Book review : Grenada : revolution and invasion

Abstract

This edited volume is described as consisting of articles that “originally appeared in special issues of Social and Economic Studies, published in the Caribbean, and Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, published in the United Kingdom.” (p. 6). To that end, this book provides a rich compendium of previously published work by compiling an all-in-one publication that would permit the reader the opportunity to read all about the Grenada revolution (1979-1983) and its collapse, through the differing narratives and perspectives surrounding it. On page 26, readers are confronted with a core element of what the Grenada revolution was about. Was it a Marxist-Leninist insurrection or an anti-Gairy struggle that brought about the overthrow of Grenada’s Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy? Merle Collins phrases it this way: “As the party strove to study Marxism-Leninism and develop in vanguard mode, one major challenge was to recognize and respect that the focus of many of its supporters was opposition to the repression of the Gairy era.” [excerpt]