The Prize

In this second book in his <i>Haiti Sun</i> series publisher Bernard Diederich examines Haiti's disastrous year of 1957 during which politicians in their battle for the National Palace brought their Caribbean country to the brink of collapse.</p>The struggle tore families and friends asunder reared the ugly head of black-versus-mulatto racism-and opened the way for the Machiavellian tyrant Dr. Francois Duvalier to attain power. Left in the wake was a proud and creative people who would suffer post-traumatic stress from Duvalierist dynastic rule for the next nearly 30 years.</p>At the heart of this societal tragedy was the prize-Haiti's gleaming white National Palace. However the elegant structure was more than a symbol of power and easily gotten gain. It was a powerful insidious force that turned potential leaders into beasts and set them to killing each other and innocent citizens. With an ever-increasing population on a finite land surface this island republic can no longer afford a diseased dysfunctional political system. Rather Haitians must work together to make their palace a museum of past errors.</p>In these pages the author who witnessed and reported the events of 1957 dramatically sets forth the roots of this challenge.</p>