Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, 20th Anniversary Edition

This is an excellent book, for many reasons. First, it's a book about the history of the Western Hemisphere (mostly), centering on Haiti and San Souci, and then upon Columbus. Second, it's a book about how history is determined. It's not just a compendium of facts. History is developed and managed based upon certain facts and upon the suppression of other certain facts. Third, it's a book about what history means, how facts are presented or suppressed, what the history of that history is. Fourth, it is simply an excellently written book. The language is crisp and accurate, the thought advances at a smooth but swift state, and the author is present in every paragraph and word. There is no hesitancy or evasiveness. I enjoyed this book. It's a history book, but I enjoyed it.

This book is very important and understanding much for what goes on today with the bending of history and accommodating facts to meet a certain purpose. The book is well organized, well documented and challenge of us to see the pass and act upon it in the present

I've returned to Trouillot's influential historiography time and time again throughout my undergrad at Johns Hopkins. Trouillot (Hopkins alum) shaped my understanding of history as a practice, changing the way I think about writing history, the what, the why, and the how. An inspiring read for historians and non-historians alike!

This is a beautiful text written by Trouillot. If want to learn about the history of racism, slavery and specially about how Haití was an important node in the histórical construcction of the pro and anti slavement movements that arose in Europe. On simple wordswritten by Trouillot, there could not have been something to call Europe, modernity or humanity without the Americas and the Caribbean.

A good read that tackles history, memory and a reckoning with colonialism and slavery. It introduces each topic and engages the reader with difficult questions. Almost 20 years later and it is still relevant.

Great book

this book is a great approach to understand how history is produced. The discussion of the construction of narratives and their historicity is pertinent, because in historiography it is an issue that is overpass. He points in something interesting: the historians in their work show how operate both sociohistorical processes and the narratives of those processes. But in theory of history and in historiography they only care about the narratives; they don't look at the process of social production of those narratives. More over, they only review the academic narrative; the other historic narratives are dismissed. This book is claim to those narratives that are not studied on theory of history. The only problem is that he doesn't explore those other narratives; he just mentioned that problem.

Merging Foucault with Marx, Trouillot argued the power in the historical narrative as a means of production for the narrative itself—and thus, history. As Trouillot stated in his Preface, “History is the fruit of power, but power itself is never so transparent that its analysis becomes superfluous. The ultimate mark of power may be its invisibility; the ultimate challenge, the exposition of its roots” (xxiii). The choices historians make shape their narratives, and history, for better or worse, while contributing to the power of that narrative overall, for the past, the present, and the future. The seeds, fruit and consumption of history are the power.

Made me think long, deep and hard about our western motives and the way I've been telling my kids about 'history' for all these years. The chapter on the 'discovery of the Americas' vs 'the castillan invasion of the Bahamas' still resonates.

A boo for anyone who just does not accept the fed narrative of the modern world. A real and sincere look at the past and how it is silenced by the corporate PR machines. All from the horse's mouth.

Fantastic book

Ignore politically motivated reviews, this is a well written and fair minded book on a subject of great contemporary importance with the rise of authoritarian governments across the globe and their associated 'culture wars'. The first chapter is somewhat abstract and could be seen as difficult although the gist is quite clear. The rest of the book is a much easier read containing some interesting history as well as many thought-provoking insights. Highly recommended.

The book is nearly 30 years old but it is still relevant today. How history is shaped how we silence or remove the elements that undermine us. How we still don't learn from history.