What They Are Saying
"A worthy survey of a lesser-known aspect of American history, best read in smaller portions." Kirkus Reviews
"The book truly recognizes the immigrant spirit that continues to build and define the United States. I eagerly await the release of volume two.” Rey Allen, Executive Artistic Director of Theatre International, Inc.
“Herman Hall’s latest book, From Founding Father Alexander Hamilton to Vice President Kamala Harris, is essential, enlightening reading.” Patricia Meschino, Journalist.
“Read as narrative historiography rooted in lived experience, it offers meaningful insight for both academic and general audiences.” Dr. Canisha M. Boldeau, JP, NP
“Herman G. Hall masterfully highlights the profound impact of Caribbean Americans on U.S. politics, arts, and culture.” Edwin "The Bajan King" Howell, Radio Personality
“It is an account of a people who have transformed their presence into power and their culture into a lasting legacy.” Vonulrick “Von” Martin, Pacifica Radio and Caribbeana Communications
Release – August 2026
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Released – Summer 2022
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“Hall has written extensively about Caribbean life and history. In this, his second book about the insurrectionist, Hall challenges the predominant narrative in published histories of Fédon's Rebellion that are mainly based on the written records of the Caribbean leader’s British enemies. They portray Fédon as misguided, violent, and cruel. Rather, this book suggests he was, and remains to this day, a hero “in the minds and hearts” of Caribbean citizens for his brave fight against the “mighty British Empire” and for his strategic acumen that pieced together a “ragtag army” of free and enslaved Africans, mixed-race elites, and liberal French Whites. Given how little is known about Fédon’s early life beyond his birth to a free Black woman and a French immigrant, Hall pieces together a remarkably cohesive narrative that avoids the temptation to overly speculate and that effectively places the revolutionary’s life and legacy in a wider Caribbean historical context.” — Kirkus Reviews
"Herman Hall brings to life with a skillful meld of powerful Caribbean history and personal memories.” — Jared McCallister, New York Daily News
“The oral tradition that passed history from one generation to another by word of mouth remained strong on the estates, where only a few could read and write. The book convincingly shows that Belvidere workers’ tales were soundly based on historical fact.” — Stephen Spark, Soca News, London, UK
“I now know why Julien Fédon is a notable figure in Grenada and Caribbean history.” —The Mighty Sparrow, Dr. Slinger Francisco
"This ongoing story of Julien Fédon serves to remind us that we’ve only begun to realize how much of our past and its repercussions still loom ‘out there." — David Michael Rudder
“The theme and contents are going to add a little more to Caribbean historiography.” — Hollis U. Liverpool, Ph.d, O.R.T.T. (Calypsonian Chalkdust)
“The author was born in 1945 and grew up on a spice estate in Grenada called Belvidere, where planting and harvesting had gone on since the 18th century. The stilt-supported barracks of the laborers almost perfectly resembled the cabins of their enslaved ancestors, and their children were barred from exploring the parasite-ridden outdoors or the kitchen buildings where food was prepared on stone slabs and “dried wood and oil-rich nutmeg branches, placed between the stones, served as cooking fuel.” At Belvidere, from a perch on his family’s front doorsill, Hall heard stories of the estate’s notorious former occupant, Julien Fédon, and the bloody rebellion he incited in the spring of 1795 that “seized and plundered British estates,” assumed control of the island (except for the seat of government), and eventually cost the lives of thousands of Grenadians. Inspired by the revolutions in Haiti, the United States, and France, Fédon, a seasoned French officer, masterfully played various sides of the struggle—French, British, Grenadian, and Hessian—against one another and nearly succeeded in changing the history of the Western Hemisphere. In this volume, Fédon’s story alternates with chapters in which Hall tells of his own childhood on the plantation in a sweet, nostalgic tone. He describes it, convincingly, as a melting pot, encompassing “poor whites” and people whose skin color he describes as “black as tar” as well as plenty of East Indians. Among the latter was the author’s adopted mother, an illiterate farm laborer who nearly burst with happiness when her son was admitted to exclusive schools. “Wherever people came from,” one wise old resident told him, “We were one people when we worked at Belvidere.” Hall brings the world of his youth to life with anecdotes that live up to the high billing of their chapter titles. Readers learn about the fascinating mix of religions at Belvidere as well as about the custom of swinging children over gravestones to protect them from curses; sightings of ghosts in the dismal woods; and the legend of the “loupgarou,” island vampires who were allegedly capable of manifesting themselves as giant balls of fire. As a result, Hall’s book will absorb readers for hours.” — Kirkus Reviews
