Stewart Bell

I am not a big non-fiction fan, but narrative non-fiction can grab my attention. [Bayou of Pigs] tells a very interesting true story, and one I had no knowledge of before reading Bell's book. Bell uses his investigative journalist background to paint a very detailed picture of the people, the events and the background history of the small, poor Commonwealth island country of Dominica... a mere 750 square kilometers (290 square miles) in size, 47 kilometres (29 miles) in length, and 29 kilometres (18 miles) in width, with mountainous terrain and a political/economic instability that made it a prime focal point of a mercenary-backed coup d'état. I had to remind myself as I was reading this one that the events unfolded during a time period (1979-1983) when the United Kingdom was divesting itself of colonies "as fast as they could create country flags" for the to-be independent countries and Cuba was flexing its communist wings looking for communist alliances in the Caribbean, so I probably shouldn't be as surprised as I am that an opportunist from Texas saw this as a chance to take over an island and turn it into a get rich haven for himself and the 'partners' that would join/finance this venture. It was also troubling to discover that in the process some odd alliances had been formed:

"His coup had united right-wing North Americans and Caribbean leftists; white nationalists and lack revolutionaries; First World capitalists and Third World socialists. Only one type of man culd have managed such a political juggling act: one who believed in nothing at all."

Overall, a disturbing glimpse into the personalities that would be drawn to such a venture and a fascinating examination of the country of Dominica, its political and economic troubles as well as its problems with the Dreads, a rag-tag radical Rastafarian group that wanted to see the island run in a manner that would allow them to continue to grow and smoke their 'ganga' and terrorize the visitors and inhabitants.… (mais)