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Islamic State in Australia (Political Violence)
by Rodger ShanahanThis book fills a gap in our knowledge about the activities of Western supporters and members of Islamic State by examining the experience of their Australian cohort. More than 200 Australian men, women and children travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamist groups and to help establish an Islamic State by force. Dozens more assisted Islamic State by supporting those overseas or by planning or carrying out terrorist attacks in Australia. For all that, little is publicly known about the impact of the Syrian conflict on Australia’s radical Islamists. This book provides a well-researched examination of how and why so many Australians travelled to fight for or otherwise supported Islamic State. From the failed attempt to bring down an Etihad passenger plane en route from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, to showing their children holding the heads of Syrian soldiers, Australians were prominent in carrying out Islamic State’s directions. Using a range of Australian and foreign court records, social and mainstream media content, this book provides the first detailed look at who these people were, what tasks they carried out, how they came to adopt this radical view of Islam and what long-term legal and security implications are likely to result from their actions. This book will be of interest to students of terrorism, political Islam and security studies.
The Islamic State We Knew
by Erin-Elizabeth Johnson Howard J. ShatzThis report provides information known by the end of 2011 about the Islamic State's origins, finances, organization, methods of establishing territorial control, and response to airpower. Countering the Islamic State can rely, in part, on the great deal of accumulated knowledge available. Iraqis and coalition forces routed the group once, and this history can inform the components of another successful strategy to defeat the Islamic State.
Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes
by Mehmet KarabelaEarly modern Protestant scholars closely engaged with Islamic thought in more ways than is usually recognized. Among Protestants, Lutheran scholars distinguished themselves as the most invested in the study of Islam and Muslim culture. Mehmet Karabela brings the neglected voices of post-Reformation theologians, primarily German Lutherans, into focus and reveals their rigorous engagement with Islamic thought. Inspired by a global history approach to religious thought, Islamic Thought Through Protestant Eyes offers new sources to broaden the conventional interpretation of the Reformation beyond a solely European Christian phenomenon. Based on previously unstudied dissertations, disputations, and academic works written in Latin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Karabela analyzes three themes: Islam as theology and religion; Islamic philosophy and liberal arts; and Muslim sects (Sunni and Shi‘a). This book provides analyses and translations of the Latin texts as well as brief biographies of the authors. These texts offer insight into the Protestant perception of Islamic thought for scholars of religious studies and Islamic studies as well as for general readers. Examining the influence of Islamic thought on the construction of the Protestant identity after the Reformation helps us to understand the role of Islam in the evolution of Christianity.
Islamic Tolerance: Amir Khusraw and Pluralism (Iranian Studies)
by Alyssa GabbayAlthough pluralism and religious tolerance are most often associated today with Western Enlightenment thinkers, the roots of these ideologies stretch back to non-Western and premodern societies, including many under Muslim rule. This book explores the development of pluralism in Islam in South Asia through the work of the poet, historian and musician Amir Khusraw and sheds new light on how Islam developed its own culture of tolerance. Countering stereotypes of Islam as intrinsically intolerant, the book provides a better understanding of how rhetorics of pluralism develop, which may aid in identifying and encouraging such discourses in the present. Khusraw, a practicing Muslim who showed great affection toward Hindus and used much indigenous imagery in his poetry, is an ideal figure through whom to explore these issues. Addressing issues of ethnicity, religion and gender in the early medieval period, Alyssa Gabbay demonstrates the pre-modern precedents for pluralism, conveying the broad sweep of Perso-Islamicate culture and the profound transformations it underwent in medieval South Asia. Accurately depicting the paradoxicality and jaggedness involved in the development of its composite culture, this book will have great relevance to scholars and students of Islam in South Asia, gender, religious pluralism, and Persian literature.
Islamikaze: Manifestations of Islamic Martyrology
by Raphael IsraeliRaphael Israeli's overview of Islamic martyrology focuses upon the situation that has developed worldwide since the World Trade Centre was destroyed. His thesis is that a sea-change has occurred in international terrorism that supersedes all other perspectives.
Islamism, Democracy and Liberalism in Turkey: The Case of the AKP (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)
by William Hale Ergun OzbudunThe Justice and Development Party (AKP) were elected to power in 2002 and since then Turkish politics has undergone considerable change. This book is a comprehensive analysis of the AKP, in terms not just of its ideological agenda, but also of its social basis and performance in office in the main theatres of public policy – political reform, and cultural, economic and foreign policies. Based on an extensive analysis of official and party documents, interviews, academic sources and media coverage, the book outlines the main features of the current global debate on the relationship between Islam, Islamism and democracy. While most top AKP leaders come from an Islamist background, the party has behaved as a moderate, centre-right, conservative democratic party who are fully committed to democracy, a free market economy and Turkey’s EU membership. The book explores and analyses these changes in Turkish politics, and provides coverage of the workings of the contemporary Turkish political systems, policy and ideological issues that go to the heart of Turkish identity. Filling a gap in the existing Turkish and English literature on the subject, this book will be an important contribution to Political Science, particularly the areas of Turkish politics, Middle Eastern studies, Islamic studies and comparative politics.
The Islamist
by Ed HusainEd Husain's The Islamist is the shocking inside story of British Islamic fundamentalism, told by a former radical. 'When I was sixteen I became an Islamic fundamentalist. Five years later, after much emotional turmoil, I rejected fundamentalist teachings and returned to normal life and my family. As I recovered my faith and mind, I tried to put my experiences behind me, but as the events of 7/7 unfolded it became clear to me that Islamist groups pose a threat to this country that we - Muslims and non-Muslims alike - do not yet understand. ' 'Why are young British Muslims becoming extremists? What are the risks of another home-grown terrorist attack on British soil? By describing my experiences inside these groups and the reasons I joined them, I hope to explain the appeal of extremist thought, how fanatics penetrate Muslim communities and the truth behind their agenda of subverting the West and moderate Islam. Writing candidly about life after extremism, I illustrate the depth of the problem that now grips Muslim hearts and minds and lay bare what politicians and Muslim 'community leaders' do not want you to know. ' 'A complete eye-opener' The Times 'Captivating, and terrifyingly honest' Observer 'Persuasive and stimulating' Martin Amis 'Read this articulate and impassioned book' Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times Ed Husain was an Islamist radical for five years in his late teens and early twenties. Having rejected extremism he travelled widely in the Middle East and worked for the British Council in Syria and Saudi Arabia. Husain received wide and various acclaim for The Islamist, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for political writing and the PEN/Ackerley Prize for literary autobiography, amongst others.
The Islamist Impasse (Adelphi series)
by Ibrahim KarawanSince the mid-1970s, Islamist groups have been important opposition forces in the Arab world and have posed a considerable challenge to regimes. However, their increased influence has not led to political power. Ibrahim A. Karawan argues that Islamist movements have been unable to form an effective and united opposition, and have therefore reached an impasse. Although regimes cannot afford to ignore their Islamist challengers, the Arab world is unlikely to witness a wave of Islamist take-overs. More than 17 years after the fall of the Shah, the Iranian revolution remains an isolated case in the Middle East. The growth of Islamism is fuelled by social, economic and political discontent. Islamist movements are not passing phenomena, but the actual political threat they pose will depend mainly on their ability to form broad coalitions, and on the willingness of regimes to introduce badly needed reforms. However, Islamist movements are divided over key issues of strategy and tactics. Regimes have exploited these divisions to contain their Islamist opponents, and have blended oppression and limited political accommodation to perpetuate their rule. Despite Islamist groups’ transnational language and ideology, national and sub-national issues drive their actions. Region-wide developments – notably the ‘oil revolution’ of the 1970s and Arab military defeats by Israel – are important in understanding the overall political climate, but they will not be crucial in deciding the outcome of the Islamist–regime confrontation. The influence of the West on Arab Islamism is also unlikely to be decisive. Islamist activism is stronger in areas with greater exposure to Western influences. States are therefore keen not to be seen as being too close to Western powers. In addition, there is no one Western stance towards Islamist movements, nor is there a unified assessment of the causes and policy implications of their resurgence. Contentious political issues confront Western powers, such as linking economic aid to human rights. Political and militant movements operating under the banner of Islamism are diverse. Their deep differences over the best means to achieve their objectives fragment their ranks and undermine their effectiveness. Although Arab regimes face many challenges, they have shown greater political resilience than analysts have expected.
Islamist Radicalisation in North Africa: Politics and Process (History and Society in the Islamic World)
by George JofféIn the current climate of political extremism and violence, much attention has been directed towards "radicalisation" as the reasons behind such courses of action, along with a conviction that those who are radicalised represent an irrational deviation from the conventionally accepted norms of social and political behaviour. This book focuses on the current issues and analytical approaches to the phenomenon of radicalisation in North Africa. Taking a comprehensive approach to the subject, it looks at the processes that lead to radicalisation, rather than the often violent outcomes. At the same time, chapters expand the discussion historically and conceptually beyond the preoccupations of recent years, in order to develop a more holistic understanding of a complex individual and collective process that has represented a permanent challenge to dominant political, social and, on occasion, economic norms. With contributions from academics and policy-makers within and outside the region, the book is a comprehensive investigation of Islamist Radicalisation. As such, it will be of great interest to academics and students investigating North Africa and terrorism, as well as specialists in radicalism and extremism.
Islamists and Secularists in Egypt: Opposition, Conflict & Cooperation (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)
by Dina ShehataIn a detailed analysis of the continued survival of authoritarian governments in the Arab world, this book uses Egypt as a case study to address the timely and complex issue of democratization in the Middle East. This book examines how relations between different actors in the Egyptian opposition have contributed to the endurance of authoritarianism in Egypt over the past three decades. The author argues that the longevity of the authoritarian government is not only a function of the strength and cohesion of the regime, but is also related to the weaknesses and divisions between opposition groupings, particularly between Islamists and non-Islamists. Looking at how such ideological differences and mobilizational asymmetries have impeded successful cooperation between different opposition groups, and how this allows the authoritarian regime to successfully ensure its continued hegemony, the author illustrates the extent to which opposition strategies profoundly affect successful transitions to democracy in the Arab world. Highlighting the main obstacles to democratic political reform in the region, the author provides important insights for the promotion of democracy in the region which will be a valuable addition to the literature on Middle Eastern politics and government.
Islamization from Below
by Brian J. PetersonThe colonial era in Africa, spanning less than a century, ushered in a more rapid expansion of Islam than at any time during the previous thousand years. In this groundbreaking historical investigation, Brian J. Peterson considers for the first time how and why rural peoples in West Africa "became Muslim" under French colonialism. Peterson rejects conventional interpretations that emphasize the roles of states, jihads, and elites in "converting" people, arguing instead that the expansion of Islam owed its success to the mobility of thousands of rural people who gradually, and usually peacefully, adopted the new religion on their own. Based on extensive fieldwork in villages across southern Mali (formerly French Sudan) and on archival research in West Africa and France, the book draws a detailed new portrait of grassroots, multi-generational processes of Islamization in French Sudan while also deepening our understanding of the impact and unintended consequences of colonialism.
Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire: 20 years after 9/11
by Deepa KumarA critically acclaimed analysis of anti-Muslim racism from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, in a fully revised and expanded second editionIn this incisive account, leading scholar of Islamophobia Deepa Kumar traces the history of anti-Muslim racism from the early modern era to the &“War on Terror.&” Importantly, Kumar contends that Islamophobia is best understood as racism rather than as religious intolerance. An innovative analysis of anti-Muslim racism and empire, Islamophobia argues that empire creates the conditions for anti-Muslim racism, which in turn sustains empire. This book, now updated to include the end of the Trump&’s presidency, offers a clear and succinct explanation of how Islamophobia functions in the United States both as a set of coercive policies and as a body of ideas that take various forms: liberal, conservative, and rightwing. The matrix of anti-Muslim racism charts how various institutions—the media, think tanks, the foreign policy establishment, the university, the national security apparatus, and the legal sphere—produce and circulate this particular form of bigotry. Anti-Muslim racism not only has horrific consequences for people in Muslim-majority countries who become the targets of an endless War on Terror, but for Muslims and those who &“look Muslim&” in the West as well.With a new foreword by Nadine Naber.
Islampolitik und Deutsche Islam Konferenz: Theoretische Diskurse – Empirische Befunde – Kritische Perspektiven (Politik und Religion)
by Oliver Hidalgo Schirin Amir-Moazami Jörg BaudnerDer Band versammelt Beiträge ausgewiesener Expert*innen zu den verfassungsrechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen, theoretischen Potenzialen und politischen Regulierungen der Islampolitik in der säkularen Demokratie in Deutschland. Vor allem am Präzedenzfall und zentralen Beispiel der seit 2006 eingerichteten Deutschen Islam Konferenz werden die Chancen und Risiken, Problemkreise und Dilemmata der deutschen Islampolitik aufgezeigt sowie die bislang gefundenen Dialog- und Kooperationsformen zwischen dem deutschen Staat und den hierzulande lebenden Muslim*innen kritisch analysiert. Die Beiträge reflektieren im Einzelnen die nach wie vor vorhandenen Defizite in der Gleichbehandlung von muslimischen und nicht-muslimischen Religionsgemeinschaften, die unterschiedlichen Interessen und Missverständnisse zwischen den beteiligten Akteur*innen der DIK sowie künftige Möglichkeiten und Hürden für eine Diskurs auf Augenhöhe. Sie thematisieren dabei außerdem die Frage, inwieweit der deutsche Staat in der Behandlung der Muslim*innen seine religionspolitischen Kompetenzen bislang ausschöpft oder überschreitet.
Islam's Renewal: Reform Or Revolt? (St Antony's)
by Derek HopwoodThe book considers some of the solutions proposed by Muslim activists and thinkers in their attempts to renew (tajdid) their ways of life and thought in accord with the demands of the age in which they lived. The two ways of reacting are studied – the movements led by men of action and inspiration, and the thoughts of quietist scholars who laid greater emphasis on calm continuity. These two streams have often collided and particularly so in the contemporary age of greater violence. Other related problems are also considered: how a non-Muslim should regard the religion of the ‘other’; the ways modernization have been dealt with; and the two root causes of Muslim ‘rage’ today – the invasions of the West and the failure to reach an equitable solution to the problem of Palestine. Building on the author’s sixty-year experience researching the history of Islam, the book will appeal to students and scholars across the fields of Islamic studies, religious history and Middle Eastern politics.
The Island: The million-copy Number One bestseller 'A moving and absorbing holiday read'
by Victoria Hislop'A moving and absorbing holiday read that pulls at the heartstrings' Evening StandardThe acclaimed million-copy number one bestseller and winner of Richard & Judy's Summer Read 2006. Victoria Hislop tells a dramatic tale of four generations, illicit love, violence and leprosy, from the thirties, through the war, to the present day.On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip...Praise for The Island. . .'A vivid, moving and absorbing tale' Observer'Victoria Hislop . . . brings dignity and tenderness to her novel about lives blighted by leprosy' Telegraph'Wonderful descriptions, strong characters and an intimate portrait of island existence' Woman & Home'War, tragedy and passion unfurl against a Mediterranean backdrop in this engrossing debut novel' You magazine'Hislop's deep research, imagination and patent love of Crete creates a convincing portrait of times on the island'Evening Standard'A page-turning tale that reminds us that love and life continue in even the most extraordinary of circumstances'Sunday Express 'A beautiful tale of enduring love and unthinking prejudice'Express
The Island: The million-copy Number One bestseller 'A moving and absorbing holiday read'
by Victoria Hislop'A moving and absorbing holiday read that pulls at the heartstrings' Evening StandardThe acclaimed million-copy number one bestseller and winner of Richard & Judy's Summer Read 2006. Victoria Hislop tells a dramatic tale of four generations, illicit love, violence and leprosy, from the thirties, through the war, to the present day.On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip...Praise for The Island. . .'A vivid, moving and absorbing tale' Observer'Victoria Hislop . . . brings dignity and tenderness to her novel about lives blighted by leprosy' Telegraph'Wonderful descriptions, strong characters and an intimate portrait of island existence' Woman & Home'War, tragedy and passion unfurl against a Mediterranean backdrop in this engrossing debut novel' You magazine'Hislop's deep research, imagination and patent love of Crete creates a convincing portrait of times on the island'Evening Standard'A page-turning tale that reminds us that love and life continue in even the most extraordinary of circumstances'Sunday Express 'A beautiful tale of enduring love and unthinking prejudice'Express
Island
by Him M. Lai Genny Lim Judy YungAngel Island, in San Francisco Bay, was the entry, internment center, and often closest approach to the US for Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century. Here are the thoughts they carved and ink-brushed on their barrack's walls, discovered after the center closed in 1940. Facing pages of Chinese and English.
Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island 1910-1940
by Him M. Lai Genny Lim Judy YungAngel Island, in San Francisco Bay, was the entry, internment center, and often closest approach to the US for Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century. Here are the thoughts they carved and inkbrushed on their barrack's walls, discovered after the center closed in 1940. Facing pages of Chinese and English. No index.
The Island: Nijmegen to Arnhem (Battleground Europe)
by Tim SaundersHaving fought their way up fifty miles of Hell's Highway and through Nijmegen, XXX Corps was just ten miles from Arnhem and the 1st British Airborne Division. Here it found itself on an island of flat land between the Waal at Nijmegen and the Rhine at Arnhem. The situation was increasingly bad with the remainder of II SS Panzer Corps in the area and German counter attacks on Hell's Highway preventing the Allies applying their material superiority. The Guards Armoured and then 43rd Wessex Infantry Division took turns to lead before reaching the Rhine opposite the paratroopers in the Oosterbeek Perimeter. Attempts to cross the Rhine by the Polish Paras and the Dorset Regiment had little success, but meanwhile, the guns of XXX Corps ensured the survival of the Perimeter. After some desperate fighting on the island, 43rd Wessex Division evacuated just two thousand members of the elite Airborne Division who had landed eight days earlier.
Island: Martinique
by John Edgar WidemanIn this compelling travel memoir, the celebrated novelist explores Martinique's seductive natural beauty and culture, as well as its vexed history of colonial violence and racism.
The Island at the Center of the World
by Russell ShortoBased on new documents just translated from C17th Dutch, this book tells the story of how a wilderness island populated by wolves, wild strawberries and native Indians, situated on a perfect natural harbour at the mouth of a great river leading into the centre of a new continent, became the crucial prize in a conflict between the Dutch and English about who would control the recently discovered American continent. This is the pageturning story of the early years of Manhattan under Dutch rule, with at its heart a battle between men who would be its leader, the autocratic despot Stuyvesant, and the liberal-minded lawyer Van den Donck. It is Russel Shorto's theory that the attitudes of the original Dutch settlers led to the free-trade, multi-cultural, upwardly-mobile 'melting pot' of New York, and that Van den Donck was the first to identify the principles of liberty and democracy that ended up underpinning the US contstitution.
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America
by Russell ShortoWhen the British wrested New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the truth about its thriving, polyglot society began to disappear into myths about an island purchased for 24 dollars and a cartoonish peg-legged governor. But the story of the Dutch colony of New Netherland was merely lost, not destroyed. Drawing on the archives of the New Netherland Project, Russell Shorto has created a gripping narrative that transforms our understanding of early America.The Dutch colony pre-dated the 'original' thirteen colonies, yet it seems strikingly familiar. Its capital was cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, and its citizens valued free trade, individual rights, and religious freedom. Their champion was a progressive, young lawyer named Adriaen van der Donck, who emerges in these pages as a forgotten American patriot and whose political vision brought him into conflict with Peter Stuyvesant, the autocratic director of the Dutch colony. The struggle between these two strong-willed men laid the foundation for New York City and helped shape American culture. The Island at the Center of the World uncovers a lost world and offers a surprising new perspective on our own.
Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island
by Steven Roger Fischer'A fascinating and highly readable history of one of the most exotic islands on earth' The Economist 'Fischer's robust book dispels the mystery and reveals the tale of the evolution of an island that, for a thousand years, developed in almost total isolation' The Good Book Guide Famed for its extreme isolation and breathtaking monumental sculpture, Easter Island was a verdant South Sea idyll when the first Polynesian settlers landed there around AD 700 But by the i6th century, when voyaging in the South Pacific was far less widespread, Easter Islanders became stranded on what had turned into a desert like isle, and were forced to adapt to survive In 1722 the first European visitors encountered a people thriving in total isolation, surrounded by huge architectural platforms of fitted stones topped by hundred of monolithic busts Subsequent intruders brought trade, disease and violence, and the Islanders responded through cultural reinvention new leaders, new rituals, new gods Steven Roger Fischer relates a compelling story of how wars, smallpox and the 'Great Death' decimated the Island, and how a despotic Frenchman claimed it for himself, only to be killed by the remaining Islanders - a population of just 111. He describes its colonization and annexation by Chile, and its peaceful but insistent civil rights movement in the 1960s. Today the population has increased, as has tourism, and the Island continues to be managed by the indigenous Rapanui people Island at the End of the World presents, for the first time in the English language, a comprehensive history told by a writer who is intimately familiar with Easter Island's history, its people and their extraordinary story. Foreign interest has never been so keen, and this book is a much-needed history of a little-known but remarkable place.
Island at War: Puerto Rico in the Crucible of the Second World War (Caribbean Studies Series)
by Jorge Rodríguez BeruffDespite Puerto Rico being the hub of the United States' naval response to the German blockade of the Caribbean, there is very little published scholarship on the island's heavy involvement in the global conflict of World War II. Recently, a new generation of scholars has been compiling interdisciplinary research with fresh insights about the profound wartime changes, which in turn generated conditions for the rapid economic, social, and political development of postwar Puerto Rico. The island's subsequent transformation cannot be adequately grasped without tracing its roots to the war years. Island at War brings together outstanding new research on Puerto Rico and makes it accessible in English. It covers ten distinct topics written by nine distinguished scholars from the Caribbean and beyond. Contributors include experts in the fields of history, political science, sociology, literature, journalism, communications, and engineering. Topics include US strategic debate and war planning for the Caribbean on the eve of World War II, Puerto Rico as the headquarters of the Caribbean Sea frontier, war and political transition in Puerto Rico, the war economy of Puerto Rico, the German blockade of the Caribbean in 1942, and the story of a Puerto Rican officer in the Second World War and Korea. With these essays and others, Island at War represents the cutting edge of scholarship on the role of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in World War II and its aftermath.
Island Beneath the Sea
by Isabel AllendeBorn on the island of Saint-Domingue, Zarité--known as Tété--is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white sailors who brought her into bondage. Though her childhood is one of brutality and fear, Tété finds solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and the voodoo loa she discovers through her fellow slaves. When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, it's with powdered wigs in his trunks and dreams of financial success in his mind. But running his father's plantation, Saint Lazare, is neither glamorous nor easy. Although Valmorain purchases young Tété for his bride, it is he who will become dependent on the services of his teenaged slave.Against the merciless backdrop of sugarcane fields, the lives of Tété and Valmorain grow ever more intertwined. When the bloody revolution of Toussaint Louverture arrives at the gates of Saint Lazare, they flee the brutal conditions of the French colony, soon to become Haiti, for the raucous, free-wheeling enterprise of New Orleans. There Tété finally forges a new life, but her connection to Valmorain is deeper than anyone knows and not easily severed. With an impressive richness of detail, and a narrative wit and brio second to none, Allende crafts the riveting story of one woman's determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been so battered, and to forge a new identity in the cruelest of circumstances.