Administration of a Revolution: Executive Reform in Puerto Rico under Governor Tugwell, 1941-1946

Goodsell, Charles T., Administration of a Revolution: Executive Reform in Puerto Rico under Governor Tugwell, 1941-1946, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965.

Reviewed in Caribbean Studies © 1966 .

Reviewed in The American Historical Review © 1966.

From the book jacket:

This book is a study of how, under Tugwell’s leadership, the decrepit, incompetent colonial bureaucracy of Puerto Rico was transformed into a vigorous, effective, and creative apparatus. The book’s importance lies both in providing a fuller understanding of Puerto Rico’s recent past and also in pointing up the great importance of an adequate administrative underpinning for the social revolutions of all developing areas.

Rexford Guy Tugwell (July 10, 1891 – July 21, 1979) was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President. Tugwell subsequently served in FDR's administration for four years and was one of the chief intellectual contributors to his New Deal. His ideas on urban planning during the Great Depression resulted in the construction of Greenbelt, Maryland and other new suburbs.