Last of April’s Reviews
Today we present to you three reviews. One is about the momentous yet inscrutable Caribbean Revolution in Haiti (perhaps more significant now after the devastating 2010 earthquake). Another is about Brazil’s remarkable recent political history and foreign relations. And the last review is about cocaine, and though spotlighting the Andean region, it covers much more than that. So, with them we have a fair representation of Latin American geography.
Erica Johnson (Florida State University) first tells us that the book, _The Tree of Liberty_, is worth reading because it helps illuminate the many perplexing and subtle repercussions of the successful Haitian transformationfrom colonial slavery on Hispaniola. The editor of this collection, Doris L. Garraway, have gathered an exciting team of interdisciplinary scholars to examine cause and effect, literary consequence, and (most stimulating to me) the tracking of rumors and dissemination of ideas among Black populations outside of Haiti. At the core are concerns from scholars like Michel-Rolph Trouillot and David Patrick Geggus, who during the 1990s tried to initiate deeper understanding and interest on the Haitian Revolution and its impact throughout the Atlantic. Johnson gives us a close analysis of the original essays in this collection, helping to place them into its historiographical context.
In the second review, Shawn Smallman (Portland State University) informs us about Brazil’s potentially new boom through an examination of Sean W. Burges’ book. Smallman explains how _Brazilian Foreign Policy after the Cold War_ is among the best of a number ofpublications trying to explain Brazil’s political and economic resurgence in the last two decades. Smallman guides us through the book, shows the tricky research approach Burges had to do, and proves its value within its historiography. And as Smallman persuasively writes of Brazil’s economic discipline and political surprises, he also explains how the book’s limitations are as important as its strengths. This book, Smallman argues, is both accessible and a required reading for all advanced students, but even policymaking and those casually interested in Brazilian affairs should consider reading it.
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=31664
Elaine Carey (St. Johns University) reviews the third book in this group, a work that has received significant attention even outside of scholarly circles. Carey tells us how Paul Gootenberg’s _Andean Cocaine_ is not your ordinary story of the miracle drug. It is rather a compelling account produced by a first-rate, multi-archival research. Gootenberg wrote a nuanced account of a currently controversial commodity chain (with all of its emotional baggage) as a product of a historical development. By observing how the plant became a national hope, then a medicine and next a narcotic (vice), we grasp a deeper understanding of not simply individual struggles, but of the particular nature of this epoch’s political economy. As Carey reminds us, there is a difference between coca and cocaine, and if we are able to distinguish these words’ historical contexts, we may come out of this reading a bit more enlightened. Carey’s review is an excellent introduction to the book, which she shows to be relevant to the entire hemisphere’s history.
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32733
I offer my sincere thanks to the reviewers and to the editorial team behind H-LatAm’s review project.
