The Purposes of Paradise shows how travel and tourism shaped U S imperialism in Cuba and Hawai i between the 1850s when expansionists imagined them as twin possessions and revolution and statehood in 1959 It explores the relationships between imperial fantasies and political practices in Americans favorite tropical isles The Purposes of Paradise shows how travel and tourism shaped U S imperialism in Cuba and Hawai i between the 1850s when expansionists imagined them as twin possessions and revolution and statehood in 1959 It explores the relationships between imperial fantasies and political practices in Americans favorite tropical isles