The Dominican Republic Reader: History, Culture, Politics

The Latin America Readers

by Eric Paul Roorda (Editor), Lauren H. Derby (Editor), Raymundo González (Editor)

Despite its significance in the history of Spanish colonialism, the Dominican Republic is familiar to most outsiders through only a few elements of its past and culture. Non-Dominicans may be aware that the country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and that it is where Christopher Columbus chose to build a colony. Some may know that the country produces talented baseball players and musicians; others that it is a prime destination for beach vacations. Little else about the Dominican Republic is common knowledge outside its borders. This Reader seeks to change that. It provides an introduction to the history, politics, and culture of the country, from precolonial times into the early twenty-first century. Among the volume's 118 selections are essays, speeches, journalism, songs, poems, legal documents, testimonials, and short stories, as well as several interviews conducted especially for this Reader. Many of the selections have been translated into English for the first time. All of them are preceded by brief introductions written by the editors. The volume's eighty-five illustrations, ten of which appear in color, include maps, paintings, and photos of architecture, statues, famous figures, and Dominicans going about their everyday lives.

Genres: History, Travel, Nonfiction

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Pinky AndThe Brain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be an excellent book for anyone who teaches a course on the Dominican Republic to use as their textbook. It is well written, easy to understand, and concise.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this Latin America "reader" series. Each book is made up of several dozen very short chapters arranged chronologically and thematically. The "chapters" include newspaper articles, text of speeches, poems, essays, diplomatic cables, and more that bring to life the country's history and international relations.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people only know the Dominican Republic as a holiday destination, and are unaware of its rich and diverse history. This comprehensive book tells the reader everything he or she could possibly want to know - all in one volume.
The book is one of a series of Latin America Readers, and covers the history, politics and culture of the country from its earliest days right up to the present, with a varied selection of essays, articles, speeches, songs, legal documents, stories and poems. Some of these are here translated into English for the first time. Each selection has an introduction from the editors, who do a wonderful job in explaining and expounding on the background to each. With many excellent illustrations, this is a book to dip into or read from beginning to end, and is suitable for both student or academic, as well as the general reader or visitor to the country. Everyone will find something of interest here.

[AskHistorians]

These are a series of country studies that provide a valuable overview of various Latin American countries. They use both primary and secondary sources by eyewitnesses and important scholars respectively to illuminate key periods of each country’s history. They also include a trove of images, maps, and fine art. Each volume focuses on a single country. Currently, Duke has published readers about the Dominican Republic, Chile, Paraguay, Guatemala, Ecuador, Perú, Costa Rica, Cuba, México, Argentina, and Brazil

[Kenneth Chanko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread portions of this informative compendium while down in the Dominican late last month and earlier this month. A lot of intriguing stuff in this copious tome, from original historical documents to excerpts from recent essays.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to prep for a home school unit on the DR. This book is fantastic and I wish every country had a reader of this quality written about it. So many expertly selected, fascinating texts! And the texts are threaded together by excellent introductions. Loved this book.

[Analouise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptional collection with a wide array of contributions. Worth reading.

[Meriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection of historical events of the Dominican Republic. Any history buff, or lover of historical non-fiction should pick up this fantastic historical book!

[Jordan Neben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more books I collect of the Duke University Press reader series the more I enjoy them. The Dominican Republic Reader can be judged by it's cover, because it does exactly as advertised. It provides a fascinating snapshot of The Dominican Republic long before it ever became the Dominican Republic. And as it says on the cover the book provides this snapshot through the lenses of history culture and politics. The book has plenty of primary and secondary sources to help the reader gain some valuable context and perspective on this Caribbean Nation.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the historical perspective -especially since I was visiting this country for the first time. The variety of sources and writing in this reader was great.

[James Cradock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like all of Duke's Latin American readers I've read. I would have liked more 16th Century source material in this one.

[Rick Mathis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of different genres and source documents. Probably best to read with a good history book. I’d also like to see an anthology of contemporary writers from the DR.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of writings about the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. If you spend any time in the DR (other than an all-inclusive resort), I recommend this book.

[Stan Georgiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

After months, finally finished my book for Dominican republic for Invisible cities. It took me a while because it was full of primary sources and quite academic, I would say.

[Carlo Soriano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t replace a real education in Dominican history but a great place to start.