Nonfiction

Jawbreaker
Plunging Into Haiti
At the Fall of Somoza

Plunging Into Haiti: Clinton, Aristide, and the Defeat of Democracy
July 2006
University Press of Mississippi
An ASDT-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Book
Winner, 2006 Douglas Dillon Award given by the American Academy of Diplomacy
ISBN 1578068606
Buy it online

An inside account of the backroom negotiations that entangled the United States in the sufferings of its island neighbor.

For much of the early 1990s, Haiti held the world’s attention. A fiery populist priest, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was elected president and deposed a year later in a military coup. Soon thousands of desperately poor Haitians started to arrive in makeshift boats on the shores of Florida. In early 1993, the newly elected Clinton administration pledged to make the restoration of President Aristide one of the cornerstones of its foreign policy. But that fall the U.S. let supporters of Haiti’s ruling military junta intimidate America into ordering the USS Harlan County and its cargo of UN peacekeeping troops to scotch plans and return to port. Less than a year later, for the first time in U.S. history, a deposed president of another country prevailed on the United States to use its military might to return him to office.

These extraordinary events provide the backdrop for Plunging into Haiti—Ralph Pezzullo’s detailed account of the international diplomatic effort to resolve the political crisis. Through his father, Lawrence Pezzullo, who served as the U.S. special envoy to Haiti, Ralph Pezzullo gained access to important players on all sides. He tells the story of talented, committed men and women from the United States, France, Argentina, and Haiti who dedicated themselves to creating an outcome that would benefit Haiti and the rest of the world. With the energy of a political thriller, Plunging into Haiti fleshes out the central political struggle with threads of Haitian history and will engage readers with a general interest in Haiti as well as students of foreign policy. Using his unique perspective and access, Ralph Pezzullo covers the aftermath of the Clinton administration’s diplomatic maneuvers to show an island still in turmoil.

"Plunging Into Haiti is a must-read for all who would know how foreign policy is actually made, day by day and by fallible and vulnerable people, rather than as the abstract process usually depicted."   - James Morrell, Executive Director of the Haiti Democracy Project

"Plunging Into Haiti is a fascinating and important contribution to our understanding of U.S. efforts to resolve Haiti's 1991-1994 coup crisis and the Aristide presidency in office and in exile. Based on his unique access to sources and a playwright's sense of language, character and drama, Pezzullo presents a Potemkin Village of posturing self-righteousness and counterproductive, sometimes inexplicable decisions and actions by all sides. He shows the context of petty Haitian elite struggles over minuscule state wealth and U.S. power struggles largely impelled by the desire to prevent refugees from reaching the United States."   - Henry (Chip) Carey, Professor of political science, Georgia State University

"The complete, often dramatic, detail from primary sources, American, Haitian and UN, gives full flavor to the international community in time of crisis. Ralph Pezzullo's work adds to the study of modern Haitian history and to our understanding of the UN's still evolving role as international crisis manager. It also underscores our need to know cultures, national history, and individual personalities before pretending to set effective policies and fix courses of U.S. diplomatic and military action."   - Timothy Carney, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, 1998-1999

"Highly ambitious and especially valuable, not only as a diplomatic case study drawing on a number of important primary sources, but also as a major contribution to the resources on Haiti itself."   - Ambassador Timothy M. Carney

At the Fall of Somoza
Lawrence Pezzullo and Ralph Pezzullo
ISBN 0-8229-3756-5
January 1994
University of Pittsburgh Press
Hardcover $34.95
A powerful narrative describing the fall of Nicaragua's dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle - evoking the vivid colors, sounds, and smells of a volatile Managua, torn by violence and fear. Told from the perspective of a top U.S. official on the frontlines of diplomatic activity during the final weeks of the Nicaraguan Revolution.

"Eye-opening. A fascinating look at a failing dictator." - Booklist

"Highly recommended." - Library Journal

"Unusually frank and gripping. A fascinating, hard-hitting narrative …based on eyewitness participation in the dramatic events of these years, and extensive research and interviews." - Foreign Affairs

"Paced like a thriller. A rattling good read …well-researched and informative." - The Baltimore Sun

"No other account of the fighting during the last few weeks of the Somoza regime is as good as this one." William M. LeoGrande, American University