Book Suggestions

twhitehead

Bronze
Nov 1, 2003
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Would like to learn some more about the history of the Dominican Republic and about life in general in DR. Could you all recomend the best books on these topics? Much appreciated...Tom
 
I forget the exact title but it is something like The History of the Dominican Republic and it is by Frank Moya Pons and there is a version in Spanish. I read the English version and could not put it down. It is THE seminal history text of the DR and is used in universities and includes up to 1990 something and is very readable.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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If you can find it: "Overtaken by Events" which was written by the former US Ambassador to the DR is interesting , covering the time from the Trujillo assassination to the invasion, so to speak , by the US, in the capital in 1965. Consider the source as to bias of course but I enjoyed it.
 

El Belga

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Feb 17, 2004
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www.betranslated.com
twhitehead said:
Would like to learn some more about the history of the Dominican Republic and about life in general in DR. Could you all recomend the best books on these topics? Much appreciated...Tom

About the Trujillo times (31 years of dictatorship), there is a master piece you should read. It is "The feast of the goat" from Mario VargasL-Llosa. It reads like a novel, I could not stop it till I finished. Read a comment on http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2004_02_001504.php
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
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danduva said:
I forget the exact title but it is something like The History of the Dominican Republic and it is by Frank Moya Pons and there is a version in Spanish. I read the English version and could not put it down. It is THE seminal history text of the DR and is used in universities and includes up to 1990 something and is very readable.
The book is titled "The Dominican Republic: A National History" and it can be found at

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-9777527-1441468?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
 

El Belga

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Feb 17, 2004
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ricktoronto said:
It reads like a novel since it is a novel and not a non-fiction book.

This is a novel ?
I would say that some parts of the book have been novelized, but the whole background is part of History. I learned a lot about Dominican history reading that book
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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El Belga said:
This is a novel ?
I would say that some parts of the book have been novelized, but the whole background is part of History. I learned a lot about Dominican history reading that book

It is a novel, not a work of non-fiction, check Amazon.com and see for yourself.
 

clara

New member
Jan 6, 2005
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Coloring the Nation

I really enjoyed Coloring the Nation: Race and Ethnicity in the Dominican Republic, by David Howard (available via amazon). The book looks at the role of race and ethnicity in the national identity of the DR. Provides quite a lot of material for thought and/or debate.
 

karina

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Nov 5, 2003
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Try Fiesta del Chivo (Feast of the goat) or Tiempo de la Mariposa, by Julia Alvarez (and you can go visit her farm in Manabao, near Jarabacoa), for history on the Trujillo times. I believe she actually wrote this book in English and was later translated into Spanish, but I don't know the English title, also there is a movie
 

DMAO

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Oct 30, 2004
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Why the Cocks fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispanola by Michele Wucker.

It's a great book. I read it in College for my History of the Caribbean class. I couldn't put it down one second.
 

twhitehead

Bronze
Nov 1, 2003
618
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Thanks

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have some shopping and reading to do..keep them coming...tom