Excellent, and surprisingly enjoyable given the grim subject. James is great at balancing the political economy of Haiti with a portrait of Toissant and his strengths and weaknesses. It’s great history but truly excellent biography. Leavening things throughout is James’ asides and aphorisms, always enjoyable and penetrating, especially when he points out in second-edition footnotes that he predicted things back in 1938.

As someone who knows almost nothing of Haiti’s history, this was a very exciting and rollercoaster read.