Definitely worth a read. Stories about dictatorships are always scary because of the true events that inspire, if I can use that word, them. The book feels like a bumpy ride along the roads of Trujillo City in the back of a souped up automobile. The wait is intense, the motives are monumental and the stakes hellish.
Not for the squeamish. But then, when has life been? Especially for Dominicans of the Trujillo Era.
The God, The Tyrant
If this wiki entry is anything to go by (in addition to the book) then Trujillo is a deeply feared, extremely influential megalomaniac who has staked his claim to being one of the top dictators in recent history. It is no surprise that he traces his ascent to American Imperialist machinations and gun power. With his clinically efficient henchman Johnny Abbes Garcia, Trujillo and his family (but mostly him) built, shaped and raped the Dominican Republic.
With his obsession for cleanliness, hard line racial stances on immigration with Haiti and an opportunistic capitalist bent of mind, he shaped a whole generation in the Dominican republic. His son Ramfis Trujillo is a character onto himself, and is an interesting case study of what happens to dictator offsprings with no proper orientation in life, a completely servile surrounding and an inexhaustible supply of bullets and booties.
Sometimes, the question pops up as to what would have been Lee Kuan Yew’s fate if he was closer to the meddling United States of America. If he could have so smoothly side stepped the multiple political pitfalls that authoritarian south american regimes found themselves in.
A lesson well kept in mind. – Goat, Ram, Wolf, Tiger.
The alarmingly simple recurrent plot line of dictatorial rise in history is a lesson that is well remembered often. The saviour of a failing economy or a race of people is given undue power, which over time fossilizes into institutional nepotism, reinforcing megalomaniac delusions and before you know it an oppressive regime is well entrenched.
If you thought this was all in the past and there is no doubt as to the cruelties of a madman drunk with power, check this out. Rafael Trujillo’s daughter, Angelita Trujilla’s, eulogy about her father.
The Reluctant Book Worm 