Radical Moves

   Laura Putnam's Radical Moves, examines the British Caribbean migrants through a fictional account of the experiences during the war period. She focuses specifically on how the issues of gender, race, class, and identity affected the migrants during this time. On page 7, Putnam argues that 'the black internationalist and anti-colonial movements that would shake the twentieth century were rooted in the experiences of ordinary men and women – not only in the cosmopolitan streets of Harlem and Paris but also in the banana ports and dance halls of the tropical circum-Caribbean'. Putnam takes the general idea of 'black internationalism' and brings it to life by telling it through the lives and experiences of these Caribbean migrants. By doing this, it is easier for people to relate and become more involved and interested. Simply reading the facts about an event in history does not allow a person to really see it as something that really happened. It is almost like you are reading about it because you have to or because it's just "something to know in history". However, when a real person or "like-real" person is linked to the historical facts, it makes it easier to comprehend and imagine/believe that the events actually took place. On page 49, Putnam says "This was a world in which common people took seriously the responsibility to listen for messages from God and to preach themselves if that was what dreams, visions, or intellect guided them to do." She further explains this concept as a 'world marked by 'constant religious creation'. 
    Putnam's book illustrates the lives of Caribbean migrants from different angles by studying several different countries. This variety makes it easy for the reader to make connections and pull out distinct traits that are unique to each specific country during this time. I had a little bit more difficulty reading this book because it was not written as smooth and intriguing as The Farming of Bones. It was more informative and included more hard facts and controversial ideas and themes. However, I feel like it was a good source to tie the course's theme together.