The Long Honduran Night: resistance, terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the coup
Dana Frank
Haymarket Books, 9781608469604, £14.99, $17.95
Available now
The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the Coup by Dana Frank recounts the tumultuous time in Honduras that witnessed then-President Manuel Zelaya deposed by a coup in June 2009, told through first-person experiences and layered with deeper political analysis. It weaves together two perspectives; first, the broad picture of Honduras since the coup, including the coup itself, its continuation in two repressive regimes; and secondly, the evolving Honduran resistance movement, and a new, broad solidarity movement in the imperial power which backed the coup if the first place – the United States.
Although it is full of terrible things, this not a horror story: this narrative directly counters mainstream media coverage that portrays Honduras as a pit of unrelenting awfulness, in which powerless sobbing mothers cry over bodies in the morgue. Rather, it’s about sobering challenges and the inspiring collective strength with which people face them.
For review copies or any other publicity queries, write to duncan@haymarketbooks.org (UK) or dana@haymarketbooks.org (US).
US customers can order the book directly from Haymarket’s website at a 30% discount: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1242-the-long-honduran-night
Customers in the UK can order from Waterstones, Amazon, or if possible a local bookstore: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-long-honduran-night/dana-frank/9781608469604
Praise for The Long Honduran Night:
“I congratulate and thank Dana Frank for giving us this book and for documenting the role of the United States in the long night of terror that we have lived in Honduras since the 2009 coup d’etat. Her contribution to historic memory stands as our witness.”—Bertha Oliva, general coordinator, Committee of the Families of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras
“Dana Frank has written a searing portrait of a nation in crisis, a book that is startling, enraging, and humane all at once. Her most important accomplishment is never losing sight of the hardships and treachery that ordinary Hondurans have had to endure these last several years, nor the dignity with which they have survived it all.” —Daniel Alarcon, Executive Producer of Radio Ambulante, author of At Night We Walk in Circles
“The Long Honduran Night breaks the deafening silence that has followed recent American intervention in Honduras. It graphically documents the awful legacy of this intervention.” —Stephen Kinzer, award-winning author and foreign correspondent
“If you’ve any interest at all in Honduras, U.S. foreign policy, Central America, why so many Central Americans are migrating north…or in a powerful, informative, and extremely good read, do pick up Dana Frank’s book, The Long Honduran Night. It’s a surprisingly readable book that tells not only the tragic story of another failed state and the forces that continue to work against establishing real democracies in Central America, but also inspires in its stories of everyday people— in Honduras and the United States—who work against difficult odds to create change, often by placing their lives at risk.” —María Martin, independent journalist
“Free from academic jargon, conversant with modern Honduran history, and steeped in passion, this testimonial book is the best primer, in English, about the coup, and resistance to it, that destroyed Honduran democracy on June 28, 2009.” —Dario A. Euraque, Professor of History and International Studies, Trinity College
“An important, little-known history that offers much truth and little reconciliation.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Dana Frank’s intensely personal The Long Honduran Night chronicles efforts to redirect America’s foreign policy toward Honduras following its 2009 military coup… If there is any spot of brightness peeking through The Long Honduran Night, it is in the continued growth of a Honduran grassroots resistance. Frank calls being allied to them in their struggles a “beautiful gift” even as she condemns the US for continuing to “dance with dictators” in Central America. Her book is powerful, passionate, and meticulous in its documentation of foreign policy in Honduras, a country that has long been slighted in mainstream journalism and academic research.” —Foreword Reviews
