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Getting Haiti Right This Time: The U.S. and the Coup
Did Aristide leave Haiti voluntarily? Why did the U.S. want him out? What does the regime change mean for the health of Haitians? Did Aristide “overstay his welcome,” in the words of Vice President Dick Cheney, who never had a welcome in his own country to overstay? After 35 coups, what does the double entendre mean to get Haiti “right” this time? From Noam Chomsky, author of the 100,000 copy cloth best seller, Hegemony and Survival , from Paul Farmer, subject of the New York Times biography by Tracy Kidder Mountains Beyond Mountains , from Jean-Bertrand Aristide, president of Haiti and first lady Mildred Aristide, from Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, come the answers the world has been waiting for.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
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About the author
Noam Chomsky
977 books17.1k followersAvram Noam Chomsky is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. In addition to his work in linguistics, since the 1960s Chomsky has been an influential voice on the American left as a consistent critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and corporate influence on political institutions and the media.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B.F. Skinner.
An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard M. Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.
Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, U.S. involvement and Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mass media. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Since 2017, he has been Agnese Helms Haury Chair in the Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 10, 2025
This book, no big surprise here, is written - curated, I suppose, is closer - from a particular perspective. Maybe everything Jean-Bertrand Aristide is quoted as saying is true! I just wouldn’t conclude that with any confidence based on this book.
Beyond the perspective, this book is sort of shoddily made. There are some basic editing problems - spelling names differently throughout, for example - but mostly I did not like how repetitive it was. It constantly repeats information from the last chapter, from the last interview, and the same talking points (the ratio of doctors to people will stick with me). It feels almost like oral tradition.
Still, placed in the context of a LOT of other books and information about Haiti, this book holds something valuable - a minute-by-minute account, of questionable accuracy sure, of what happened in Haiti at the end of February 2004. Detailed modern histories of Haiti are hard to find, and most likely have a page or two, perhaps a chapter, about this. If you already sort of know what happened, it might be worth adding this in.
Beyond the perspective, this book is sort of shoddily made. There are some basic editing problems - spelling names differently throughout, for example - but mostly I did not like how repetitive it was. It constantly repeats information from the last chapter, from the last interview, and the same talking points (the ratio of doctors to people will stick with me). It feels almost like oral tradition.
Still, placed in the context of a LOT of other books and information about Haiti, this book holds something valuable - a minute-by-minute account, of questionable accuracy sure, of what happened in Haiti at the end of February 2004. Detailed modern histories of Haiti are hard to find, and most likely have a page or two, perhaps a chapter, about this. If you already sort of know what happened, it might be worth adding this in.
July 12, 2022
Read in 2022 when the events of the US's backed coup against Aristide was long over. But, in terms of a book, the first half is good, however because they're radio transcripts a lot of the content becomes repetitive.
September 5, 2015
This courageous book is an Amazing act of truth to power telling.
A fascinating collection of witnesses, analysts and direct accounts from the Haitian president himself, his body guard, his spouse. Gripping, horrifying. It is profoundly disturbing to see you tax $s used like that to further... whose agenda exactly?...an important must read.
A fascinating collection of witnesses, analysts and direct accounts from the Haitian president himself, his body guard, his spouse. Gripping, horrifying. It is profoundly disturbing to see you tax $s used like that to further... whose agenda exactly?...an important must read.
May 16, 2008
A good book to read if you really want to know what happened in Haiti during the 2004 coup.
April 22, 2015
US Foreign Policy is F*CKED UP. Now I need to read about what's happened in the 10 years since this book was published.
May 9, 2013
Eye opening, stomach retching realities!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews