Reading The Dominican Republic Reader has been an incredibly useful and informative experience. Aimed at beginners to the study of the DR, it includes a plethora of primary source material, excerpts from writings of scholars, and interviews with musicians on Dominican culture and the diaspora. While it was certainly interesting to read the interviews with Milly Quezada or Johnny Ventura, the weight and strongest parts of the text are to be found in historical analysis from 1492 to the present. Many aspects of Dominican history, such as the 'comegente' fear of the revolutionary period, or the differing perceptions of Haiti from Haitian occupation to the 20th century, and even the rise of a peasantry and Cibao elite with tobacco as the principal export, were new or relatively nuanced facets of the Dominican story. The turbulent year of 1965, the Trujillato, as well as the Dominican diaspora experience were well treated in this collection, too. In addition, literary, intellectual, popular culture, migration abroad, and social history are adequately covered.
As someone who seeks to understand the Dominican Republic and how it relates to Haiti, this is a valuable introductory source, but somewhat weak on Haitian-Dominican relations. There are a few essays and primary source excerpts focusing on Haiti, and a few on Dominican racial consciousness (or lack thereof), but the bulk of the text is solely the Dominican Republic. Those seeking a balanced and thought-provoking read on Haiti and the DR should read Haitian-Dominican Counterpoint.
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