This 'Biography of a runaway slave' is arguably the best-known book to have been written and published in revolutionary Cuba; being the testimonial narrative of Esteban Montejo; a former slave; runaway; and soldier in the Cuban wars of independence. The text is the collaboration between ethnographer Miguel Barnet and Montejo; the result of three years of tape-recorded interviews; transcribed; edited and annotated by Barnet. Montejo provides a first-hand account of slavery in nineteenth-century Cuba - the language; religion; music; and customs - and describes life in the sugar plantations and mills and as a runaway slave. Montejo's text also covers key historical moments; from slavery to Abolition; the Ten Years War; the Spanish American War; and US intervention in the new republic. Reflecting the growing interest in Latin American and Cuban Studies; this student edition includes the complete text in Spanish; notes in English; a time-line of Cuban history and themes for debate and discussion. The extensive introduction focuses on three main areas: an overview of Cuban history featuring slavery; wars of independence and the new republic; an overview of the genre of the testimonial narrative as it emerged as an important literary style in revolutionary Cuba; and an analysis of the relationship between the Cuban Revolution and the publication of the text. There is also an extensive bibliography.
#322229 in Books imusti 2010-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .90 x 6.80 x 9.00l; 1.60 #File Name: 0715338544223 pagesDavid Charles Publishers
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. a great buyBy tsabar eremmuch effort was put into the production of this beautiful and interesting volume. I'm glad I bought it: information; color photos; color drawings; high quality paper; special fonts; and very affordable ! the only minus is the font size; a trifle too small. Even so; it's a winner. It also arrived earlier than promissed and very well packaged. great service; too.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of HistoryBy jlcrosbyThe facts for each of the plants were interesting and informative. Though I did find it hard to read sometimes; going back and having to re-read a section a couple of times. I believe this was because the author was also defining words in the sentence as well as trying to give you the information. By the time you got done reading what the word meant you had to go back a reread to know that the sentence was original saying.I will say again; that I found the information interesting; if not even intriguing. There were a couple of sections that I even marked pages; because I was so interested that I wanted to do further research into an area. There were some facts that I felt the author might have been grasping at straws. For example oranges being linked to malaria or coffee being linked to the Declaration of independence. But in the author defense; some of these facts could have been minor facts supporting or even in addition to the main connection to history.Even with what I feel to be minor setbacks; I quite enjoyed reading this book. Finding the facts intriguing enough to reiterate them to my significant other when I came across something I found interesting. I am also letting/recommending this book to my step father who enjoys books like these. More than likely I will be rereading this book again; and adding it to me "keep books".0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Sue G.Interesting reading!
