Why the Cocks Fight

Like two roosters in a fighting arena, the Dominican Republic and Haiti are encircled by barriers of geography and poverty. They share one Caribbean island, but their histories are as deeply divided as their cultures: one French-speaking and black, one Spanish-speaking and mulatto. And just as the owners of game-cocks contrive battles between their birds (a favorite sport in both countries) as a way of playing out human conflicts, Haitian and Dominican leaders stir up nationalist disputes or cultural and racial differences as a way of deflecting other kinds of turmoil. Michele Wucker's vivid account of these struggles highlights the features in Caribbean history that are still affecting Hispaniola today, including the often contradictory policies of the United States.