Herbert Gold (1924–2023)

As recently as the 1980s a "werewolf" was publicly burned in Haiti.
If that sentence doesn't intrigue, I'm not sure anything will. The werewolf this is part of Voodoo beliefs (and the belief makes more sense in the context of Haiti). Voodoo and the earthquake are pretty much what people including myself know about Haiti. This is an engrossing travelogue about a nearby country that seems like it's on another planet.
The slaves of Haiti orchestrated the first and only successful slave revolt. Things have been downhill ever since. The leaders of Haiti oscillated between brutal and corrupt and indifferent and corrupt. Despite being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and in the running for poorest world wide the Haitians have developed a beautiful and complex culture.
The author, Herbert Gold, has been living and visiting Haiti for most of his adult life. He's translated his experience into one of the most fascinating travelogues I've ever read.… (mais)

Herbert Gold discovered Haiti on a Fulbright Scholarship. This was to be the beginning of an addiction to a hellish paradise. For the next forty years Gold traveled between the States and the Caribbean trying this craving. Through Best Nightmare on Earth Gold does his best to explain this curious attraction while holding nothing back. He peels back the layers of politics and corruption to reveal exotic grace and mystery. Papa Doc (both father and son) rule the land while voodoo rules all. Gold's descriptions of the violence, the celebrations, the loves and losses are as vivid as the realities of greed and poverty.… (mais)