“The Dictator Next Door . . . is a well-told story of relations between the United States and the Dominican Republic during the 1930s and 1940s. Perhaps the most important contribution of Roorda’s work is his convincing depiction of the buildup of Rafael Trujillo’s empire using the good neighbor policy to his advantage.” - Daniela Spenser, Hispanic American Historical Review
“[A] definitive account of United States policies toward the Dominican Republic during the first half of Rafael Trujillo’s odious regime. . . . [An] excellent study.” - Stephen G. Rabe, Journal of American History
“For an excellent view of the Good Neighbor Policy in action and the role of the military in basic foreign relations, this book is required reading.” - Robert Freeman Smith, Military History
“Roorda brings new details to light. . . . [He has] a nuanced sense of the tension in US policy between a commitment to nonintervention (on political, economic and moral grounds) and a belief that dictators should be held accountable to moral standards and democratic government encouraged.” - Steven Schwartzberg, Journal of Latin American Studies
“Roorda strips away the veneer of rhetoric and demonstrates what actually occurred in inter-American relations during the Roosevelt administration: for that, he should be commended.” - Irwin F. Gellman, International History Review
“Roorda’s book is a substantial contribution not only to our understanding of the dynamics of U.S.-Latin American relations during the Good Neighbor era but to an emerging international history that documents the capacity of small states on the peripheries of world power to influence the policies of superpowers at the center of the international system.” - Michael Grow, American Historical Review
“The Dictator Next Door is a powerfully argued, full-blown diplomatic history that sheds much useful light on a crucial period of United States foreign relations. There are many fine studies of the Good Neighbor Policy, but none comes close to Roorda’s densely textured knowledge of U.S.-Dominican relations.” - Lars Schoultz, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“An excellent piece of research on a topic that is both important and neglected. Roorda’s determination to look at this bilateral relationship as the product of a multiplicity of actors is indeed unique.” - Bruce Calder, University of Illinois at Chicago
"An essential history of American presidents Herbert Hoover and FDR's failed 'Good Neighbor Policy' in Latin America detailing how Trujillo manged to maintain support in Washington by siding against first the Fascists and later the Communists, despite the blatant horrors of his regime." - Rough Guide to the Dominican Republic
