Belizean author Harold Young is tonight releasing a new book titled "Political Voices in Belize". It features 12 Interviews aimed at making modern Belizean political history more accessible, particularly for younger generations. Clocking in at 500 pages, the book features interviews with 12 prominent political figures across the spectrum, offering insight into key national issues, leadership experiences, and the evolution of Belizean politics:
Harold Young, Author
"The goal, as I said, was to help fill the literature on Belizean politics for younger people to be able to read about people who have been in political life and what they've done over their careers to give a background into the history and how we arrived at where we are now."
Jaleeza Roberts:
"Okay, so who does this book cater to specifically?"
Harold Young, Author
"I'm going to say it goes to people born since independence or around that time. So people from zero to, well, they can't read at zero, but up to in the 40s, because those are the people that would have missed what it was like to be a colony and what it was like to get some of the issues on the table: Guatemala, economics, international relations, onto the platform that we all are talking about now, but it didn't just happen like that. It took time and a lot of effort by a lot of people."
Jaleeza Roberts:
"What inspired you to write something like this?"
Harold Young, Author
"I think the need for more readable, accessible information, and I think this book is written in a way that is very conversational, so it's easy to access. It's a very long book. It's 537 pages, but the chapters are independent, so you can read a chapter and don't have to, you know, you just read a chapter and enjoy that. So if you want to read one particular person, you just read about them, and you can read something else. You don't have to read it from page 1 to page 537."
Jaleeza Roberts:
"Okay, and so what is one part of the book that really stands out to you, or it's your favorite part, rather?"
Harold Young, Author
"Well, my favorite part would be all the interviews. There were 12 interviews, so 12 chapters, one interview in each chapter, and I was really hearing what people were, these political actors were thinking about, what issues they faced, how they managed them, what got them into politics, how they interacted with each other, so there's a lot of that."
The book launched this evening at the House of Culture. It is available for purchase at the Gallery Café on North Front Street and Baked Cafe in King's Park for $120 dollars.
