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hdubois's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Hazareesingh is an enthusiastic writer on the life of Toussaint Louverture, which is both a blessing and a curse. His unrelenting support of the revolutionary is at times greatly appreciated, as he’ll dig into and push back on oppositional ideas to Louverture, but that same enthusiasm also seems to blind the author. Criticisms of the Black Spartacus are often swept under the rug or quietly brushed aside. There’s no question though that Louverture is an exceptional man who has made a magnificent, positive influence in our world. It makes Hazareesingh’s inability to criticize Louverture all the more bizarre. It’s okay for historical figures to be complicated! We’re not trying to be friends with them.
I learned a great deal about a Louverture over the course of this book, and I’m very glad to have come across it. I do think it’s fair to say though that I wish Hazareesingh could have acted in better faith in places though so as not to undermine himself. Nevertheless, the book is a solid read about an indefinitely fascinating and essential historical figure.
I learned a great deal about a Louverture over the course of this book, and I’m very glad to have come across it. I do think it’s fair to say though that I wish Hazareesingh could have acted in better faith in places though so as not to undermine himself. Nevertheless, the book is a solid read about an indefinitely fascinating and essential historical figure.
rossbm's review
2.0
(read as e-book)
What's it about?
It's a biography of Toussaint Louverture, a former slave and a leader of a rebellion in Haiti in the 1790s (then called Saint Domingue) that led to the abolishment of slavery in the French colony. Louverture rose to become the leader of the colony, trying to walk a line between autonomy and maintaining good relations with France. Napoleon ended up sending a large army to Saint Domingue reassert control. Louverture initially fought this invading army, but ended up coiming to terms. However, he was betrayed, captured and sent to France where he died in imprisonment.
The book is written in a very academic style. The prose is very readable, but fairly dense. There is a lot of focus on the "meaning" of Louverture actions, and his legacy (historiography?).
What did I think?
I found the book a bit of slog. I skimmed the last few chapters, which talked about r how Louverture legacy was interpreted, rather than anything Louverture actually did. I found the descriptions of Louverture's tactics and strategies to be very interesting. He combined diplomacy with knowledge of terrain and populace to defeat stronger adversaries. Louverture needed to use these tactics because he was often the underdog. You could see this in how he tried to maintain ties with France while pushing for a constitution that guaranteed that slavery would not return.
I found the book to be fairly dry and boring though. While it was interesting to dive a bit into what Louverture's policies "meant" and his legacy, and I thought that there was too much of that. There wasn't enough details about his personal life or actions. It seems like there are not a lot of primary sources. It is clear that the book was well researched.
What's it about?
It's a biography of Toussaint Louverture, a former slave and a leader of a rebellion in Haiti in the 1790s (then called Saint Domingue) that led to the abolishment of slavery in the French colony. Louverture rose to become the leader of the colony, trying to walk a line between autonomy and maintaining good relations with France. Napoleon ended up sending a large army to Saint Domingue reassert control. Louverture initially fought this invading army, but ended up coiming to terms. However, he was betrayed, captured and sent to France where he died in imprisonment.
The book is written in a very academic style. The prose is very readable, but fairly dense. There is a lot of focus on the "meaning" of Louverture actions, and his legacy (historiography?).
What did I think?
I found the book a bit of slog. I skimmed the last few chapters, which talked about r how Louverture legacy was interpreted, rather than anything Louverture actually did. I found the descriptions of Louverture's tactics and strategies to be very interesting. He combined diplomacy with knowledge of terrain and populace to defeat stronger adversaries. Louverture needed to use these tactics because he was often the underdog. You could see this in how he tried to maintain ties with France while pushing for a constitution that guaranteed that slavery would not return.
I found the book to be fairly dry and boring though. While it was interesting to dive a bit into what Louverture's policies "meant" and his legacy, and I thought that there was too much of that. There wasn't enough details about his personal life or actions. It seems like there are not a lot of primary sources. It is clear that the book was well researched.
mark_lm's review against another edition
3.0
This is a detailed account of a fascinating man's life, but his story is complex and I had to read this slowly.
archytas's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Given the relative scarcity of sources on Toussaint, I was pleasantly surprised by how detailed this biography was. It takes a while to get going (and the first third is military-history heavy), but Toussaint emerges clearly as a driven, clever man with rigid principles, and less rigid alliances. Hazareesingh clearly deeply admires Toussaint, but he manages not to let this lead to hagiography. There is little - well ok no - detail on Toussaint's personal life, but for man this committed to struggle, that didn't feel like a bit gap to me.
momey's review
5.0
interesting. i had read The Black Jacobins which, to tell the truth, i preferred. i think i preferred its focus and the marxist analysis.