Caribbean Books

Unlike other reviewers, I have no link with Cuba and I have never been to Havana, but this book made me want to go there. It was given to me as a present. Since then, I have bought two copies for friends. The photographs are as beautiful as the writing. A really special book.

Truly a unique and memorable book. I own many books on Cuba, but this book is exceptional. As Maria Luisa's book provides us with in-depth historical and architectural background accompanied by impressive photography, she also delights us with her memories of sound, sight, smell and far away world of her childhood which comes alive for all readers, but specially those who lived in the beautiful island of Cuba. It is a treasure for our Cuban heritage and a beautiful addition to anyone's library. A friend, relative and admirer from Miami, Florida

This is an outstanding stroll down memory lane for so many of us Cubans who remember the old Havana. It is also a book that engenders a certain sadness for those of us that know the squalor and deterioration that now exists in the pearl of the Caribbean.

How exquisitely appropriate it is that the late Maria Luisa Lobo Montalvo, daughter of one of the titans of the Cuban sugar industry, had this dream and that her family helped bring it to fruition.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY A BOOK ON LA HABANA THIS IS IT !!!!!!! IT IS MOST INFORMATIVE AND THE PHOTOS ARE THE BEST. BEING CUBAN I HAVE BOUGHT ALMOST EVERY BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT CUBA AND THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE - THE BEST.

I have a large collection of books on Cuba and this is by far the best. It is the most beautiful book in my library and is masterfully well done. This book also remains politically neutral which is quite an accomplishment. If you are sick of looking for good books on Cuba only to end up getting the slant of the Cuban government even in photography books, you will enjoy this one. This appears to be the culmination of a lifetime of work for Montalvo. If you only intend to buy one book on Cuba, this is the one. If you only intend to buy one book this year, make it this one.

Knowing where this island is and most of the people mentioned in the book, I have discovered that there is a lot to learn about the place I call home myself.
The book is very easy to read and is so true to life out here in the West Indies. I really hope the author and his wife enjoy their paradise!

A delectable read. Robert and Sara, will you be there when we get there? I hope so.

On busy days filled with interruptions and stress, I often fantasize about escaping to an island paradise. Which is precisely what author Robert Benson and his wife have customarily done each year on their anniversary. Over the decades, they have polished this yearly trip into a fine art. Benson takes us along in Home By Another Way.

Having raised children, attended church, and built careers, Benson and his wife holiday on the islands and bring home with them a piece of paradise. "Not only is our calendar a little skewed," Benson wrote, "we do not even operate on what others would call a normal workday schedule, either. In the first place, we both work at home, and our workday does not begin with a traffic report. My commute is about thirty-five steps to my studio in the back garden. Sara does not even leave the house; her office is in the little parlor at the end of the hall." Back home in Tennessee, the Bensons have learned to live on island time.

An incurable romantic, Benson helps readers find the holy in the ordinary. Home By Another Way celebrates the simple things in life including family heirloom furniture, appreciation for our personal preferences, and the comfortable conversation traditions between people who have spent a lifetime getting to know each other. In between the picturesque descriptions of beach, sunset, and birds are the witty observations and gallant humor of the all-grown-up son of beloved writer and speaker, the late Bob Benson and self-proclaimed nester and winsome speaker, Peggy Benson. - PeggySue Wells, Christian Book Previews.com

This has to be one of the most romantic books I've ever read--and I'm a huge Jane Austen fan! I love how the writer sees the world. And the love that shines through on each page--love for this island AND love fo his wife. What a wonderful book that I will read again and again.

Robert Benson is my favorite author, and he has done it again! This time, I don't need to pack to go on vacation. Instead, I get to relax and slow down on a beautiful island with people I love. As always, Robert Benson causes my soul to remember what is really important in and about life. Don't miss this opportunity to kick-back and enter into a simpler more reflective world. Perfect for a day on the beach or a night on the couch. You'll love it!

If you're looking for pictures of pirates, try Pirates: Predators of the seas, which has great illustrations. If you're looking for an incredible read about what it was like in pirate times, this is the book for you. Highly recommended!

Many have tried to define Barti Ddu, Black Bart, Bartholomew Roberts.
Richard Sanders has his number, I think, as few others have had it.

Sanders brings to life one of the world's most intriguing pirates, with his vivid prose and groundbreaking research. This original portrait challenges every cliche we have about pirate culture. For anyone who is interested in what life was really like aboard a pirate ship, this book is a must read.

Throw out everything you think you know about pirates. What did a real pirate captain look like? Certainly not Jack Sparrow. Captain Hook is probably a closer visual.

This is not a novelization, but a historical account of Bartholomew Roberts, the most successful pirate in history. Don't expect some dry history book here, this is fascinating! Sanders includes excerpts of actual accounts, stories and letters from the era.

He paints the full picture of why men turned to piracy - the ship captains' authority was total, and many were very cruel, but none so much as the slave ship captains. These men treated people with such brutality that human life was worthless to them, and they treated their sailors almost as poorly as the slaves. There are accounts of sailors begging food from the slaves - when food and water ran short, the sailors were deprived before the slaves. After all, the captains made no money on the sailors.

It's no wonder when a pirate ship showed up and the captain said, "who wants to be a pirate?" that men eagerly joined the crew.

What struck me as most amazing was the democracy of piracy. The captain and all the officers were elected. The crew voted on destinations. The quartermaster balanced the captain's power.

This book is excellent, a must read for anyone who is not only interested in pirates, but the history of colonies in the Caribbean in that era.

In this well written and brilliantly told tale the exploits of `Black Bart' Bartholomew Roberts are told amidst the history of the early 18th century. This is much more than a pirate story. This is stories a vast array of characters and places from Newfoundland to the coast of Africa and Devil's islands. In his time Black Bart was one of the most feared pirates, but not as famous as Blackbeard. He was born in Wales in 1682 and began his career as a pirate in 1719 after having worked as a third mate on a merchant vessel. In the fall and winter of 1719 he made his way as a pirate captain to Brazil and then to the Caribbean, suffering a mutiny and losing a ship in the process. By 1720 he had regained his power and moved to Newfoundland, raiding shipping along the way. From September 1720 to April 1721 he became the scourge of the British and French Caribbean. 1722 found him and a much enlarged crew off the coast of Africa, where he had originally become a pirate.
In truth his career only spanned three years, but it is a story that is far richer than those mere three years. This book is a short history of so many things, from sickness in Britain's slave-colonies of Africa, to Devil's island, to the emergence of white settlement in the Caribbean. Many astounding stories and mini-histories can be found in this volume, from stories of utopias among brigands, to the vanishing Caribs of the Caribbean, the use of slaves aboard Pirate vessels, and the rampant homosexuality and promiscuity among men and pirates in the period. One small oversight is the lack of a map.

A brilliantly told story, if most history were written like this than it would all rival fiction in the stories that would be told.

He took life as a game, took sides with the socialist revolution, and got cheated on. Late did he realize that life is a man's job, and that the revolution was a one man's game: Castro's.

The true nature of the revolution: "The revolution was a cover for committing atrocities without the slightest vestige og guilt ... we were young and irresponsible. We were pirates. We formed our own caste ... we belonged to and believed in nothing -no religion, no flag, no morality or principle. It's fortunate we didn't win, because if we had, we would have drowned the continent in barbarism."

The candidness with which the author details his role in the socialist tentacles of Castro in Latin-America and Italy, makes the book a very entertaining, as well as educational, experience.

Masetti's middle-class family life is typical of would-be revolutionaries in Latin America: petit-bourgeois. Cafés, promiscuity, idelness, not wanting to work, irresponsibility, and a desire for adventure (whomever it hurts): "After smoking (marihuana) I felt like Che Guevara, Jim Morrison, Fidel Castro, Napoleon -all of them rolled together." His first girl-friend is his female version: "Her parents were rich and gave her everything except affection." The perfect breeding ground for terrorist punks.

"All I wanted was to become a member of a military squad." Once he's past the leftist, revolutionary scheme, the world opens for him: "Without realizing it, I had just entered the world of 'important people -the nomenklatura." What about equalitarianism? "They gave me a charge card that was like a magic key to the good life ... I tried to be careful not to consume more than was necessary. I knew there were shortages in Cuba and that the Cubans were forbidden the delicacies to which I had access. What surprised me was how the party officials who were assigned to me took advantage of the situation."

Cowboy mentality and irresponsibility: "When I saw what we had, I almost went crazy with joy ... pistols, revolvers, rifles, submachine guns..."

How to co-opt gullible peons in the West: "Journalists, businessmen, politicians: they were all potential contacts. If they showed the slightest sympathy for the Cuban revolution, they would be given 'the treatment' ... There may be many people who would be surprised to see that they had files and to learn that they were Cuban agents without knowing it."

The socialists'love of luxuries: "When he (Pelado) returned to managua after the assassination of Somoza, the Sandinistas had rewarded them with the rank of major ... like other comandantes, he lived in a luxurious house in Managua and was chauffered around in a Mercedes Benz."

"The children of high class officials in Cuba usually behave like a caste apart, flaunting their dynastic privileges."

Imperialism: "Angola was not Cuba, nor even Nicaragua ... many of the indigenous combatants were not volunteers but forcibly recruited slaves ... for the Angolan people, the Cuban presence meant the continuation of war, when their deepest desire was for peace."

The real Che: "That's the method the Guevarista culture recommends: shoot the weak, those who express doubt."

Author's final confession and regret: "(In Miami) I met former Cuban political prisoners from the first years of the revolution. I was surprised to find that these men had fought against Batista, inspired by the same idealism that guided other young people of Latin America in their fights against the continent's dictatorships. But what surprised me most was the fact that they welcomed me into their midst in spite of the fact that I was the spoiled child of those who had imprisoned them." "During those years of conflict, all we did was destroy. We built nothing."

Awesome book. Read it and don't hide anymore from the truth.

This is a window into the illegal world which the Cuban's communist secret service operates in, narrated by an Argentinian with ties to high levels of the secret apparatus of Castro's government inside and outside of the island.

This apparatus justifies, stimulates and supports criminals acts committed around the world to collect funds. These illegal acts are generally committed by and for the benefit of two groups. The first are committed by members of their own communist Cuban government to collect funds for government departments and projects, The second group is constituted by Latin Americans sympathizers of Cuban's communist government; they commit criminals acts that range from bank robberies to hostage taking to finance their armed fights.These criminals acts are supported economically and logistically by the communist government of Cuba in their pursuit to export and duplicate the Cuban model across Latin America.

This an outstanding book on two levels. First, it is a very detailed account of the life of a Cuban spy who worked for the cause of the "Revolution" for twenty years. The author's life covers his time in Cuba, Argentina, Nicaragua, Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Angola. This book shows just the kind of things that the Cuban government has been up to since the 1960s. On a second level, this book is outstanding in that it clearly demonstrates the failure of the "Revolution"--and this told from the point of view of a former true believer. The author has done a valuable service by writing this book and telling his story. Those with an interest in Cuba and Latin America will find this book to be well worth your time.

this book is very informative on how castro orders his underlings to embark on illegal activities,but lets them know if you get caught your on your own.a prime example is the execution of ochoa,de la guardia and the other two.i wont give it away,but if you know a little about the revolution this book will pretty much fill in the holes that surrounded that tragedy.good job jorge!

An insider's fascinating and engrossing look at the machinations of Fidel Castro's Communist regime. In what amounts to a stimulating autobiography of an Argentinian who grew up in Castro's Revolution, Masetti weaves his life's story by revealing astonishing facts concerning Cuba's aggressive attempts at undermining both the US and Latin America. The son of an Argentinian revolutionary who supported Fidel's guerilla movement, Masetti describes his loyal commitment to Castro's worldview, only to be dissilutioned by the brutal betrayal of his father-in-law. Readers will learn of Cuba's support for anti-US terrorist organizations and their attacks on US soil. You'll also learn how Fidel Castro successfully supported/advised triumphant Marxist groups. Yet, the most powerful message is left for last, as Masetti undergoes a painful awakening to Castro's brutality, coupled with a deeply moving self-examination about his blind support for an inhumane system.

This is a great read. An eye-opener that peels back the thick layer of lies that protects Fidel Castro and his broken Revolution. Important information for Cuba watchers, and an exciting, intriguing real life story for those who want to be entertained - a superb mix.

This collection is among my favorites published in recent years. Janet McAdams lyrically links the personal with the political. Her work is engaging, memorable, passionate, yet not didactic--some poems will even keep you awake at night. Many poems reward multiple re-readings. I'm already looking forward to her next book.

As a poet myself, I can only stand in awe of the work in "Island of Lost Luggage." Janet Mc Adams is a major talent. I've turned my initial envy of her gift into a goad to write better and wider myself.

This Island of Lost Luggage is wonderful. Janet McAdams's poems are lyrical and gritty at the same time, swollen with life, drenched with place, and she never seems to take the easy way in or out. Highly recommended!

I used to write poetry, even studied with some of the greats, including C.K. Williams, Ellen Voight and Louise Gluck. But I found that in any workshop, I could rarely tell a great poem from a mediocre one. This made me feel less than smart about poetry. Janet McAdams has helped revive my love for the form, and my sense of poetic savvy. For with "Island of Lost Luggage" I Know I'm in the presence of Great poetry. That is clear from page one. How to say why this is Great isn't as easy, but I'll venture the following: Mc Adams is gifted with rich language, of course, but she is a more than a fine wordsmith. She takes on issues that have huge resonance, that go beyond any mere narcissim. Each time I enter one of her poetic worlds I find more layers within it, more associations building within me. So, Thanks Ms. McAdams for restoring my poetic sensitivity, and for this wonderful book, a gem, that's most highly recommended for all readers, lovers of poetry or not.

Even if poetry isn't your "thing" this book, given the quiet and serious attention it deserves, will unlock many mysteries. Highly Recommended.

This book was a favorite with my second-grade son. Not only is the story suspenseful (to keep a young reader's attention) but it has lots of educational stuff in it about pirates, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and sailing. As a mom, I love that this new series is educational as well as fun for readers. I vote it one of my favorites for my kids to read.

My third-grade class went crazy over this story about pirates. The book was a little scary at times, but the author managed to tone the scary parts down, so that what was left was an interesting and exciting tale about pirates. The book is also filled with many facts about pirates. I love how this author manages to include educational facts in the story, so that kids learn without even realizing it. I'm a huge fan of this new series. Hopefully, there will be many more adventures to come.

Pirates in Paradise is the forth book in the Incredible Journey Series. These books feature brothers Max and Sam as the two find themselves on exciting adventures around the world. In the first book of the series, Criminals in the Caymans, the boys were mysteriously sent an old leather journal and a map labeled Max and Sam's Incredible Journey Map. During each new adventure, a letter suddenly appears on this map. So far, they had a W (on the Cayman Islands), a T (on Tahiti), and an S (on Africa). Now, there's a D on the Virgin Islands.

We've all heard stories about the pirates of old. Greedy and dangerous, everyone feared what the pirates might do. In Pirates in Paradise, Max and Sam fight out that modern day pirates may not dress like Black Beard but they are still just as scary.

Max and Sam are about to go on a boat trip through the Caribbean with their father. They are looking forward to the trip except for one thing - both have been having nightmares about pirates. Their father tries to reassure them, but it turns out they may have reason to be worried. Soon their peaceful trip through the Caribbean turns outs to be dangerous.

Both children and their parents will enjoy "Pirates in Paradise". Children will love the adventures Mark and Sam have especially the sailing around the Caribbean. Parents will love the fact that children will learn as they are reading. The book not only teaches them about sailing and pirates, but also about various islands in the Caribbean and types of fish found there. The pirate aspects are scary, but not too scary.

Besides the story itself, there are several other things in the book. There is an ongoing story in the books in the series involving a mysterious map with a letter showing up on the map during each adventure Max and Sam have. Children will have fun trying to guess what letter will show up and what the secret message ultimately will be. At the beginning of the book there are several pages about pirates including Facts about Pirates, Pirate Phrases, A Pirate's Life, A History of Piracy, and Piracy Today. At the back of the book there are facts about the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, as well as a science experiment called "Ocean in a Bottle".

Although "Pirates in Paradise" is part of a chapter book series for ages 7 through 9 it can be read on its own. However, children will probably want to collect all the books in this fun series.

As one who has lived a good part of her life on a sailboat and who has spent many years in the Caribbean, I have to say that I enjoyed this book. My only problem was the way the author referred to Max and Sam's father as Mr. Stone. I would have liked "Dad" as the book seems to be from the children's point of view. But other than that little nit-picky thing, this is a nice little adventure story for the early reader, or one you can read to your child at bedtime.

I've been everywhere in the book and I hope it inspires children and parents alike to visit Virgin Gorda and the Baths, they are truly gorgeous. Life in the Caribbean moves at a different pace, slower, more friendly, well it wasn't so friendly to Max and Sam. From the beginning of the book when the boys spy "The Lost Soul" far away at sea, you know something is going to happen. And happen it does. Modern day pirates, who a year ago hijacked "The Lost Soul" leaving its crew abandon on a deserted island, are now after a better prize and they take over the boat Max and Sam are vacationing on, leaving Mr. Stone to go adrift, bound and gagged aboard "The Lost Soul."

Can the boys get away? Well, that is the question and why you'll be wanting to get his book to read to your child. Shiver me timbers matey, this is a book your child will love.

Reviewed by Captain Katie Osborne

This is an amazing book. This book allow the reader to see the different changes than our island had been thru. Excellent.

The pages of this pictorial opus expresses the legacy, struggle, beauty, misery, joy of Puerto Rico of days past. Second, third generation Puerto Ricans will reconnect with their roots page by page. This is surely an enlighting photo memoir of our People, the images speak louder then words. The power of photograph comes to light in these pages, and Delano did it so well. Delano saves the spirit of Puerto Rico's past, once thought to be lost with faded memories. This is a book to keep for oneself, it strenghtens one's soul.

I can't belive how Mr. Delano took this pictures in a way that it seems they are telling you a complete story. In thi book you can see how Puerto Rico had differente eras and how progress came to our Island. It was not an easy process but you can see it thru the excellent work of Jack Delano. Children, Adults, workers, farmers, everybody even poor people have part in this book because they all were part of our history. An excellent work.

I simply love this book. As a starving college student, I still haven't come up with the money to buy it, but...someday I will. I've leafed through it a million times and never get bored by it...as a native Puertorrican living abroad, this is simply my favorite photographic work on my homeland. Delano did an amazing job.

This book is fascinating! After spending an hour with this book I felt like I really knew what time has meant to Borinquen. Hearing family stories is one thing, but seeing pictures from when they were growing up is another. Anyone interested in Puerto Rican history should have this book.

I was first attracted to this book by the cover art. It depicts a scene with an older man and a young boy looking around the rainforest with wisdom and awe. As it sub-title states, A Tale of the Amazon rain forest, I was not misled. This is a fiction book yet the information is accurate. It displays the plants and tribal life in a typical Amazonian village.

The illustrations were colorful, realistic and related to the text. On the inside front and back cover pages are drawings of Amazonian plants. These drawings give the name of the plant and its medicinal use. As an adult, I found that interesting and, as a teacher, I was able to use these pages with my students to teach about rain forest plants.

The story follows a young Amazonian boy who when first introduced is lying sick in his hammock. After he is visited by the tribe's medicine man - the shaman - he recovers from his fever. The boy learns from the shaman, from visits from white missionaries, and from his own people. The story is interesting and does stay on point - the importance of protecting the healing plants of the earth.

This book is appropriate for grades 1-4. Many teaching activities can be found within the pages of this book. For example, matching the plants pictured in the front of the book to the plants illustrating the dialogue pages. Younger children would like to find and identify the animals shown throughout this book.

I would recommend this book to parents and teachers.

Thomas Sandusky, author of Gracie the glass tree frog

I saw this book on Reading Rainbow today, and I was enthralled by the story and the beautiful illustrations. The episode took Levar to the village the book was about and introduced us to the apprentice, now grown, being teacher to the village and his twin sons. My daughter is only a year old, but just the colors kept her attention. I look forward to when the words will have the same effect, as I'm sure they will.

It was a really good book. I'd recommend it. It is about a boy in Kwamala that wants to be a Shaman. He becomes the Shaman's apperentice. Read this book if you want to know if he becomes a Shaman himself. This would be a good book for 10 year olds.

This beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written book is that rare children's story that teaches and says something important while preserving the wonder and magic of how children (grown and otherwise) view the world.

The Shaman's Apprenctice is one of the rarest of books. It combines an engaging true story with beautiful illustrations. The result in an aural-visual experience that transcends the age of the audience and presents a valuable message to all. It should be required reading for every planetary denizen.

Este libro de poemas es hermosisimo ..... si la vida fuera como lo mencionan los poemas, no podría decir cual es la mejor entre las mejores....

ramillete de flores perfumadas que nos devuelven a la belleza del amor !
HERMOSÌSIMAS... SI LA VIDA ME FUERA EN ELLO, NO PODRIA DECIR CUAL ES LA MEJOR ENTRE LAS MEJORES !

ramillete de flores perfumadas que nos devuelven a la belleza del amor !
HERMOSÌSIMAS... SI LA VIDA ME FUERA EN ELLO, NO PODRIA DECIR CUAL ES LA MEJOR ENTRE LAS MEJORES !

ramillete de flores perfumadas que nos devuelven a la belleza del amor !
HERMOSÌSIMAS... SI LA VIDA ME FUERA EN ELLO, NO PODRIA DECIR CUAL ES LA MEJOR ENTRE LAS MEJORES !

Urbina, con su "Lo sentï: No fue una separacion, sino un desgarramiento.."
Neruda: "Puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche...
"Lope de Vega: "¿Que tengo yo que mi amistad procuras?¿Qué interés se te sigue, Jesus mío ?"
Nervo:"Si Tu me dices "ven", lo dejo todo..!"
El Fraile Guevara: " No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte, el cielo que me tienes prometido..."
Aguirre y Fierro con su Brindis del Bohemio
La Mistral:"PIececitos de niño, azulosos de frío,¿como os ven y no os cubren,? ¡Dios Mío!"
Andres E. Blanco"Por mi el cmbate en la altura
y en la palabra civil.
Por mi la flor en la barda
y la Rosa de Martì.
Por mi, ni un odio, hijo mio:
¡Ni un solo rencor por mi!"

No hay mucho más que decir...Por esta obra, desfila la belleza del alma humana...

While on our first real "adventure" after 34 years of marriage, we wound up at a condo in Florence, OR.
My husband wasn't well, so we only walked a little in Old Florence, supper at Waterfront Depot and retired for the evening.
With no TV to watch, I looked for a magazine or book to browse through.
I picked up Capricorn Lady II and didn't want to set in down.
After I read about Florence, Eugene and Captain Dan being sick, I started to read passages to my husband.
Here we were in that very town, on an adventure like no other and "my captain" not well. I read until I couldn't anymore, I wanted to know their whole story.
Even though we are "land lovers", we still had so much in common with the author and her Captain.
The strength, courage and endurance Judith showed, time after time, helped me to deal with a sick husband a long way from home.
Capricorn Lady II was a blessing when I really needed a friend.
Once home, I found Voyage of the Capricorn Lady Book I, to read.....the rest of their story.

Sail along with Dan and Judi and the Lady in the second book of their life as they charter the best sailboat and motor yacht in the BVI. You can almost smell the briny sea and taste Judi's gourmet meals as page after page unfolds a story of life on the ocean and the people they encounter. After reading Judi's story, I felt a strong bond with her and now know why I admired her so much when chartering. Her books are a pure delight.

The Voyage of The Capricorn Lady is a voyage anyone can take without leaving your living room. From the moment I began reading, I understood that Judi was not only sharing with us a wonderful part of her life, but developing a bittersweet peace within herself as she wrote. She writes simply and beautifully as she takes us on a voyage of success, failure, and success, peppered with the determination and self doubt we all experience. As we come to know Judi and Dan, we can relate to their difficult choices, and we can rejoice in their happiness.

Throughout this journey, we are confident that Dan and Judi's business savvy, and devotion to family and each other will inspire them through their most difficult times.
These books are not only a tribute to a man by his wife, but a true to life experience of living a dream laced with laughter, danger,and above all love...

This is a true story of a man and a woman destined to meet and share a life of adventure, laughter, tragedy and love. From their first lunch together in 1964, to their last embrace in April 2003, Daniel Gilman and Judith Bauer epitomized the term "soul mates".
Book one takes us on their journey from the world of high level real estate, through an abrupt departure on their 40' sail boat Capricorn and finally to the Caribbean. The agony of leaving family and possessions behind is gradually softened by their new lives, new friends and a grand new world.
Through a tapestry of defeats and accomplishments, Judi takes us with her on a cruise through her most cherished years with her "Danny" by her side. We experience their hartache and their hard earned victories. As we sail with them on the Capricorn from island to island to the acquisition of their motor yacht, Capricorn Lady, we eat, swim, dive, and tour their stunningly beautiful yet at times unforgiving part of the world.

Judi's vivid and deeply personal account of their life together leaves the reader with an enticing anticipation for book two. These books are just not for those who shared the experience of a cruise with Dan and Judi. It is for the romantic, the gourmet, and the adventurer in all of us.

In Book 1, we meet Captain Dan and his "Capricorn Lady", Judi. Overcoming unbelievable personal challenges, they continue charting their course on the 71 foot luxury Trumpy Motor yacht. "Capricorn Lady" is a labor of love, and we live each moment with Dan and Judi. Charter guest stories are touching, funny and human nature at its best! Book 2 takes you on many trips around the British Virgins, and you feel like you are also escaping on the "Lady," savouring each adventure with the Gilmans and their guests. Book 2 is an intimate, loving tribute to Captain Dan. Judi has opened her heart and the diary of her life with her beloved husband. Readers will relate to her emotions and cheer her independance. Can hardly wait for Book 3!