Despite its significance in the History of Spanish colonialism, the Dominican Republic is familiar to most outsiders through only a few elements of its past and culture.
The volume\'s eighty-five illustrations, ten of which appear in color, include maps, paintings, and photos of architecture, statues, famous figures, and Dominicans going about their everyday lives..
All of them are preceded by brief introductions written by the editors.
Many of the selections have been translated into English for the first time.
Among the volume\'s 118 selections are essays, speeches, journalism, songs, poems, legal documents, testimonials, and short stories, as well as several interviews conducted especially for this Reader.
It provides an introduction to the history, politics, and Culture of the country, from precolonial times into the early twenty-first century.
This Reader seeks to change that.
Little else about the Dominican Republic is common knowledge outside its borders.
Some may know that the country produces talented baseball players and musicians; others that it is a prime destination for beach vacations.
Non-Dominicans may be aware that the country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and that it is where Christopher Columbus chose to build a colony.
Despite its significance in the History of Spanish colonialism, the Dominican Republic is familiar to most outsiders through only a few elements of its past and culture