By the author's own admission, these stories weren't necessarily the best-told she encountered while researching folk tales in Haiti. The flat page lacks the beauty of the oral tale, and some of these stories may have been a little weak in the telling; but on the page they reveal a great deal about Haiti, and are a fascinating read besides.

Folk tales reveal a great deal about a culture-what it values, how members of the society relate, what their beliefs are. These tales do exactly that. While they aren't as clear-cut, with a defined beginning, middle, and end, as American readers have become accustomed to, they do give away a great detail about Haiti. Life is unfinished; hardship is to be embraced and studied; the spirit world is right here at hand, not a million miles away above the clouds.

Even on their own, they stand as a monument to the creative act and the power of the human intellect. These stories will infect your head like a virus, spreading and replicating, until you have to pass them on. Read them casually, and you will be enlightened. Study them seriously, and you may be transformed.

If you're looking for stories with pat, solid endings, this is not the book for you. But, if you're looking for something that reflects the eccentricity and style of Haiti, then this is it. The stories are magical and you can almost see the people telling them for themselves! Kric?

I lived in a remote village in Haiti for five years and found this book while home in the USA for a visit. I found its stories unusual and charming -- and authentic! When I returned to Haiti I had a wonderful time with my Haitian friends as I related the stories I had read in this book and they would finish telling them with me and share how their mothers and fathers had shared these same stories with them.

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.

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.

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.

When the original edition Divine Horsemen went out of print, this Vantage paperback edition was released under the name of Divine Horsemen Voodoo Gods of Haiti. Same book, but collectors item for Deren enthusiasts.See review on this page for the new edition of the original work.

Divine Horsemen was the title used in England by Thames and Hudson. When printed in paperback form in the US, The Voodoo gods became the title.Rare collectors item, if you can get ahold of it.See review for Divine Horsemen elsewhere on this page ( the new released version)

For the record, I have met and worked with Lois and Frisner for a brief and wonderful period in 2001. I cannot claim to know them as their close friends might, but they are both very dear to my heart and I'll remember my experience with them for the rest of my life. Lois has dedicated much of her professional, creative life to studying Haitian music and Vodou ceremonies that she learned both through Frisner and the time she has spent in Haiti. To my knowledge, there is no other book which documents the role of music in Haiti so consisely or accurately. The book is packed with excellent information, well written musical examples, and valuable insight. This is a must-have book for percussionists, musicologists, and anybody who has an interest in Carribean music and/or history (not excluding those who may be interested in Afro-American, Latin-American, Jazz/Fusion and their respective histories).

Both thumbs are enthusiastically UP!

I highly recommend this book. Wilcken has done us a great service in presenting the subject without prejudice. Her research is unprecedented. I'm recommending that Black bookstores in my area have copies on hand for sale.

You'll be fascinated, impressed, depressed, and delighted with Arthur's succinct introduction to the people, culture, and history of a small nation so very close to U.S. shores and U.S. history, yet so very far from our thoughts. From the joyful cover image to photos of brightly-painted buses to the clear maps and tips for travelers, Arthur delivers more than promised--as does Haiti herself. You'll come back for more, once you taste this brief introduction to the famed Hotel Oloffson, tap-taps and Vodou, rara and compa and rasin music, Sweet Micky & Boukman Eksperyans & Tabou Combo, the "little church" and "the flood," peasant movements and death squads, creole pigs and deforestation, poverty and structural adjustment, Toussaint Louverture & the slave revolution, the Duvalier dictatorship and the Tonton Macoutes, poetry and paintings. This book came just in time to enlighten & amaze students in my class on the prize-winning works of Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. We all give this little book a two-thumbs-up!

Sometimes it's hard to be an American, and to look out at what we've done to the rest of the world.

Haiti will soon be celebrating its bicentennial of independence. As the second-oldest nation in the Western Hemisphere and the black nation with the longest uninterrupted history, it should by rights be rich, educated, forward thinking, and a bright light for the rest of the world. However, imperialist forces from abroad, including France, Britain, and most recently the United States of America, have colored its two centuries. Its people have been harangued by Castro's Cuba, Trujillo's Dominican Republic, Bush and Clinton's USA, and even the wildly corrupt Duvalier administration. Its land is stripped, its resources have been plundered, its cities are grossly overpopulated, and its seas are silted. And yet, somehow, Haiti survives.

In the wake of the 1991 coup that unseated President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the 1994 US-led UN invasion that restored him to power, much news was made. Haiti was front-page headliner material nearly every day, a prestigious international hot spot. Names were made and broken in political spheres around the Haiti issue. Debate ran high. And then everything just disappeared. Haiti merited a two-paragraph mention on page twelve if the paper needed filler, and then only in large papers that could dedicate themselves to foreign affairs. For most of us, even those of us who maintained our religious interest in the nation, an entire nation may just as well have dropped off the face of the earth.

British activist Charles Arthur, whose other works on Haiti include "A Haitian Anthology: Libète," identifies himself as a "Solidarity Activist." His latest book, "Haiti in Focus," is subtitled "A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture," and it lives up to that description admirably. For those interested, the available information is brought up to date through the middle of 2001. Arthur details the current political struggles surrounding the election of Aristide to another term in office; he lets us know about the struggle between Protestant missionaries and vodou adherents for control of the site at which the Haitian Revolution began; and he even gives us pointers on how to tour the country.

This slim, easy-to-read book is deceptively clear. It focuses on what Haiti is today, and on the forces that have made it so. Arthur posits no blame for what's happened to the country; yet observant reading serves to point out several recurrent patterns. Currently, the United States has been trying to micromanage the Haitian economy to the advantage of America, and indeed has been using the Monroe Doctrine as an excuse to do so for some time. This has been happening in force through the last century, though it can be traced overtly to 1862, when the US recognized the country's sovereignty, and more covertly back to Haitian independence, when the US refused to recognize a free black nation.

America is not alone in this treatment, however. Britain immediately recognized Haiti's independence, but apparently only for political advantage and access to the profitable plantations. When the plantation economy went the way of all flesh, Britain appears to have just walked away. France held recognition for ransom, offering it only when Haiti paid massive war indemnities that left the country in financial ruin from which it hasn't fully recovered. The United Nations and the Organization of American States have consistently tried to co-opt Haiti's foreign policy and dictate domestic positions, and the European Union, primarily under pressure from France, is now trying to horn in on Haitian self-determination. As Arthur explains, Haiti remains a small force, battered on all sides by winds it cannot satisfactorily resist.

The country is also riven internally. Though all involved want the country to flourish and thrive, wildly dissimilar ideas persist as to what would make this happen. Christian missionaries, primarily Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, have brought their faith to the country, but even Jesus Himself hasn't preserved the country. Aristide and his coalition have concrete ideas for how to use the government to resolve problems, but his plans are controversial and have stirred up strong negative feelings. Education is usually severely inadequate because of the lack of skilled teachers, disagreements over the importance of French, and the high cost of schooling in a poor nation. Meanwhile, poverty is swelling, illiteracy remains rampant, and nothing is being done about it.

However, in Arthur's estimation, Haiti remains a culturally vibrant land, a noble nation resisting the homogeneity of Western-styled "globalization." The native art, music, and religion of the land are the most African in the Western Hemisphere, and are a celebration of life in the face of poverty. A full-color photo spread in the middle of the book shows the beauty that accrues to everything in the country-the way a tap-tap driver will paint rainbows on the side of his vehicle; the way rara musicians will dance down the street during a festival. Though this is a country damaged and struggling, Arthur makes plain, this is not a country to give up on, not a country to permit to die.

This book is detailed enough to appeal to those intimately interested in Haiti, either those who appreciate the whole nation or those interested in one or two aspects. At the same time, it's clear enough in style and structure to reach out to readers who are being newly introduced to Haiti, and to those who know only the horror stories that recur in motion pictures and the news. Though it will date quickly, for the moment it stands as a strong primer for the condition that is Haiti and a land working for healing in a world that only wants to use it as a tool.

If you're interested in the art, religion, or culture of Haiti, this book is fabulous! It shows clear links between Catholic and Vodou imagery and themes, and the art is inspiring. The color photos are rich & wonderful, and consistent enough to provide a clear understanding of Haitian and Vodou artistic/spiritual traditions. In this case, a picture (or pictures in this book anyway) are worth more than 1000 words. If you're interested in Vodou and/or folk arts of the Caribbean, this book is a worthwhile purchase.

This book displays the wonderful art and tradition of Haitian sequined prayer flags. The layout of the book with it's full color reproductions is very well done. The text of the book beautifully describes the history and aspects of vodou religeon, in a way that speaks to all people who are touched by art and culture. I highly recomend this book especially to those interested in folk art and Haitian culture.

Kathy goes to Haiti. Every man wants her to be his wife. A man takes her home. She is his wife. She cries. Little kids laugh at her. She goes somewhere else. Different men want Kathy as their wife. She doesn't let the first one take her home. Kathy is learning.

Kathy Acker has become known as the queen of punk feminist fiction. With Literal Madness she solidified that position. Three short texts unrelated to each other but connected by the quest metaphor. Of the three, Kath Goes to Haiti -- a pseudo-biographical piece -- calls for the most sustained interest. It is ostensibly a travel book adventure in the third world, but ultimately its quest is the undermining of linear narrative. Acker is a storyteller of the postmodern, disjuctive type. She short-circuits the narrative line in order to call the reader's attention to the discontinuous nature of our lives in/as fiction. She creates a hyperreality in Haiti, transforms place into text, and thereby questions the so-called reality principle. When her alter-ego "Kathy" discovers that Haiti is more a state of mind than a Caribbean island, the disjuncture in the text becomes sensible and senseless at the same time. The effect is surreal; but hyperreality (Jean Baudrillard's term) and surreality have in common elments of discontinuity and therfore serve to disorient the reader. Anyone looking for a 'good, old-fashion story' will have to look elsewhere because Acker's book satisfies none of the traditional reader's desires for linear regularity and certain expectability as to what stories do. Labeled pseudo-pornography, Kathy Goes to Haiti and other texts by Acker certainly do contain pornographic elements. But it soon becomes clear to the careful reader that what is at work in her fiction is the question of what pornography "means," especially for women. Can it be a tool to deconstruct itself? Can women themselves use it -- as Acker does -- to undermine its negative effects for women? Literal Madness is a great introduction to these questions for those willing to suspend their need for normal narrative development and to follow Acker through an acrobatics of word and scene, an at times insane juxtaposition of seemingly disparate materials that echo the disparity of our everyday lives and of our dreams. R. L. Mazzola, Robercind@aol.co

Having lived in rural Haiti and worked in medical clinics with an indigenous staff, this book was an invaluable resource. The conflict between Western biomedicine and folk healing practices (including the much-maligned voodoo and herbalists) was well-explained and went a long way towards elucidating the phenomena I was observing in my own clinic. An absolutely essential resource to anyone interested in public health, Third-World medical practice, Haitian life or anthropology in general, I give this book my heartiest recommendation.

This is a superb teaching book that gives students a way to learn about medicine and culture and at the same time learn about Haiti's complex history. I've used it in both upper and lower-level undergraduate courses and the students have loved it. The students especially like the case studies. The book contains rich vignettes of individuals who had to negotiate different health care systems; the crux of the book is that people's experiences of their illnesses (anywhere, not just in Haiti), and the strategies they adopt to help themselves, have to be understood in the context of larger cultural and historical systems. There are not that many books to compete with this one. As an anthropology teacher, I find this book much less problematic than Emily Martin's book, Woman in the Body, which is so commonly used to teach medical anthropology. Comparable books to this one: Teresa O'Nell's Disciplined Hearts (depression in North American Indians) and John Janzen's Quest for Therapy (on lower Zaire), Burdick's Looking for God in Brazil. Great for medicine; great for Caribbean.

This book was informative for me in that it brought a much deeper insight and understanding of the country and its people. This little island was so ravaged by France, England and America that it is no wonder that even today it remains one of the poorest, most disadvantaged countries in the world. There is evidence of remarkable research and documentation. The characters are well developed in personalities, beliefs and motives. The most outstanding character in the book is Toussaint Loverture, the slave who rose up with intelligence, courage and military expertise to inspire the fight for freedom from slavery. The dynamics between him and other military leaders represent fascinating reading. The switching of sides for personal gain was complex and the unbelieveable treachery against Loverture was devastating. Yet, in the face of overwhelming opposition he remained strong in persevering freedom for his people until the very end. He died a noble death and his principles should live on in the hearts of not only Haitians, but all the racially disadvantaged people in the world. An excellent historical novel!

This book,originally wrtitten in Dutch,is an exciting history of the only modern slave revolution. It is not a polemic for or against the Haitian people and makes no apologies for the atrocities committed by the French, Haitians, English and others who participated in the revolution. Rather is explains the motivations and thinking that led to the horrible bloodshed that is associated with the revolution.

The book conveys the politics and values of the time in a way that makes it fasinating reading, without making Toussaint or Dessaline cult heroes, or the French devils. It does, however, succeed in bringing the main characters to life, which adds greatly to the enjoyment of the book.

As a haitian american, I truely love this book. It provides me with the little details needed to cook like my Mom. Thank Mirta for putting it down on paper.

As a hatian american i've been looking for years for a haitian cookbook, but just like the author stated in her book you just couldn't find any. This book is very easy to read and understand. This book has your everyday dishes and recipes for special occasians, there is something in it for everyone. You can find the ingredients at your supermarket. And what i love is that she puts the english, french, and creole when she titles the recipe. That way everybody knows what she is talking about. It's true good thing comes to those who wait. I can't brag enough about this book. Just like i said go buy it.