiar targets such as Canada and Cuba to far less likely places including Indonesia, Syria, and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Some territories were sought by American presidents. Others asked to join the United States themselves. There were negotiations and invasions, private schemes and diplomatic gambits, serious proposals and extraordinary near-misses. Together, they reveal an alternate map of America and help explain why centuries of territorial expansion eventually came to an end.

Richly researched and filled with stories often stranger than fiction, America, but Bigger explores how dramatically different the United States might look today, and why the country's long history of expansion still matters.

A sweeping, imaginative, and convincing synthesis about U.S. territorial expansion...This book is an eye-opening gem. It deserves a large readership.
— Robert E. May, Professor Emeritus of History, Purdue University