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Amy Wilentz Discusses the Politics and Government of Haiti.

Journalist Amy Wilentz. Her first book, The Rainy Season, Haiti since Duvalier, is an account of Haiti since the overthrow of President-for-Life Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, and of how the country's hope for reform gave way to despair when it was clear Haiti's new leadership couldn't, or wouldn't, reverse 40 years of chaos and stagnation. The book is also an account of how Wilentz was transformed by the story, of how the epochal change Haiti was going through, and its stunning contrast of poverty and corrupted wealth, overwhelmed her first assumptions. Wilentz was a staff reporter for Time Magazine and has also written for The Nation and The Village Voice. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

22:06

Other segments from the episode on July 18, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 18, 1989: Interview with Amy Wilentz; Commentary on Bobby "Blue" Bland; Interview with Cynthia Kadohata; Review of Martin Cruz Smith's novel "Polar Star."

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