Written in Blood

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading , well written , and thorough
Review: Exhaustively researched and unbiased, this book covers the Haitian national experience from the time of Columbus to the aftermath of the recent U.S. intervention. One of its strengths is that it was written by an American famility who lived in Haiti during some of its most tumultuous times, and developed a true passion for the topic.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, thorough history of the Haitian politics
Review: Having lived in Haiti for 5 months in 1996, I was quite eager to find this title. The author truly painted a vivid picture of a country that really grew on me. The early years from Columbus were very interesting as of course the last fifty years of this decade with the Duvaliers. Keen writing and explaination of voodoo was also appreciated in the appendix. A must read for anyone truly interested in the history of Haiti or the Caribbean nations.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome book of tragic Haitian history
Review: This book is awesome. It is a wonderful piece of work. My perspective is as someone who spent 9 months working in Haiti, however, I am not sure how appreciated it would be by someone who is less familiar with the country. It terrificly explains the tragic history of Haiti and ties in somewhat current events. I enjoyed reading it with the familiarity of knowing the places the author descibes. The only negative to this book may be that recent history isn't included due to it's publication date. As those familiar with Haiti well know, the political situation can quickly change in such a fragile country.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome book of tragic Haitian history
Review: This book is awesome. It is a wonderful piece of work. My perspective is as someone who spent 9 months working in Haiti, however, I am not sure how appreciated it would be by someone who is less familiar with the country. It terrificly explains the tragic history of Haiti and ties in somewhat current events. I enjoyed reading it with the familiarity of knowing the places the author descibes. The only negative to this book may be that recent history isn't included due to it's publication date. As those familiar with Haiti well know, the political situation can quickly change in such a fragile country.

Rating:
Summary: Very comprehensive, but very tedious.
Review: This is a "must read" for anyone who wants a complete, and relatively unbiased history of Haiti. However it suffers from a number of weaknesses. The one that would make reading much easier is to list the YEAR in which an event happened. The authors give a year and a month of an event, and then ten pages later state, "by September", not realizing that the reader has lost track of what year is being talked about. Second, there is no need to show off that the authors a fluent in French and Creole. It is distracting for anyone not really familiar with either language to figure out the little phrases the authors put in without translataion. Finally, one must keep in mind that the original author of this book was the senior U. S. Marine officer in Haiti during the time of Papa Doc (he was thrown out). As a result this book provides a very favorable review of the American occupation, and especially the role of the Marines.

Rating:
Summary: Written In Blood
Review: This is an excellent book. I have yet to read a more unbiassed detailed book on the history of Haiti, wheter in the French or English language.

The book details with precision the lives of the many players that have affected Haiti's political landscape in one way or another.

I recommend this book to all Haitians, or to anyone who's interested in knowing the reasons behind the current horrific political and social situation of Haiti.

You'll be suprised to learn who the true heroes of Haiti are.

Rating:
Summary: Written In Blood
Review: This is an excellent book. I have yet to read a more unbiassed detailed book on the history of Haiti, wheter in the French or English language.

The book details with precision the lives of the many players that have affected Haiti's political landscape in one way or another.

I recommend this book to all Haitians, or to anyone who's interested in knowing the reasons behind the current horrific political and social situation of Haiti.

You'll be suprised to learn who the true heroes of Haiti are.

Rating:
Summary: Shoddy editing and production.
Review: This updated edition of Written in Blood is a thorough treatment of Haitian history. The topic is exhaustively and one hopes accurately covered. I hope that it is accurately covered because the editing and production process evident in the copy that I bought is abominable. The book is rife with every conceivable editorial and production error known to Man. And the index is an abomination! If the quality of the research and writing that went into it is equivalent to the quality of its editing and production, this book is problematic. Because of my experience on Hispaniola, however, I suspect that such is not the case. I would recommend Written in Blood to anyone (particularly those limited to English) interested in Haiti. But I would admonish prospective readers to bear this caveat in mind,

Rating:
Summary: Ranks with Churchill, Gibbon and Maculay as Timeless Classic
Review: Very fair, with great detailed understanding of the convolutions of Haiti's tragic history. Glossary provides definitions of French and Creole terms. Photos and maps, along with a very helpful chronology .

I've read Churchill, Gibbon and Maculay's histories and say this book belongs in their company. The compassion for the suffering peoples and the trenchant and bitting comments about the selfish and deluded men and women who usually gain power, is very easy to read and hard to put down.

Living in Miami, having Haitian friends, I now understand why thse people are immagrants, and most of the Cubans who live here are "exiles"; eternal foreigners dreaming about a land with no Fidel. I also reccommend "Continental Drift", a novel about Haiti and the US, as well. Also a very good read. "Written In Blood" is a giant and great book that will leave you with one sure thing: congratulating yourself for reading it and your feeling anger at the poor leaders of Haiti, and compassion for the ordinary people who flee and those who remain.