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A review by dansquire
Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazareesingh
4.0
I was excited to read this book as I knew nothing about the Haitian Revolution or War of Independence, and had heard the names of Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines without context, so I was keen to learn more.
It was really interesting and felt like a balanced, well-researched account. I'm glad I read it, and the book design is beautiful (I have it in hardback). However, having read a few world history books in the last couple of years I didn't think this was as accessible as it could be for people who don't already have some knowledge about the period. It assumes a level of understanding about the French Revolution, and it also frustratingly includes several direct quotations in French or Haitian Creole which aren't offered in translation. These are often presented as some of Toussaint's witticisms and favourite sayings - so the reader loses a lot of the best bits of his personality by not including the translations.
The early chapters jump around a bit in time between lots of sources, but without giving a clear chronological context. This makes them slightly hard to read - although this drastically improves from chapter 5, 'The Agent Is Unwell', onwards. I assume this is because of the paucity of historical records for Toussaint's early years while he was still a slave. If you're reading this book, I'd highly encourage you to persevere as far as this and into the second half of the book, because this is where things get much clearer and much more exciting!
All in all, I found the book informative and interesting - I'm really glad I read it. I don't think it's quite a non-fiction book for the cursory reader, but for anyone interested in history and willing to pay attention, it's definitely worth picking up.
It was really interesting and felt like a balanced, well-researched account. I'm glad I read it, and the book design is beautiful (I have it in hardback). However, having read a few world history books in the last couple of years I didn't think this was as accessible as it could be for people who don't already have some knowledge about the period. It assumes a level of understanding about the French Revolution, and it also frustratingly includes several direct quotations in French or Haitian Creole which aren't offered in translation. These are often presented as some of Toussaint's witticisms and favourite sayings - so the reader loses a lot of the best bits of his personality by not including the translations.
The early chapters jump around a bit in time between lots of sources, but without giving a clear chronological context. This makes them slightly hard to read - although this drastically improves from chapter 5, 'The Agent Is Unwell', onwards. I assume this is because of the paucity of historical records for Toussaint's early years while he was still a slave. If you're reading this book, I'd highly encourage you to persevere as far as this and into the second half of the book, because this is where things get much clearer and much more exciting!
All in all, I found the book informative and interesting - I'm really glad I read it. I don't think it's quite a non-fiction book for the cursory reader, but for anyone interested in history and willing to pay attention, it's definitely worth picking up.