Scarecrow Press
Pages: 330
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-8108-7810-5 • Hardback • January 2012 • $133.00 • (£102.00)
978-0-8108-7549-4 • eBook • January 2012 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
Michael R. Hall is professor of Latin American history at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. He has also taught in the Dominican Republic and conducted extensive research there and in Haiti. He has written extensively on countries in the region including articles and a book.
Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff)
Preface
Reader’s Note
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Map
Chronology
Introduction
The Dictionary
Appendix: Haitian Heads of State and Prime Ministers
Bibliography
About the Author
This dictionary by Hall (Armstrong Atlantic State Univ.) is a concise, accessible reference book on Haiti beginning with Columbus's landfall on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and ending with the election of Michel Martelly as president in 2011. The volume features over 400 alphabetically arranged, cross-referenced entries. A focus is on political leadership--a major concern, given the large number of Haitian presidents who were either killed or forced to resign after only brief periods in office. Hall's dictionary updates Roland Perusse's Historical Dictionary of Haiti (CH, Oct'77). And it is twice the size (295 pages versus Perusse's 124 pages), contains more entries, and offers a more extensive bibliography (16 pages versus Perusse's 8 pages). Like Perusse, Hall offers a useful chronology and a topical listing of books covering art, literature, education, public health, sports, entertainment, geography, archaeology, the Haitian diaspora, folklore, and economics. He also provides 18 Internet sources. Hall's dictionary is strongest for the 20th century. Treatment of religion and culture are not as thorough as treatment of politics. Nevertheless, this new dictionary constitutes the most extensive single-volume reference work available on Haiti. It will prove an excellent starting place for those who want to know more about Haitian history and culture. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
— Choice Reviews
I would recommend this one-volume dictionary for public, academic, and special libraries' country studies collections.
— American Reference Books Annual