Review by Theresa Wolfwood
Sprague, a USA scholar, has written a detailed and readable history of Haiti, now the poorest country in this hemisphere; once the source of great wealth for its colonizer, France. His emphasis after reviewing early history is on the last 40 years of paramilitarism. (Paramilitarism is militarism that is outside the structure of regular government military – in Haiti’s case, militarism controlled by wealthy elites.)
He writes, “The central focus of this book, the phenomenon of paramilitarism in Haiti and its Read more [...] Author Archives: Theresa Wolfwood. Director, The Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation
Sprague, Jeff. PARAMILITARISM AND THE ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY IN HAITI. 2012. Monthly Review Press, NY, USA. ISBN 978-1-58367-301-0
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
Sprague, a USA scholar, has written a detailed and readable history of Haiti, now the poorest country in this hemisphere; once the source of great wealth for its colonizer, France. His emphasis after reviewing early history is on the last 40 years of paramilitarism. (Paramilitarism is militarism that is outside the structure of regular government military – in Haiti’s case, militarism controlled by wealthy elites.)
He writes, “The central focus of this book, the phenomenon of paramilitarism in Haiti and its Read more [...] Comments Off on Sprague, Jeff. PARAMILITARISM AND THE ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY IN HAITI. 2012. Monthly Review Press, NY, USA. ISBN 978-1-58367-301-0
Filed under Jeff Sprague
Wong, David H. T. Escape to Gold Mountain. 2012. Arsenal Pulp Press. Vancouver. BC ISBN 978-1-55152-476-4
Review and author photo by Theresa Wolfwood
Classified as Juvenile Non-Fiction, this graphic novel is a recommended read for Canadians of all ages. Wong chose the graphic technique not only because he has always loved drawing cartoons, but also because this comic strip technique appeals to teenagers, his preferred readers. At a reading and talk during the Cumberland Miners’ Memorial in June, 2013, Wong said he wanted young people to understand the history of Chinese people in Canada and the USA; I found the book enlightening and Read more [...] Comments Off on Wong, David H. T. Escape to Gold Mountain. 2012. Arsenal Pulp Press. Vancouver. BC ISBN 978-1-55152-476-4
Filed under David H. T. Wong
A Woman Among Warlords: the Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice.
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
This is the very personal and very political story of the woman who is called the “bravest woman in Afghanistan.” When her family returned to Pakistan from a refugee camp, she was a clandestine teacher, teaching in homes and basements, hiding her books under a burka.
She was committed from a young age to working for her people. She set up clinics, social services and orphanage which finally closed for the lack of funds, but she still helps and stays in touch with these war orphans.
Her description of courtship Read more [...] Comments Off on A Woman Among Warlords: the Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice.
Filed under Malalai Joya
Chambers, Carole. She Draws the Rain. 2013. Thistledown Press. Saskatoon, SK, Canada ISBN 978-1-927068-42-7
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
Chamber’s latest of five volumes of poems expresses her enduring passion for the people and land she loves so deeply. “She Draws the Rain” is her finest collection yet with poems that speak powerfully to our connection to nature and our human environment.
Many of her poems are rooted in her island life surrounded by the Salish Sea, but her feelings for people and particularly for her mother as she leaves this world are heart rending and universal in their understanding of loss – even before Read more [...]
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Filed under Book Reviews, Carole Chambers
Abu-Zahra, Nadia & Adah Kay. UNFREE IN PALESTINE: Registration, Documentation and Movement Restriction. 2013, Pluto Press. UK. ISBN 978 0 7453 2527 9
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“In this book we focus on denationalization rather than displacement or dispossession…we draw attention to the 1.4 million denationalized Palestinians… The focus on denationalization, rather than solely dispossession, implicitly recognizes the nationality and citizenship of Palestinians prior to 1948.”
If there are still any people of good will who believe that the conflict in Palestine with the Israeli occupiers is an evenly balanced situation – this is the book for them. It is also a well-researched book Read more [...]
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Filed under Nadia Abu-Zahra & Kay Adah
Shaxson, Nicholas. Treasure islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens. 2011. Palgrave Macmillan. UK. ISBN 978-0-230-10501-0
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“Societies grant corporations immense privileges, such as limited liability…they have also been granted the right to be treated as artificial legal entities that can relocate to different jurisdictions almost at will, irrespective of where they really do business. In exchange for these remarkable privileges, corporations were originally held to a set of obligations to the societies in which they are embedded: notably to be transparent about their affairs and to pay taxes.”
“The offshore system has undermined Read more [...]
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Filed under Nicholas Shaxson
Butler, C.T. & Keith McHenry. FOOD, NOT BOMBS. See Sharp Press,Arizona. USA
By Theresa Wolfwood
“This slogan requires no complicated analysis. The three words “say it all.” They point unerringly to the double challenge: to feed immediately people who are without adequate food, and to replace a system whose priorities are power and profit with one meeting the needs of all human beings.”
Howard Zinn in the introduction
Food Not Bombs (fnb) a much misunderstood and persecuted movement, started and continues with the philosophy that there is enough food in Read more [...] Comments Off on Butler, C.T. & Keith McHenry. FOOD, NOT BOMBS. See Sharp Press,Arizona. USA
Filed under C. T. Butler & Keith McHenry
Janice Williamson, editor. Omar Khadr, Oh Canada. 2012.McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal, Canada ISBN 978-0-7735-4022-4
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“The oppressors are playing with me,
As they move freely about the world...
They have monuments to liberty
And freedom of opinion, which is well and good.
But I explained to them that
Architecture is not justice. -Sami al Haj. Quoted at beginning of the book
The “Khadar case is a black mark on my own country’s international reputation and standing.” -Gen. Romeo Dallaire, one the book’s contributors
This collection by 34 Canadian Read more [...] Comments Off on Janice Williamson, editor. Omar Khadr, Oh Canada. 2012.McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal, Canada ISBN 978-0-7735-4022-4
Filed under Janice Williamson
Martinez, Carlos & Michael Fox, & Jojo Farrell. VENEZUELA SPEAKS! Voices from the Grassroots. 2010. PM Press, Oakland, CA, USA. ISBN 978-1-60486-108-2
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“...the failure of neoliberalism combined with the political failure of representative democracy...contributed significantly to the rise of the New Left.”
“...in Venezuela, as a consequence...new urban community associations and political parties emerges that provided an important impetus for the emergence of Hugo Chávez in 1998.”
At a time when Venezuela and its friends are still mourning the loss of President Hugo Chavez, this collection of interviews and insights into the social movements of Venezuela Read more [...] Comments Off on Martinez, Carlos & Michael Fox, & Jojo Farrell. VENEZUELA SPEAKS! Voices from the Grassroots. 2010. PM Press, Oakland, CA, USA. ISBN 978-1-60486-108-2
Filed under Carlos Martinez & Michael Fox & Jojo Farrell
Alain Deneault and William Sacher . Imperial Canada Inc. Legal Haven of Choice for the World’s Mining Industries 2012. Talonbooks, Vancouver, Canada
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“This book is intended to provide Canadians and international public opinion with tools to help it ask critical questions about Canadian activities in the south and in Eastern Europe, as well as about the role of the Canadian government in relation to these activities.”
This meticulously documented analysis- really an exposé - provides the background and historical context for Canada’s role in supporting the exploitation by mining industries around the world. What Liberia is to shipping companies, Read more [...] Comments Off on Alain Deneault and William Sacher . Imperial Canada Inc. Legal Haven of Choice for the World’s Mining Industries 2012. Talonbooks, Vancouver, Canada
Filed under Alain Deneault and William Sacher
Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin.THE SETTLER’S COOKBOOK: A Memoir of Love, Migration and Food. 2008. Portobello Books. London, UK. ISBN 978-1-84627-083-3
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
In her dedication the author thanks her mother for the gifts of “mettle, a wakeful conscience...and a precious supply of inventive recipes that tell our story.”
This very personal and frank autobiography shows how well the author, a writer, teacher and mother, has used these gifts to make a life for herself and her family in England after she is forced, along with thousands of others of Asian descent, to leave Uganda when Idi Amin came to power.
Alibhai-Brown needed the nettle to overcome the vicissitudes Read more [...] Comments Off on Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin.THE SETTLER’S COOKBOOK: A Memoir of Love, Migration and Food. 2008. Portobello Books. London, UK. ISBN 978-1-84627-083-3
Filed under Book Reviews, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
LEILA KHALED: Icon of Palestinian Liberation. Sarah Irving. 2012. Pluto Press, UK. ISBN 978-0-7453-2951-2
Review by Theresa Wolfwood
“I believe in my people and I believe that we have people all around the world supporting us.”
While most women in the late sixties worried about the length of their miniskirt, one of their contemporaries was worried about the occupation of her homeland and the forced exile of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, including herself. Leila Khaled became famous for her airplane hijacking; famous as a woman and as a Palestinian woman.
The author based her research for the book on records of the past and Khaled’s Read more [...]
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Filed under Sarah Irving
