What do you think?
Rate this book
The West on Trial: My Fight for Guyana's Freedom
First published in 1966, this re-printed title is a moving, personal account of the struggle against imperialism by one of the leading political figures in the Caribbean. The late Dr Jagan passionately weaves together his own life-story with that of his people's battle for independence and freedom in an environment dictated by race and class factors, and colonial attitudes.
Paperback
First published February 12, 1997
About the author
Cheddi Jagan
50 books4 followersPolitician who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964, prior to independence. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997. He is widely regarded in Guyana as the "Father of the Nation".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 21, 2026
I never got around to writing my review for this because I was stuck in a months long slump!
As Guyana continues to rise on the global stage, especially after the discovery of oil on her shorelines over a decade ago now, I have felt a growing, personal call to better educate myself on the history of my motherland. As Western pundits try to pass judgement on the future viability of the small nation, I feel it is the responsibility of Guyana's descendants to not forget the values that formed the roots from which we grew and ensure that we are able to speak on Guyana's behalf from a place of informed opinion, rather than just parroting back opinions and POVs from our elders.
I have been hunting for this memoir for so long and was so so lucky and grateful to find a copy on an obscure website. As a first gen daughter of Guyanese immigrants, Cheddi Jagan was a name that was always on the tips of the tongues of my parents, aunts, uncles, and, other elders I grew up around. Many will try to "boogey-man" Jagan due to his dalliances with Communism, including his own countrymen. But, as many such cases, as I was reading, it quickly is apparent that Jagan was a man who was passionate about the liberation and self determination of the Guyanese people and rejected the fairytale of Western Imperialism as our savior. He was truly a staunch, passionate, anti-colonialist and to label him a "Marxist" is frankly, in my opinion, lazy, reductive, and blatant Western bootlicking.
With the rise of home-grown democratic socialist leaders in America, it was refreshing and a source of pride while reading to see that Jagan had these values decades ago. Unfortunately, Western influences greatly delayed Jagan's visions for Guyana and prevented it from being realized to its fullest potential. There also was a sense of grief knowing the father of the Nation was a progressive and yet the people of Guyana, and Guyanese who live abroad, are moving to the right, especially on race relations. Jagan himself in this book has reiterated how vital Black activism and slave rebellion was to the foundation for our own fight, rights, and freedoms. However, I would love to have seen a bit more personal accountability around the racial divides between PPP and PNC, but this was written in the late 60s so that type of retrospect is nearly impossible to expect from Jagan at time of publication.
Thinking about the Guyana of today, you can really see Jagan's values live on in Irrfan Ali and I hope future leaders of the country continue to heed his example (Jagdeo, I have beef with you, but that's another conversation).
Overall, I believe this is required reading for those of Guyanese descent and there needs to be a greater push from the country to preserve and create widespread access to its history. Jagan truly lives up to the title of Father of the Nation and I'm so thrilled I got to educate myself on him through his own words!
As Guyana continues to rise on the global stage, especially after the discovery of oil on her shorelines over a decade ago now, I have felt a growing, personal call to better educate myself on the history of my motherland. As Western pundits try to pass judgement on the future viability of the small nation, I feel it is the responsibility of Guyana's descendants to not forget the values that formed the roots from which we grew and ensure that we are able to speak on Guyana's behalf from a place of informed opinion, rather than just parroting back opinions and POVs from our elders.
I have been hunting for this memoir for so long and was so so lucky and grateful to find a copy on an obscure website. As a first gen daughter of Guyanese immigrants, Cheddi Jagan was a name that was always on the tips of the tongues of my parents, aunts, uncles, and, other elders I grew up around. Many will try to "boogey-man" Jagan due to his dalliances with Communism, including his own countrymen. But, as many such cases, as I was reading, it quickly is apparent that Jagan was a man who was passionate about the liberation and self determination of the Guyanese people and rejected the fairytale of Western Imperialism as our savior. He was truly a staunch, passionate, anti-colonialist and to label him a "Marxist" is frankly, in my opinion, lazy, reductive, and blatant Western bootlicking.
With the rise of home-grown democratic socialist leaders in America, it was refreshing and a source of pride while reading to see that Jagan had these values decades ago. Unfortunately, Western influences greatly delayed Jagan's visions for Guyana and prevented it from being realized to its fullest potential. There also was a sense of grief knowing the father of the Nation was a progressive and yet the people of Guyana, and Guyanese who live abroad, are moving to the right, especially on race relations. Jagan himself in this book has reiterated how vital Black activism and slave rebellion was to the foundation for our own fight, rights, and freedoms. However, I would love to have seen a bit more personal accountability around the racial divides between PPP and PNC, but this was written in the late 60s so that type of retrospect is nearly impossible to expect from Jagan at time of publication.
Thinking about the Guyana of today, you can really see Jagan's values live on in Irrfan Ali and I hope future leaders of the country continue to heed his example (Jagdeo, I have beef with you, but that's another conversation).
Overall, I believe this is required reading for those of Guyanese descent and there needs to be a greater push from the country to preserve and create widespread access to its history. Jagan truly lives up to the title of Father of the Nation and I'm so thrilled I got to educate myself on him through his own words!
May 14, 2022
How can I download this book??
February 6, 2025
Parts were dry, but overall pretty interesting. Surprised this isn’t more popular
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews