Securing Paradise: Tourism and Militarism in Hawaiʻi and the Philippines

Vernadette Vicuna Gonzalez Softcover, 296 pp. Next Wave: New Directions in Women's Studies \n \nIn Securing Paradise, Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez shows how tourism and militarism have functioned together in Hawaii and the Philippines, jointly empowering the United States to assert its geostrategic and economic interests in the Pacific. She does so by interpreting fiction, closely examining colonial and military construction projects, and delving into present-day tourist practices, spaces, and narratives. For instance, in both Hawaii and the Philippines, U.S. military modes of mobility, control, and surveillance enable scenic tourist byways. Past and present U.S. military posts, such as the Clark and Subic Bases and the Pearl Harbor complex, have been reincarnated as destinations for tourists interested in World War II. The history of the U.S. military is foundational to tourist itineraries and imaginations in such sites. At the same time, U.S. military dominance is reinforced by the log