As a person who takes an interest in the country of Haiti and its political figures, I was very excited upon discovering Aristide's "In the Parish of the Poor". This book, which includes a wonderful foreword by Amy Wilentz, contains all the intellect and emotional fervor that makes Aristide the highly-respected individual that he is. The book is well-written and even contains some of Aristide's sermons. I am in no means a supporter of Aristide; however, I must highly recommend this book to anyone. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Haiti- 600 miles from Florida, but it may as well be 600 light years! Jean Bertrand Aristide captures that magnificently in "In The Parish of the Poor". As an educator I have used passages from this book in class to provoke discussions on social justice and morality. And as someone who is drawn to Haiti as often as funds allow,I cherish it for its truth. A lot has happened to Haiti since Titid wrote this, but it has a spirit that is timeless.

This book is excellent! Having met Aristide- in Haiti, I know the absolute power of love that Aristide holds in his heart for the people of Haiti - and this book does just that. It gives the reader a look at the problems in Haiti, those that Aristide has experienced, and why he believes he can change the situation there. He gives the reader fact and feeling- true, honest feelings without the flowery-detail. The feelings in this book are human. Aristide calls out to his readers to take heed and see Haiti as a land of people with pride, love, and faith. He lets you see - from his point of view - the atrocities of standing against the powerful government....of what his vision is for Haiti's future and how faith and liberation theology will bring Haiti to a new level. An excellent read- a powerful book- with actual sermons given by Aristide at the end- that might change the reader's view of the society we live in and his/her place in it.

It's very simple. You have to read this book. As a citizen of the world, there are just some things we all need to be aware of. The historical conditions for war and violence are not understood well enough, and the solutions we are presented with leave much to be desired.
You will not be disappointed!

peace

Taste of Salt, by Frances Temple is the best book I have read yet. This book teaches you how life is special. The book has emotion, love, happiness, loneliness, and a lot more real feelings people have. The best part is the writer is very graphic in her writing, you almost feel like you were there. The whole book is interesting, you never get tired of reading it. I think Taste of Salt can touch many people in different ways.

Taste of Salt, written by Frances Temple, is a provocative, exciting tale of the life of a young Haitian man, Djo, and the struggle against a dictatorship that hired Macoutes, thugs, to keep itself in power. Djo grew up on the streets with his brother before Father Aristide, known to them as Titid, adopted them. Djo was injured by Macoutes who firebombed him. Now he lies in a hospital bed telling his story to a student of a nun school named Jeremie. She listens.
There are several reasons to read this book, but the two greatest are its complex setting and the intricate writing style. The setting is elaborate as the book takes place in 1991in the city of Port-Au-Prince, when people were trying to attain a democracy and end the dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier who named himself president for life and hired Macoutes. The writing style is unique as it has many flashbacks and the story is half from Djo's view and half from Jeremie's view. The flashbacks are interesting as they tell how the characters came to their current state and telling what they did until then. Also the different characters views have are written slightly different with slightly different writing styles that reflect the different characters speech styles.
This book is quite good but some may find fault with the fact that it uses some Creole words that can be quite confusing and force you to look back to the glossary disrupting. Though at first it may appear a negative fact, by the end it becomes interesting and you feel you have learned a little of their culture. However, even if one finds the Creole to be disrupting they will still enjoy the overall quality of this book.

I recently read this book in order to find fresh literature to present in the classroom. I can't wait to read this with my 7th-grade English students. Because of its structure, Taste of Salt lends itself to many creative teaching strategies. The values and themes are very relevant to our students today. Read it and you will see!

Take a trip to Haiti. And you may still notice the mountains of garbage at every street corner, drug and crime lords on the loose, the prison system a mess, the economy...what economy? electricity...only when it's for the "Wold Cup", the absence of Police Officers...the condition of the roads! the airport! the beggers, the robbers and the fast and growing numbers of Haitians leaving either by plane or boat! now, instead of publishing a book and trying to convince those who's never lived in Haiti of the President's good heart, he should have taken that money and spent it on the country instead! Nothing has changed from when the Duvalieriste's were in power! Actually, the new President bares an eery resemblance to Papa Doc lately! oh! did I forget to mention the President's mansion in "Tabarre" and the perfect condition of the road in front of his house...we wouldn't want his Excellency to feel a bump now, would we?

hmm. interesting point our President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has. but guess what,it's not enough. in essence,he represents the dream-like state that a lot of my people have:we dream of what we were,of what we could be,yet do nothing about it. he is an intellectual without action. i have lived too long in haiti to hear all of the 'ansanm,ansanm,nou se lavalas'speeches of our DEARLY BELOVED president while continually seeing the misery of my people. good book,"titid". but i don't expect to see anything realistic come of it. (:

This book is a short collection of articles or speeches by President Jean Bertrand Aristide. Reading it is a window into the world of a torn country: the poorest in the western hemisphere. But rather than being depressing, it leaves you with hope as you celebrate the triumphs of the Haitian people as they struggle for democracy and peace.

When Aristide ceased to be in with his people and their true voice, he lost his power in many ways and one seems to be in the writing of "Dignity". It lacks the "soul" his other work has. I am only 1/2 way through, but am disappointed, and not much motivated to read on.

Dear Titid, I'm always proud to read from you and sure that every one that fight for freedom will enjoy it.