The Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James

This monograph gives a fairly thorough history of the Haitian Revolution. While James contends that you can't understand the Haitian Revolution except in the context of the French Revolution, and historical circumstances more generally, I think James does a good job of avoiding the trap of merely reproducing metropolitan/colonial relationships. According to James, Toussaint L'Ouverture is the driving force behind the Revolution, so the book's a tad Toussaint heavy. Still, this book strikes me as an excellent overview of the Haitian Revolution and a good perspective from which to start thinking about that historical moment.