Dominican Republic In Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture

by David John Howard

This new series of country guides is designed for travellers and students who want to understand the wider picture and build up an overall knowledge of a country. Each In Focus guide is a lively and thought-provoking introduction to the country's people, politics and culture.
The In Focus guides will brief you
The Conquest, life as a colony, quest for independence and the building of a modern nation. How history can help explain today's society and politics.
The Who lives where, how they live. The different worlds of the poor and the rich; blacks, Indians and whites; Arabs and Jews; indigenous, disenfranchised and dispossessed peoples; human rights.
The What to read, what to see, what to hear. Who's who in literature, music, dance, theater and cinema. Roots and rites of different religions. Folk traditions and indigenous cultural celebrations.
The Who runs the country, who wants to run the country. Power and conflict between political parties, the military, guerillas and grassroots organizations. Historical ties to the U.S.
The What the country produces and exports, how the economy has developed, the impact of foreign debt and free market reforms, who gains and who loses, presence and role of U.S. corporations.
Where to go, what to Must-see landmarks, lists of monuments and historical sites as well as the author's expert tips on what to see and do to get the most out of a short trip to the country.
Plus...
-- Facts and figures
-- Chronology
-- Practical advice
-- Nontourist travel
-- Further reading
-- Useful addresses
-- Color and b&w photos
-- Maps

100 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

Reviews

[Heliosærkana de Gablæbregða · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as In Focus: Haiti, which I find ironic when considering the systemic Dominican view of supremacy over Haitian society and people. The author was different, which is the main part of the problem. In Focus: Haiti as authored by Charles Arthur provided an excellent view into the long and revolutionary history of Haiti, along with class analysis, historical clarity, and criticism of ignorance toward Haiti - such as how AIDS in Haiti was actually spread by American sex tourists, and the current state of Haiti's socio-economic troubles have been mostly caused by slave-owning empires wanting to eliminate the revolutionary nation of these freed slaves.

In this book, David Howard takes a significant departure from the complexities present in Arthur's writing. David Howard chooses instead to cater the first third of the book to tourists interested in the vacationing in Dominican Republic. Eventually, Howard does talk about the history of imperial privilege (in Dominica not opposing slave-owning empires) and its relation to the racism toward Haiti, and the long line of violent and racist dictators ruling the Republic. But even with this, Howard is surprisingly very repetitive with even the most important information provided, and lacks the class analysis necessary for best understanding the struggle of the majority lower-classes in the significant divide between rich and poor in Dominican Republic.

While he does discuss the racist paternalism in relation to the economic divide and geographic divide within the country and between Haiti and Dominican Republic, it appeared to me as if he had almost, in some amount, been won over by the strong-arm ignorance - as his coverage was not nearly as analytical and critical as in Charles Arthur's writings. Nonetheless, I'm always glad to learn more about the world, and this book is a basic and average start.