He transforms what, on its surface, appears to be a national American story into one of international, imperialist, and colonial history by reading contingency against assumed outcomes decentering national creation myths and foregrounding alternative Indigenous, Chinese, and other voices. Its contributions to critiques of settler colonialism and racial capitalism are substantial and are sure to be influential in years to come." - Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association "Challenges existing scholarship and fields of study in profound ways. " Empire’s Tracks powerfully and effectively portrays how US countersovereignty uses the railroad to stop the unraveling of its own claims to land and space through an unceasing campaign of extirpation and violence. It will prompt readers to think critically about historical interpretation and responsibility, and the future consequences of our exploitative political economy." - Journal of Cultural Economy
While Karuka’s argument that US imperialism predates 1898 is not new, his sophisticated interdisciplinary approach sheds new light on the historical intersection of capitalism and imperialism. Historians would do well to pay close attention." - Western Historical Quarterly "This is an impressive piece of scholarship. imperialism and a call for Indigenous, feminist modes of decolonization: an urgent project with deep roots in Indigenous histories, cultures, and economies. Karuka concludes with a meditation on present-day U.S.
Empire’s Tracks is impressive in its complexity, ambition, and ability to intertwine multiple processes in nineteenth-century continental history. It is a moment where monopolies breathe new life as seemingly benevolent multinational, e-commerce corporations when oil pipelines continue to cut through North America despite opposition from Indigenous peoples (amongst others) and when threats of mass deportations emanate from the highest political offices.Karuka’s sincere meditation on the historicity of war, finance and countersovereignty is deeply welcomed as it sensitises readers to the tragically unexceptional reality of the present." - LSE Review of Books "A timely and provocative book, creating new ideas with which to re-examine the well-worn story of the railroad." - Society & Space ". Reviews " Empire’s Tracks comes at a critical juncture, which only compounds its appeal.