Samuel Inman's work on Haiti and the Dominican Republic was sparked by the American invasion and occupation of those states in 1915 and 1916, respectively. The Committee on Cooperation in Latin America, which employed Inman for this work, was an American Protestant missionary organization whose primary concern was establishing Protestant missions and evangelistic social organization in the former New World provinces of Spain. The book gives an overview of the people, history, economy, and social norms in each country, providing a good snapshot of the region from the perspective of an engaged and informed American spectator. The context of the American occupation also increases the value of the work.