Book Description
Creole Made Easy. A simple introduction to Haitian Creole for English speaking people. Sixteen easy lessons cover the basic elements of Creole grammar and how to pronounce Creole words. The lessons include simple exercises and translation keys. A thorough up to date dictionary of over 4600 words Creole to English and English to Creole word translations is included. A 2 CD set pronunciation guide is available separately.
Customer Reviews:
Great for learning the language.......2007-05-13
This book had easy lessons that didn't cover a lot of material and so could be learned one lesson at a time in short periods of time.
Great for pronounciation basics.......2007-04-10
Dictionary is helpful, pronounciation guides are helpful, phrases and practices are not commonly used phrases or very practical phrases.
a great intro to Haitian Creole.......2007-04-03
I recently took a trip to Haiti, and in preparation for the trip I used the Creole Made Easy materials, including the Pronunciation Guide cd, and the Workbook. I used all three of them together, so I'll review them together as well.
Creole Made Easy is an excellent introduction to the Haitian Creole language. It provides the basic building blocks in terms of grammar and sentence structure from which to go further. This book is not an "emergency Creole" book, and didn't have anything by way of greetings, phrases to use while traveling, etc. Being in Haiti, those things were very easy to pick up, especially with some of the basic grammar under my belt. The Workbook is split into two sections, the first with exercises that correspond to each of the 16 lessons in Creole Made Easy. The second half of the workbook has more practical lessons like: numbers/time, months/days/seasons/weather, colors, family/friends, marketplace/food, around the house, and health and medicine. Indispensable to learning any foreign language is listening to it, and the Pronunciation Guide cd was excellent in that regard. I found that it was great practice for listening to the native speakers (though even then, I was listening too slowly most of the time) and great for understanding how to pronounce all of those nasal sounds. There were a couple of moments of frustration in using Creole Made Easy: there were a couple of misspellings; sometimes a word or phrase was used seemingly out of nowhere and wasn't listed in the mini-dictionary in the back of the book; a couple times a grammatical structure or phrasing was used and I had no idea why it was used that way, and it wasn't explained. This happened very few times, and can sometimes be a good problem-solving exercise that you need good practice for when trying to have actual conversations with Haitian people.
Of the eight people who went with me on my trip to Haiti, I was one of two who used Creole Made Easy, and the only one who completed all 16 lessons. I think some of the others used the Pimsleur cds (not any books). I was by far the best Creole speaker/listener and felt like I was in a perfect position to learn exponentially more while I was there. I was told over and over again "ou pale Creole byen!" ("you speak Creole well!") which I shrugged off for awhile until it began to sink in that this was true. Also, I wish I would have brought Creole Made Easy along with me instead of the Hippocrene Haitian Creole/English dictionary, because I think the dictionary in the back had a better selection of words and phrases I wanted to say. The Hippocrene has no phrases at all, and often didn't have the words I was looking for. All this said, I would strongly recommend the Creole Made Easy materials to anyone interested in learning Haitian Creole.
The Perfect Little Helper.......2006-07-21
I went to Haiti this year and before I left I had bought this book. Thank goodness I did. It was my bible the whole time I was there and it helped me get by very easily and the back of the book has a very useful dictionary that is easy to interprate.
Kreyol phraseologist........2006-06-02
This is THE book if you have heard the CD, of the same name and/or have some understanding of how words are phrased and the ennunciation of the Haitian Kreyol alphabet. If you do not have those basics down, you might be lost. Some of the pronunciation might be familiar, if you have had French, but since some of the Haitian Kreyol words are pronounced completely opposite of what you might think, you and the person you're speaking to, still may not understand.
All in all, I do recommend the book, but with those above stipulations.
Book Description
In 1791, Saint Domingue was both the richest and cruelest colony in the Western Hemisphere; more than a third of African slaves died within a few years of their arrival there. Thirteen years later, Haitian rebels declared independence from France after the first--and only--successful slave revolution in history. Much of the success of this uprising can be credited to one man, Toussaint Louverture--a figure about whom surprisingly little is known.
In this fascinating biography, the first about Toussaint to appear in English in more than fifty years, Madison Smartt Bell combines a novelist's passion for his subject with a deep knowledge of the historical milieu that produced the man. Toussaint has been known either as a martyr of the revolution or as the instigator of one of history’s most savagely violent events. Bell shatters this binary perception, producing a clear-eyed picture of a complicated figure.
Toussaint, born a slave, became a slaveholder himself, with associates among the white planter class. Bell demonstrates how his privileged position served as both an asset and a liability, enabling him to gain the love of blacks and mulattoes as "Papa Toussaint" but also sowing mistrust in their minds.
Another of Bell's brilliant achievements is demonstrating how Toussaint’s often surprising actions, such as his support for the king of France even as the French Revolution promised an end to slavery and his betrayal of a planned slave revolt in Jamaica, can be explained by his desire to achieve liberation for the blacks of Saint Domingue.
This masterly biography is a revelation of one of the most fascinating and important figures in New World history.
Customer Reviews:
TOUSSAINT-BLACK LIBERATION FIGHTER.......2007-06-19
The French Revolution, as all great revolutions, had effects on world politics and the struggle of other peoples whom awoken to political life in the afterglow of that event. The fight for freedom in French Santo Domingo (now Haiti, the name that I will use to avoid confusion hereafter) led by Toussaint to a point just short of independence is a prime example of that effect. Without the revolution in the metropolis it is very unlikely that at that time the struggle in Haiti could have been successful. The history of the times was replete with unsuccessful slave rebellions. Why it was successful in Haiti and how that success was accomplished, mainly under the leadership of Toussaint in its decisive phases, is the subject of Mr. Bell's book. Mr. Bell's scholarship and necessary updating of Toussaint's story compares very favorably with that of the eccentric Marxist, later Pan-Africanist, historian C.L.R. James.
The freedom struggle in Haiti, a tropical island well suited to intensive agricultural development for the new international market in those goods necessary for the embryonic industrial system, was above all the struggle for the abolition of slavery. The fight against that servile condition that even many revolutionaries, white and black, and former revolutionaries of the time broke their teeth on. Today that freedom struggle, successful in its way in the Haiti of the early 19th century, remains a shining example of the only really successful fight against slavery by the slaves. So it pays to pay particular attention to the fight.
The forces which pushed the French Revolution forward in the metropolis had their its own set of priorities, among them the fight to move the population from a condition of subjugation to a monarch to citizens of a democracy. I have noted elsewhere how important that changed social status was to the historical and psychological development of modern humankind. Nevertheless that same psychology applies to the struggle in Haiti although even more so under conditions of chattel slavery. Thus, the events in French had their reflection in the colonies particularly in Haiti. One can observe in France the changes in attitude and policy from the early revolutionary days when all classes were good fellows and true through the rise of the leftist Robespierre regime based on the plebian masses, its eventually overthrow and establishment of the Directory and then the various manifestations of the regimes of Napoleon. That regime and its treacherous colonial policy attempting was a very far drop down hill from the early heady days when even moderate revolutionaries were in both places prepared to go quite far to eliminate slavery in Haiti.
There is something of a truism in the statement that great revolutions throw up personalities fit for the times. Certainly revolutions shake up the traditional order of things and let some who might have stayed dormant rise to the occasion. That is the case with Toussaint. For most of his life he was a middle level functionary on his master's estate respected by not slated for greatness. Early on, as the struggle against slavery heated up among the black slaves he exhibited the military, social, political diplomatic and other skills that would eventual thrust him into the leadership of the liberation struggle, This is really saying something special about the man because in the context of that Haitian revolution with the initial disputes between British Spanish and French interests and then the conflicting interests on the island itself between white, black and mulatto would have driven a lesser man around the bend. That it did not do so and that in his errors that which at times were grievous, especially around his seemingly obsessive commitment to maintain the French connection, does not take away from the grandeur of the experience. A cursory look at the latter developments on the island and the seemingly never ending series of tin pot despots who in their turn devastated the island only brings out Toussaint's fascinating role, warts and all, in the earlier liberation struggle in broader relief.
strong Book.......2007-06-04
Madison Smarrt Bell writes a incredible Book on a True Leader who was bold and Revolutionary in how he commanded. this Book on this Man is long voerdue. Toussaint Louverture lead the Greatest slave Revolt. Toussaint is a Towering Figure in the History of Defending yourself and this Book is a Must read for all generations now and in the future.
A complex narrative of a complex topic.......2007-05-30
Haiti seems destined to endless instability and poverty. Bell's new biography of Toussaint L'Ouverture, a key figure in Haitian independence, sheds some light on the underlying issues: There were four groups in Haiti: The whites, the black slaves, mixed race "gens de couleur" and maroons--escaped slaves who lived in the hills. Toussaint himself was an unusual character: A free black who owned property. Against a background of tremendous cruelty and racism, the country devolves into civil war at the same time as the colonial power, France, is experiencing the end of monarchy.
In addition to the different interests within Haitian society, the revolution was complicated by Royalist French, French revolutionaries, the British (who wanted to preserve the idea of monarchy) and the Spanish (who had neighboring territory on Hispaniola and were being opportunistic). The result is four factions times four interfering external powers and you can soon see that Haitian politics becomes impossible to understand.
This biography clearly demonstrates Toussaints impressive personal gifts of courage and oratory, and helps the reader to understand that the foundation of Haiti as a country was never simply a matter of black slaves over-throwing their white masters. However, the level of detail is so great that the book is a very difficult read. One soon becomes lost in subsidiary characters and minor skermishes; the direction of the narrative is hard to grasp.
But perhaps that's the point.
While this book may have a place in college libraries, it can't be recommended to the casual reader.
Amazing!.......2007-02-27
Nashville's own Madison Smart Bell writes an amazing biography (after three fictional accounts) of the man who led the most successful slave revolt in history.
Welcome Biography by Outstanding Novelist of Haiti.......2007-02-25
Bell brings a writer's touch and deep empathy to the life of this towering but long-neglected 18th-Century black revolutionary. The biography is straight-foward, detailed, judicious and as well-researched as could be, considering the paucity of available primary sources on its subject's life. Particularly helpful are the careful placement of the Haitian revolution against the background of the French revolution, without loss of focus on the strategic brilliance (and weaknesses) of the book's central character.
Bell's is a much-needed corrective to the standard but outdated treatment of Toussaint L'Overture by the Caribbean Marxist writer C.L.R. James, whose work on L'Overture in now more than 60 years old. Bell treats the island's complicated race relations and the interaction of the Roman Catholic and Voudo religions with a remarkable depth and sensitivity, which he had already demonstrated in much greater depth in his acclaimed trilogy of novels on the Haitian revolution. He has done us a favor by taking up the biographer's pen, in place of the novelist's.
The book would have benefitted from a list of characters and a few better maps. And one aches to have more on the effect of the Haitian revolt on the early American republic, diplomacy, slave relations, abolitionism, the Louisiana Purchase, subsequent Haitian history, and so on, those these have been treated at least to some extent in other English-language sources.
Book Description
Placing the West's failure to acknowledge the most successful slave revolt in history alongside denials of the Holocaust and the debate over the Alamo, Michel-Rolph Trouillot offers a stunning meditation on how power operates in the making and recording of history.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating and Well-Written.......2006-03-30
If you liked any of Howard Zinn's books, you'll like this. Trouillot's analysis of historiography goes far beyond "history is written by the victors" to talk about the deliberate and systematic way that some voices, events, and narratives are excluded from the dominant historical record. If the first section is a little too theoretical (and, for me, it was), the heart of the book is three examples, focussing on the Sans Souci, a Haitian revolutionary; the Haitian revolution itself; and Columbus' arrival on the shores of America. These sections themselves, apart from their theoretical buttressing, are fascinating studies of historiography. A wonderful book.
Thought-provoking and essential reading.......2004-03-18
Troulloit's broad vision of both the past and the process by which we write about the past informs this immensely impressive series of essays. While not for the general reader, students of history and anthropology as well as professional academics will love this succinct, jargon-free approach to the most essential questions of historiography.
In-Depth Look at Historical Production.......2001-03-11
Trouillot sets out to answer the question: How is history produced? And he does a reasonably good job in at least laying a framework for discussing such a complicated issue. He seeks a middle-ground between what he calls positivist historicity and constructivist historicity, arguing, in effect, that past events did indeed happen the way they happened but also that our memories, stories, myths about them greatly influence our understanding of them. Using as case studies the Haitian Revolution, Sans Souci (a Haitian slave turned colonel) and Columbus Day, he then attempts to show how certain aspects of events have been silenced by those in power. Trouillot succeeds in many ways; he explores issues with ample caution, gives a fine critical survey of the snags and hazy areas involved in the topic, and pins down a number of useful conceptual tools (such as the different stages in historical production at which facts might be silenced). Where he falls short, however, is ironically in his inadequate appreciation of the inherent selectivity of history - the reality that silences are necessary, inescapable, and even desirable. (By studying Beethoven's life we thereby, and properly, "silence" the life of some unexceptional contemporary). Trouillot's goal, beyond investigating the nature of historical production, is to demonstrate that those creating Western history have been biased and wrong in silencing the stories he's presently exposing. He backs up this claim with zero evidence; in spending so much time showing what has been silenced he never gets around to offering his view of what SHOULD be silenced. Thus, as purely an exploration into the process of historical production, "Silencing the Past" largely succeeds (although here too a better emphasis would be how and why facts are accepted rather than how and why facts are silenced - same theme, more fruitful orientation). The value judgments Trouillot occasionally slips into, however, are out of place and groundless. All aside, "Silencing the Past" is a challenging read and a quite thoughtful account of historical production.
Public History distorted.......2000-08-23
Silencing the Past is an excellent account of how mistakes and mis-readings of history can contaminate the perspective an entire society's world view.
Troulliot's book is very applicable to the realm public history. Monuments, museums, displays and the like are all examples of how history influences our every day lives. Altough, without realizing it, we assume the things that we read and see in such places are entirely true. This is a mistake, as Troulliot points out, because, the amount we do know about our history, is only a fragment of what we don't know...and that when historians create public history they can only use the information available, which is most often the product of a white, western mind, published and tagged as 'history-proper'
Another factor in the use of history as a public tool is its tendency to be 'good' history. In that, all too often when history is presented to the public, it has a habit of being watered down, desanctified, and 'positively' presented. Only a curator with integrity and confidence would present a "full story," as more often than not, social taboos and political correctness prevent him from doing so. This is sad, as in the mean time, the historical process is damaged. What such a presenter of public history is doing when they present only favorable aspects of history is educating a public about half the story, which will then become part of a public world view, a world view, that is skewed in a way that will be very hard to correct.
A public mind is hard to change, the more a public wants to believe something, the longer they do. Believing a positive is always easier than the alternative. This is the importance of creating a sound, fair and accurate archive of public historical knowledge.
Troulliot's book serves a great purpose: it infects the reader with a historical vigilante syndrome. It tells the reader to be wary of history, but not to dismiss it. In so doing, he has created a masterpiece that informs, educates and calls the reader to act upon, and in many ways become, a vindicator of history and the historical process.
Challenging philosophical look at historical method.......1999-03-01
Michel-Rolph Trouillot argues that in the writing of history lots of things get lost and what is lost impacts our view of the past.
The first thing which is lost are some sources. For many of us there simply are no sources kept. For others there may have been historical traces but they have gotten lost or destroyed in time.
The next level of such data is that when data is collected and selected for various archives there is another level of things getting lost, sources, which there and existing, are effectively lost since there were not judged worthy of archiving.
Lastly, the individual historian much choose from the archival material what is important in telling the story of history the author is telling. Again in this process of selection events and parts of history get lost and suppressed.
What emerges as the story of history, what we, the readers and consumers of history come to regard as the REAL past, real history, is filtered in ways that we seldom acknowledge or realize.
Trouillot demonstrates this thesis with examples from Haitian history and chooses the clever divice of San Souci. There were three San Soucis. One was a person and two others were buildings. The first, the person was lost at the source. The second was weeded out in the typical archives. The last, while exciting at some level, is still not within the mainstream of most Haitian history. Trouillot books makes us sit back and realize that we have to realize there is no real HISTORY, but only the story that the sources that have survived and have been selected as important allow us to tell.
A delightful read. For a much more systematic and longer review please e-mail me and I'll send it to you.
Book Description
When Haitians tell a story, they say "Krik?" and the eager listeners answer "Krak!" In
Krik? Krak! In her second novel, Edwidge Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.
Customer Reviews:
Promising Cultural Portrayal.......2007-01-12
Great portrayal of the cultural identity of Haiti. Great job done by Danticat. Excellent language choice and beaufiful images. Can be compared to Zora Neale Hurston's style of writing. Expresses the theme of heritage conservation.
Read this book.......2006-06-20
It is refreshing to read a book published in a rich country about the common people of a poor country that is written from their point of view. The characters in this book could be, and may have been real people. They are portrayed with sympathy but not pity, with a realism of experience that cuts the reader. If only we could write about the american poor with this excellence. If only we would read more stories like this. If only...
If only..........2006-04-13
If only more people wrote like Edwidge Danticat, I would never be tempted to put a book down.
Emotive peek of life in Haiti and Haitians in the US!, .......2006-02-16
Krik! Krak! Edwidge Dandicat's second stroke of genius (the first being Breath, Eyes, Memory), takes readers through the terrors and triumphs of Haitian life with nine short stories. In Haitian folklore, storytellers say Krik! to alert listeners that a story is about to be told. Krak! is the response of listeners alerting the storyteller that they want a good tale told.
Dandicat not only captures the essence of Haiti, but the deeper levels of the human spirit with her trademark lyrical prose. A doomed refugee adrift on a cruel sea, a knowing prostitute and a frustrated father battling with the truth of his own dismal future are among the most memorable characters. Reading Danticat's splendid collection of stories gives you access to a world of people and places that you will grow to love. With tragic characters, subtle images of beauty and hope, and gestures that are never overdone.
Danticat's writing accomplishes the greatest task of any short story writer; she lets you empathize with her characters and walk around in their shoes. These stories are good for the heart. In a time when book stores' shelves groan beneath the weight of "girlfriend fiction," Dandicat's work is a refreshing reminder that good literature is not dead!
Krik? Krat!.......2006-01-23
Edwidge Danticat's book was touching. It was based mostly on the lives of the haitian people(expecally women)during the Haitian Revolution. It talked about peoples lives and how hectic things were. The book also touched on the traditions or beliefs of the Haitian people. I recommened this book becase it is the type of book that gets you thinking about life and the strugles of people that you never really here much about..it makes you see that in the real world everthing isnt perfect.
Amazon.com
In 1789 the French colony of Saint Domingue was the most profitable real estate in the world. These profits came at a price: while its sugar plantations supplied two-thirds of France's overseas trade, they also stimulated the greatest individual market for the slave trade. The slaves were brutally treated and died in great numbers, prompting a never-ending influx of new slaves.
The French Revolution sent waves all the way across the Atlantic, dividing the colony's white population in 1791. The elites remained royalist, while the bourgeoisie embraced the revolutionary ideals. The slaves seized the moment and in the confusion rebelled en masse against their owners. The Haitian Slave Revolt had begun. When it ended in 1803, Saint Domingue had become Haiti, the first independent nation in the Caribbean.
C.L.R. James tells the story of the revolt and the events leading up to it in his masterpiece, The Black Jacobins. James's personal beliefs infuse his narrative: in his preface to a 1962 edition of the book, he asserts that , when written in 1938, it was "intended to stimulate the coming emancipation of Africa." James writes passionately about the horrific lives of the slaves and of the man who rose up and led them--a semiliterate slave named François-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture. As James notes, however, "Toussaint did not make the revolution. It was the revolution that made Toussaint."
With its appendix, "From Toussaint L'Ouverture to Fidel Castro," The Black Jacobins provides an excellent window into the Haitian Revolution and the worldwide repercussions it caused. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
A classic and impassioned account of the first revolution in the Third World.
This powerful, intensely dramatic book is the definitive account of the Haitian Revolution of 1794-1803, a revolution that began in the wake of the Bastille but became the model for the Third World liberation movements from Africa to Cuba. It is the story of the French colony of San Domingo, a place where the brutality of master toward slave was commonplace and ingeniously refined. And it is the story of a barely literate slave named Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led the black people of San Domingo in a successful struggle against successive invasions by overwhelming French, Spanish, and English forces and in the process helped form the first independent nation in the Caribbean.
Customer Reviews:
Too much Marx.......2007-06-03
'The Black Jacobins', by C.L.R. James, is so sodden with Marxist cant as to be nearly useless. He can't get the story straight through all the verbiage. A far better account of Toussaint is found in Richard Gillespie's book, Papa Toussaint.
The other problem with James' book is he almost completely ignores military engagements. One can read the entire book and almost never learn of the War of the Knives. Given Toussaint's obvious military genius, this is a serious weakness. Again, Gillespie has the correct balance.
I've written a book set in modern Haiti, though it is fictional. It's entitled Naked in Haiti: A sexy morality tale about tourists, prostitutes & politicians. It's about politics & sex tourism, but mostly it is meant as entertainment.
Caribbean person's review of Black Jacobins.......2007-02-09
My interest the book was kindled by Michener's reference to it in his book 'THe Caribbean' which I only read recently.
When I would see black people holding high office in the US army I would see it as evidence of the enlightened attitude of the American society. I now know that that 'enlightenment' wast the result of a lesson taught by Haitians since the 1790's.
An excellent work which should be read by all especially Caribbean blacks!
TOUSSAINT AND THE BLACK LIBERATION STRUGGLE .......2007-01-24
The French Revolution, as all great revolutions, had effects on world politics and the struggle of other peoples whom awoken to political life in the afterglow of that event. The fight for freedom in French Santo Domingo (now Haiti, the name that I will use to avoid confusion hereafter) led by Toussaint to a point just short of independence is a prime example of that effect. Without the revolution in the metropolis it is very unlikely that at that time the struggle in Haiti could have been successful. The history of the times was replete with unsuccessful slave rebellions. Why it was successful in Haiti and how that success was accomplished, mainly under the leadership of Toussaint in its decisive phases, is the subject of the eccentric Marxist, later Pan-Africanist historian C.L.R. James. Although originally written in 1938 Black Jacobin is still the best biography of Toussaint in English.
The freedom struggle in Haiti, a tropical island well suited to intensive agricultural development for the new international market in those goods necessary for the embryonic industrial system, was above all the struggle for the abolition of slavery. The fight against that servile condition that even many revolutionaries, white and black, and former revolutionaries of the time broke their teeth on. Today that freedom struggle, successful in its way in the Haiti of the early 19th century, remains a shining example of the only really successful fight against slavery by the slaves. So it pays to pay particular attention to the fight.
The forces which pushed the French Revolution forward in the metropolis had their its own set of priorities, among them the fight to move the population from a condition of subjugation to a monarch to citizens of a democracy. I have noted elsewhere how important that changed social status was to the historical and psychological development of modern humankind. Nevertheless that same psychology applies to the struggle in Haiti although even more so under conditions of chattel slavery. Thus, the events in French had their reflection in the colonies particularly in Haiti. One can observe in France the changes in attitude and policy from the early revolutionary days when all classes were good fellows and true through the rise of the leftist Robespierre regime based on the plebian masses, its eventually overthrow and establishment of the Directory and then the various manifestations of the regimes of Napoleon. That regime and its treacherous colonial policy attempting was a very far drop down hill from the early heady days when even moderate revolutionaries were in both places prepared to go quite far to eliminate slavery in Haiti.
There is something of a truism in the statement that great revolutions throw up personalities fit for the times. Certainly revolutions shake up the traditional order of things and let some who might have stayed dormant rise to the occasion. That is the case with Toussaint. For most of his life he was a middle level functionary on his master's estate respected by not slated for greatness. Early on, as the struggle against slavery heated up among the black slaves he exhibited the military, social, political diplomatic and other skills that would eventual thrust him into the leadership of the liberation struggle, This is really saying something special about the man because in the context of that Haitian revolution with the initial disputes between British Spanish and French interests and then the conflicting interests on the island itself between white, black and mulatto would have driven a lesser man around the bend. That it did not do so and that in his errors that which at times were grievous, especially around his seemingly obsessive commitment to maintain the French connection, does not take away from the grandeur of the experience. A cursory look at the latter developments on the island and the seemingly never ending series of tin pot despots who in their turn devastated the island only brings out Toussaint's fascinating role, warts and all, in the earlier liberation struggle in broader relief.
Hermetic Scholarship.......2007-01-23
I've read a number of books on the Caribbean and was taught about the Haitian revolution in school. The latter cursorily in comparison to James's work. His analysis of race and class are concurrent as the Haitian dymanics necessitate such. One of the most salient things was the bizarreness of the social arrangements in Haiti: Great Whites, Small Whites, Mulattoes (even more stratification in this class) and Africans. Maybe the events that transpired were ineluctable. Here are these variant races and classes in the midst of an African revolution with a French Revolution correlate and interface. This political climate produced some of the most intelligent, heroic and proficient men in History: Toussaint, Dessalines, Moise, Petion and Christophe. James's work is flawless and timeless.
Good but too much marxism.......2006-12-29
This is an older account of how San Domingo became Haiti and the rode to freedom from slavery. Be warned it carries a Marxist slant throughout the whole book but once you ignore that then the story is very compelling. It is one of the best accounts of what happened on San Domingo and you get a sense for how the French Revolution influenced what was happening the Caribbean. If you are just starting out on Caribbean history this is the perfect book to start with. It shows how the cultural identity began to take shape and what happened to the French Caribbean possessions.
Book Description
In 1982, Harvard-trained ethnobotanist Wade Davis traveled into the Haitian countryside to research reports of zombies—the infamous living dead of Haitian folklore. A report by a team of physicians of a verifiable case of zombification led him to try to obtain the poison associated with the process and examine it for potential medical use.
Interdisciplinary in nature, this study reveals a network of power relations reaching all levels of Haitian political life. It sheds light on recent Haitian political history, including the meteoric rise under Duvalier of the Tonton Macoute. By explaining zombification as a rational process within the context of traditional Vodoun society, Davis demystifies one of the most exploited of folk beliefs, one that has been used to denigrate an entire people and their religion.
Customer Reviews:
Revealing the truth behind zombies and voodoo!.......2006-02-16
Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie by Dr. Wade Davis, 1988.
Preface by Dr. Richard Evens Schultes (Harvard).
We have all seen the stereo-typical archetypes of the zombie portrayed on TV, in the movies, in video games, etc. But what if zombies are real? Dr. Wade Davis has given us the science of fact behind the mythological tales of the Haitian zombie.
Dr. Davis provides evidence beyond reasonable doubt for documented cases of zombies. As a student of the famed Dr. Richard Evens Schultes of Harvard's Botanical Museum, Dr. Davis sets out to uncover the mysterious history, pharmacology, anthropology (enthobiology) and socio-political motivations behind zombies.
As it turns out, the history of creating zombies is a political one. The slaves brought with them from Africa to Haiti their shamanic knowledge of powerful poisons as well as their systems of punishment, law, politics, government and secret societies (Bizango) that formed from the maroons. It is herein revealed that the Vodoun religion of Haiti is as much a political structure as it is a religious one. Part of the magic dealt by bokers and houngan of the Bizango societies of that of law and order, and sometimes punishment is dealt to the guilty in the form of zombification.
However, in Haiti, and juxtaposed to foreign concepts of zombies, the people actually fear becoming zombies, not being attacked by them. This is because the pariahs of society, the criminals, repeat thieves, rapists, those who take advantage of others for their own gain, those who don't properly share land with kin according to need and family size, are those who will be targeted for zombification. Zombification is not dealt out on a whim by evil sorcerers. It is only dealt after and public tribunal and hearing in which a member of the group is found guilty.
Davis here lays down the foundation of exactly how these zombies are created. A houngan or boker is appointed executioner by the Bizango society. These are people who have great knowledge of plant irritants and animal poisons such as tetrodotoxin of various puffer fish species (also known as fugu), frogs, etc. The guilty person is then, and often unknowingly slowly poisoned with a mixture of these deadly toxins. Depending on the sentence dealt by Bizango, if the sentence isn't death by poisoning, then it's often zombification. The poison places the victim in a catatonic state where heart rate slows, breath is almost non-existent, and to the best medical experts, the victim eventually appears dead. Due to the warm tropical climate of Haiti, the dead are normally buried within 24 hours. The victim in his catatonic state is buried (while fully conscious) in a coffin where the houngan who "killed" him will dig him up within a few days. He will cart the victim off while dazed to another location where the victim is forced to eat Datura for long periods to further confuse, disorientate, and scramble the mind of the victim who will then typically be enslaved - a true zombie.
The practice of the Vodoun religion is here shown as a sound, practical and important part of Haitian society and political self determination. Vodoun is here proven as a practice that has brought these people their well earned freedom and self determination for over 200 years, and will hopefully continue to do so with the present onslaught of colonialist invaders.
An important side note here is the fantastic information within this book on the secret societies themselves. This information is certainly important for anthropological examination of the origins of other secret societies.
Five stars!
Excellent Works; Good Groundwork.......2005-05-07
Passage of Darkness seems to be the technical book of Wade Davis's findings after the field research was complete. SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW was the more popular version of the same material.
For anyone interested in this field, the work bears up under multiple readings. As to why "no followup"... take a look at Wade Davis's collected essays: the man is a polyglot in a marvelous sense. His current projects are absolutely essential, and he documents some cultures that are dying out. He has laid the groundwork for probably a number of Phd theses.
Check out :
Haiti: Guide to the Periodical Literature in English, 1800-1990 (Bibliographies and Indexes in Latin American and Caribbean Studies)
by Frantz Pratt (Compiler)
for more source material on Haiti. Wade Davis's Books including this one, PASSAGE OF DARKNESS, provide a great list of material to study a very significant culture.
Great work - He also did the leg work.......2000-04-29
I actually met Wade Davis when he came to Haiti to do his research on his book, and I know personnaly manny of the characters in the book. Wade did an excellent job in portraying what goes on in the underworld of Haiti.
The chapter when he talks about the driver of the commandant of St Marc who was actually a secret society leader and actually had more power and influence than his boss is really key point in the balance of power in Haiti. Those who seem to be nobodies sometimes have more power than presidents
Interesting, informative.......1999-03-27
While the information in the book can be gotten elsewhere these days, Davis' text holds together quite well, and without caving in to any commercial artiface. The term "ethnobiology" seems a little much, however -- I am not sure that any new theoretical ground has been surveyed.
Fascinating, but why no follow up.......1997-02-23
This is an excellent well written and well researched book that gripped my like few non-fiction books ever have, yet, it leaves science minded people hanging. After all the research Davis conducted it makes no sense that he failed to follow up with experimentation using tetrodotoxin in a laboratory setting. It seems that he comes so close to finding a new use for this sodium blocking drug but fails to follow up. Maybe he has and I just haven't been able to find it despite extensive efforts. If you know of any follow-up please e-mail me
Book Description
The Uses of Haiti tells the truth about uncomfortable matters-uncomfortable, that is, for the structures of power and the doctrinal framework that protects them from scrutiny. It tells the truth about what has been happening in Haiti, and the US role in its bitter fate.-Noam Chomsky, from the introduction
In this third edition of the classic The Uses of Haiti, Paul Farmer looks at what has happened to the health of the poor in Haiti since the coup.
Winner of a McArthur Genius Award,
Paul Farmer is a physician and anthropologist who has worked for 25 years in Haiti, where he serves as medical director of a hospital serving the rural poor. He is the subject of the Tracy Kidder biography, Mountains Beyond Mountains.
Customer Reviews:
Haiti used for sex tourism.......2007-06-06
Readers of this book may also be interested in a fictional account of sex tourism in Haiti. It's entitled Naked in Haiti: A sexy morality tale about tourists, prostitutes & politicians.
Paul Farmer's Haiti.......2007-05-18
Another one of Dr. Paul Farmer's great insights and works regarding what really goes on in our world's history and in life today. He gives great detail and record of events that we as humans should not ignore, comma!
the greatest book on Haiti's recent history.......2007-02-04
Dr Paul Farmer wrote a passionate and well researched book.
His work in Haiti is remarkable and his courage talking against the coup
makes him for ever a friend of Haiti.
Wake up America!.......2007-01-15
The content, in the beginning, was difficult for a non political/history reader....but before long I was locked in and was amazed...appalled...at the role of our government in keeping the Haitian people in 'slavery' while claiming to support democracy. Life is a political game to which I have closed my eyes for too long! I am ashamed of the underhanded political dealings my government has been part of in keeping the poor people of Haiti prisoners of the elite and military powers of their own country....Paul Farmer has no ax to grind....he should be applauded and held in high esteme for his courage and wisdom ....and for the first hand exteriences of Haiti that he shares with the little people of the world...us. We give too much trust and power to our gov/politicians who work the system to their own advantage. Learn something citizens of America.....we are being led like sheep....we are part of the problem of the economic abuses being leveled against a small, destitute , struggling country that is fighting for their right to govern themselves as they see fit, with no real support from the rest of the world...least of all the U.S.
Disappointing.......2005-02-09
A disappointing biased review of the history and politics of Haiti. The conspiring bogeymen consist of the USA, France, Canada, the UN, the World bank, the IMF, JFK, the OAS, Bill Clinton, George Bush, most journalists and especially that right wing mouthpiece - the NY Times. This narrative can be likened to the blind mans description of the elephant. A disjointed and bizarre introduction by Noam Chomsky is included.
Customer Reviews:
Topnotch reportage.......2007-02-08
Ms. Wilentz has created a fascinating account of life and politics in this turbulent country. Definitely worth reading even for those with no particular interest in Haiti.
Essential history for those interested in Haiti.......2000-06-16
In The Rainy Season, Wilentz leads the reader through the world of Haiti and its people, both those who are corrupt and those who struggle each day against corruption. I will visit Haiti for the 6th time this summer but I have not previously read anything in-depth about Haitian history. This book opened my eyes to essential information that every traveller to Haiti should be aware of, out of respect to the violent history of Haiti and the people who have survived through it. No one should attempt to "help" the Haitian people without first understanding the results of "help" already rendered in the past. Wilentz makes these (often tragic) results clear, and humbles all of us in the process.
If you have gone to Haiti, or will go to Haiti, whether as a missionary, journalist, diplomat, or foreign aid worker, don't go ignorant. Read The Rainy Season (and more recent publications as well) first.
Haiti in the interim.......2000-01-29
If you are trying to figure out the muddle that is Haitian political history, this book can help. Covering Haiti from the fall of Baby Doc until early 1989, Willentz gives a close-up look at the parade of dictators and terrorists running the (in theory) post-Duvalier country. She also provides a personal connection to Aristide, then a radical priest continually in hiding from a government wishing to silence him.
In addition to the internal political movements and terrorism, Willentz shows us the ties between Haiti's troubles and the United States. If you are not familiar with American policy in regard to Haiti, you will be in for a disappointing and infuriating surprise. We sucked!
The book also covers the standards to be found in every book on Haiti: voodoo, illiteracy, slave revolution rememberings, hunger, poverty, exploitation, class and racial imbalances.
Perhaps its greatest asset is the datedness of the text. Written after Duvalier and before Aristide, the view of both is fairly unbiased. If you want to learn more about Haiti's past, present and future, you should check this one out.
A great book on a country too often ignored.......1999-09-13
I just finished reading a copy of this book I found in a second-hand store. It's too bad it is out of print, because it is brilliant. It covers the period from 1986 to 1989, so it is a bit out of date -- a lot has happened in Haiti since then. But it remains relevant because it paints a vivid portrait of how challenging it is to change Haiti, something that remains true today. If you can find it, read it.
Book Description
Catch the sunrise from the Caribbean's highest peak, dance in Spanish colonial streets during Carnival, glide through mangrove forests in search of gentle manatees - or find that deserted beach with pure white sand and clear blue seas. This essential guide will help you discover the many faces of this island paradise.
GET ACTIVE with our comprehensive coverage of the island's adventure sports, from hiking up Pico Duarte to world-class kiteboarding at Cabarete.
LIVE LIKE A LOCAL - discerning eating and entertainment listings show you where to get the best pastelito and catch the latest baseball game.
RELAX & RECHARGE in the best all-inclusive resorts or away from the crowds in a bungalow on the beach.
PLAN THE PERFECT GETAWAY with dedicated itineraries, including beach-hopping, national parks and the highlights of Santo Domingo.
¡HABLA ESPANOL! with the help of our practical Spanish language chapter.
Customer Reviews:
Dominican Adventures.......2007-01-09
I had only a brief five day visit to the DR in the Fall of 2006 for a wedding. Even though I was traveling with a local-speaking partner who had been to the DR many times, I still bought the Lonely Planet book and used it to help build an itinerary. I only had a chance to visit the Southeast corner of the country, as well as the city of Santo Domingo. The Lonely Planet guide helped me find clean and affordable accomodations for less than $50USD/night right on the beach where we rented a local fishing boat for two days to go diving and snorkeling in the local reefs. I'm looking forward to going back to explore other parts of the country. Rental cars were inexpensive, but driving in the DR is an experience as it almost seemed like a "free-for-all" at times. The main Interstate is well maintained, but a majority of the local roads are not. The Lonely Planet guide ~as always~ was accurate and helpful.
Nothing About Haiti.......2006-12-22
There is nothing in this book regarding Haiti. Amazon lists the title of this book as "Lonely Planet Dominican Republic (Lonely Planet Dominican Republic & Haiti)" and this isn't correct. Now I have to pay to ship it back to them. Thanks Amazon!
Best information for trip to the Dominican Republic.......2006-07-14
After a short visit to the D. R., I ordered this book in anticipation of my next trip there. I was surprised and pleased with the detailed information.
Complete, informative and useful.......2006-03-27
All that you would expect from a Lonely Planet Guide. Well worth buying for making a trip to the Dominican Republic. It will enable you to chose a resort to suite your taste, and to visit places that interest you.
Great insight for the off-the-beaten-path traveler.......2005-12-21
Go beyond the all-inclusive resorts to see the 'real' Santo Domingo and let the experts handle the logistics so you can experience the warmth of the Haitian people. Great resource, great research, well-done and easy to navigate.
Book Description
A master work of observation and description about the lives and rituals of the Haitian mambos and adepts, and of the history and origins of their religion.
Customer Reviews:
A gem on Haiti's religion indigène........2007-02-11
Jacques Roumain's old traveling partner penned this thorough and respectful survey of Haitian vodou in 1959. A must for anyone seriously exploring the system of belief.
superb study of voodoo.......2002-12-01
The most carefully researched and authentic scholarly book on
Voodoo. Reads very well--good in-depth coverage.
Objective and Respectful.......2002-09-18
Alfred Metraux's study of Haitian vaudou is as comprehensive as one can imagine an outsider can achieve. The book covers the history, social framework, gods, spirits, and loa, rituals, magic, and what The Church thinks. There are antecdotal stories that illustrate the powers and beliefs of vaudou practitioners. Metraux's direct observations are ususally imparted without condescension. I found the writing to be scholarly as well as approachable and entertaining. An excellent resource for those interested in this misunderstood Creole religion.
A Good Place to Start.......2000-10-21
If you want to learn something about Voodoo, then start with Alfred Metraux's "Voodoo in Haiti". It's the most straight down the line, objective, anthropological study of voodoo that one can find. Often, better editions of the book are accompanied by Metraux's photography, which in itself tells one a great deal about this religion. Factual evidence is the priority here and for that reason alone, it's a respectable book that doesn't tell any lies. Metraux is the classic 'outsider' who is looking in at Voodoo, and his viewpoint is never marred by Western conceits or judgements. "Voodoo in Haiti" firmly puts Voodoo in its place alongside every other religion in the world: it has value, merits, problems and practices. Most importantly of all, Metraux does not once mention "Live and Let Die".
Straight, objective anthropological overview of Vodoun.......1998-05-24
This, and Zora Neale Hurston's Tell My Horse: Voodoo in Haiti and Jamaica, are probably the best straight-up objective studies of Voodooism as it is seriously practiced. This books gives the reader the "white anthropologist's" point of view, and is somewhat more objective than Hurston's book. Not making any judgements abotu the religion, all it gives is 100+ pages of defintive facts in the forms of text anf images.
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- Creole Thrift: Premium Southern Living Without Spending a Mint
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- Digital Imaging for Photographers
- Digital Nature Photography Closeup
- Digital Video for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Great Home Movies (Lark Photography Book)
- Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories
- Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television
- Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund: The Second Dixie Hemingway Mystery (Dixie Hemingway Mysteries)
- Edge of Darkness: The Art, Craft, and Power of the High-Definition Monochrome Photograph
- Edward Weston's California Landscapes
Books Index
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- The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years
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- Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast
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General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Creole Made Easy Pronunciation Guide
Creole Made Easy Workbook
Pimsleur Haitian Creole: Learn to Speak and Understand Haitian Creole with Pimsleur Language Programs (Compact)
The Oxford Picture Dictionary: English-Haitian Creole Edition (Oxford Picture Dictionary Program)
Creole-English/English-Creole (Caribbean): Hippocrene Concise Dictionary
