Freedom Roots: Histories from the Caribbean

Laurent Dubois and Richard Lee Turits offer an impeccably written and skillfully organized history of the Caribbean. . . . The book's nuance and readable style means it will appeal to both specialists and nonspecialists. . . . Impressive."-Journal of African American History

A lively narrative . . . a straightforward and easy-to follow history of the Caribbean that doesn't sacrifice theoretical sophistication. . . . [Its] ability to distill the complex history of the Caribbean into one narrative makes it an excellent teaching tool and an invaluable resource for scholars of the region. It fulfills its own call to imagine a different (and better) Caribbean."-Journal of Social History

The most unique aspect of the work is the lens through which the authors examine freedom and power. They place land at the center of the narrative, arguing that the key to autonomy was access to and control over land. In sum, the book highlights the contested nature of Caribbean land and space."-Hispanic American Historical Review

This volume's accessible narrative quality and critical perspectives make it a great textbook for any Caribbean history course."-Choice Reviews

Dubois and Turits put before the reader a past of struggles for freedom and autonomy in the Caribbean . . . and in doing so they inspire all the Americas to look at their indigenous and African roots and develop new and different projects for the future."-The Americas

Powerfully argued and engagingly written. . . . Freedom Roots offers a well-written, always interesting, and erudite account of the topics it takes up, especially the troubled histories of Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic in the last century."-New West Indian Guide

Freedom Roots shows how the study of the Caribbean past can help scholars understand the ways in which Caribbean people re-imagined alternate realities for themselves through counter-plantation thought and actions. . . . an important methodological blueprint and teaching tool for scholars of the region."-Bulletin of Latin American Research