Reviews
"Jeremy Popkin's collection of first-person narratives of the Haitian Revolution is an extremely valuable work, accessible, sound and intelligent. I only wish such a book had been available fifteen years ago when I was in the early stages of researching my series of novels. Popkin has been deft and tactful in stitching together these excerpts, and as a result, he manages to tell a complete version of the Revolution almost entirely in the words of the people who experienced it-this book engaged me deeply."-Madison Smartt Bell, author ofAll Soul's Rising, Jeremy Popkin's collection of first-person narratives of the Haitian Revolution is an extremely valuable work, accessible, sound and intelligent. I only wish such a book had been available fifteen years ago when I was in the early stages of researching my series of novels. Popkin has been deft and tactful in stitching together these excerpts, and as a result, he manages to tell a complete version of the Revolution almost entirely in the words of the people who experienced it-this book engaged me deeply., "As anybody who has tried to teach, research, or write about the story of the Haitian Revolution knows, it is not easy. The memory is scrambled, local archives are in disarray, the relatively few records that survived, are dispersed. The events themselves are of a mind-boggling complexity and contextualizing sources can be very challenging. This is thus a much needed book. Weaving together translated documents and framing narratives into an easily readable, engaging text, it makes accessible one of the most important events in Atlantic history and the revolutionary age. Popkin's book is equally useful for historians and literary scholars and will no doubt be indispensable for anybody who researches and teaches issues ranging from the revolutionary age and racial politics in the Americas to modern subject formation and violence and narration."--Sibylle Fischer, author of Modernity Disavowed: Haiti and the Cultures of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, "Carefully researched and expertly presented, Facing Racial Revolution provides a series of often riveting accounts of Haiti's revolutionary period. Most of these texts have never before been translated, and indeed many have been unknown even to many specialists until now. The texts represent a range of styles and political perspectives, providing much insight into the complexities of this period of rapid and profound social and political transformation. The book is not only an invaluable resource for scholars and teachers, but also an often moving window into the daily experiences of individuals caught up in the dramatic events of the Haitian revolution."-Laurent M. Dubois, author of Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution, Popkin offers scholars a valuable text that complements much of the existing works on the Haitian Revolution. . . . The collection also offers remarkably detailed narratives that illustrate the battle tactics and efforts at diplomacy on the part of the revolutionaries . . . and the massacres of the remaining whites in Haiti., The book, with its fascinating collection of personal narratives, helps to demonstrate and to explain the complexity and ambiguity of the Haitian Revolution., "Jeremy Popkin's collection of first-person narratives of the Haitian Revolution is an extremely valuable work, accessible, sound and intelligent. I only wish such a book had been available fifteen years ago when I was in the early stages of researching my series of novels. Popkin has been deft and tactful in stitching together these excerpts, and as a result, he manages to tell a complete version of the Revolution almost entirely in the words of the people who experienced it-this book engaged me deeply."-Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Soul's Rising, Carefully researched and expertly presented, Facing Racial Revolution provides a series of often riveting accounts of Haiti's revolutionary period. Most of these texts have never before been translated, and indeed many have been unknown even to many specialists until now. The texts represent a range of styles and political perspectives, providing much insight into the complexities of this period of rapid and profound social and political transformation. The book is not only an invaluable resource for scholars and teachers, but also an often moving window into the daily experiences of individuals caught up in the dramatic events of the Haitian revolution., In this new and valuable anthology, historian Jeremy Popkin has done a great service to the profession, and undergraduate students in particular, by compiling a collection of mostly unpublished primary sources left by eyewitnesses. . . . This most welcome book is sure to be consulted regularly in the classroom and in broader scholarship., "As anybody who has tried to teach, research, or write about the story of the Haitian Revolution knows, it is not easy. The memory is scrambled, local archives are in disarray, the relatively few records that survived, are dispersed. The events themselves are of a mind-boggling complexity and contextualizing sources can be very challenging. This is thus a much needed book. Weaving together translated documents and framing narratives into an easily readable, engaging text, it makes accessible one of the most important events in Atlantic history and the revolutionary age. Popkin's book is equally useful for historians and literary scholars and will no doubt be indispensable for anybody who researches and teaches issues ranging from the revolutionary age and racial politics in the Americas to modern subject formation and violence and narration."-Sibylle Fischer, author of Modernity Disavowed: Haiti and the Cultures of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, Jeremy Popkin's collection of first-person narratives of the Haitian Revolution is an extremely valuable work, accessible, sound and intelligent. I only wish such a book had been available fifteen years ago when I was in the early stages of researching my series of novels. Popkin has been deft and tactful in stitching together these excerpts, and as a result, he manages to tell a complete version of the Revolution almost entirely in the words of the people who experienced it--this book engaged me deeply.
