Caribbean Books

The Real Jerk is my fave restaurant in Toronto. We live in Hawaii and whenever we hunger for authentic Jamaican food, we rely on this book to put together whole meals. We love that it offers advice on which recipes mix & match to make the ultimate meal, plus everything is super easy to cook. The ingredients are easy to shop for and don't have you hunting down obscure ingredients. You can pick up everything at the local supermarket. We've been to Jamaica and these recipes are as authentic as it gets. Definitely buy this book!

The Jerk phenomenon in Toronto started at this sunny little place on the corners of Broadview Avenue and Queen Street East. True to the original recipes all these years later, Ed & Lily Pottinger create the best darn jerk around! The cookbook really shines in its inspiration for home cooks. Simple and quick, sizzling and fiesty!

Lily and Ed Pottinger own and operate The Real Jerk, a premier Caribbean restaurant in Toronto, Canada. In The Real Jerk: New Caribbean Cuisine, the Pottinger's draw from their more than eighteen years of experience to compiled list of helpful cooking tips, as well as recipes from sauces, salsas, dips, and dressings. Then they go on to showcase outstanding recipes for fish and seafood, meat and poultry, side dishes, breads and snacks, drinks and desserts. Of special interest is a section devoted to Menu Ideas. From Cool & Creamy Carrot Salad; Mashed Coco & Codfish; Jamaican Pot Roast; and Stewed Cow's Foot; to Sweet Potato Balls; Baked Bananas; Easter Spice Buns; Coconut Pudding Surprise; and Ginger Beer, The Real Jerk: New Caribbean Cuisine is a welcome and highly recommended addition to multi-cultural and ethnic cookbook collections.

The other day I went through my cookbooks, to see if I could weed some out, because I have too many to mention. It's hard getting rid of a cookbook, especially one with a few recipes in it that you've come to love. But I've scanned the recipes I need to keep forever into my MacBook. However, there were an even dozen I couldn't part with. These are books I turn to time and time again, even though I consider myself somewhat of a gourmet chef.

THE REAL JERK is one of the books I kept. Okay, so Lily and Ed's book is based on the recipes they serve up in their Toronto restaurant and not on, say, the recipe for doubles you might find a vendor selling at the outdoor Port of Spain vegitable market. So maybe this is Caribbean cuisine served up nouville with a Canadian twist, that's okay, because the meals made from this book are simply to die for. For example, I'm not a big fan of mussels, but the "Mussels in Coconut Sauce on page 74 of this delightful book will simply curl your toes, they are so good. And if you've ever wanted a recipe for flying fish (I know I have), then there is the author's "Fried Flying Fish" dish on page 61, ummmm, ummmm good.

One recipe I've used quite a lot, because it's my hubby's favorite starter, is the "Crunchy Shrimp Salad" on page 41. It is so easy to do and it tastes divine. And if you follow the shrimp salad with a main course which includes the "Honey-Glazed Baby Back Ribs" on page 83, you'll have a meal which will make any man swoon and I know, because I've made hubby Dub swoon a lot.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

. . . visit ministryofrum.com (Edward Hamilton's website). Or travel to Culebra, Puerto Rico (a beautiful, sleepy, non-commercialized island off PR's east coast) and pick up a copy. Life's an adventure - this book will help ease you along the way!

My wife and I spent 6 years sailing our Bristol 45.5 in and around the Eastern Caribbean between 1996-2001. We bought the 1995 copyright edition at a boatyard in Trinidad and went to most of the distilleries between there and Guadaloupe. Most of the small distilleries had never heard of the book and were surprised to see it. It was a wonderful adventure for us and we still use the guide as a reference. Jim and Kathi Hancock, Oakland CA.

Mr. Hamilton's in-depth research is evident as he takes the reader by the hand to visit rum distilleries, both large and small, throughout the islands. Details on the methods, contents, and history of each rum is finely detailed. One of the finest touches this book has is an almost complete visual listing of most of the rum bottle labels used. For the serious rum collector/taster, I found this guidebook to be indespensible when shopping for pedigreed rums in the Indies. I collect and display the artful bottle labels of these glorious and hisotical spirits and wouldn't dream of rum-shopping in the Caribbean without this valuable reference!

A great resource for the rum lover planning a trip to the Caribbean. The brief introduction to the history of rum and its distillation process can serve rum enthusiasts and neophytes alike to better understand and appreciate this wonderful spirit.

The book is divided into sections, each one dedicated to one of the Eastern Caribbean Islands. Within each section, readers will find a complete listing of the local distilleries, along with pictures of the labels produced and a brief descriptions of what makes the particular rums unique.

While some rum connoisseurs may be disappointed by the lack of detailed tasting notes for each rum, they will certainly be delighted by the otherwise generous amount of rum-related information for each island, such as distillery tours and rum shop locations.

I first saw this in a CommArts Magazine and couldn't beleive the images. This was also my introduction to Jorge Luis Borges who is now one of my favorite authors.

Featured in the photographer's epilogue is the claim that he began juxtaposing items such as snakes, skulls, and hands with mysterious books in Latin, Greek, Spanish and other languages before connecting his photographic inspiration with the literary inspiration of Borges. Once he understood the connection, however, it seems the influence of Borges contaminated him; several photographs not only capture Borges's enthusiasm for the enigmas within books and words, they quote the Argentine master within them. Therein lies my favorite aspect of this wonderful book: the photographer's particular fascination with secret books overlaps with yet remains distinct from Borges's particular fascination with the same subject, creating--as with Edward Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyam--a dialogue that is more beautiful and valuable together than apart.

As with Borges' writing, there is nothing quite like this stunningly original, evocative collection of photographs. The images contain all the elements for which the writer was so admired: paradox, beauty, and elemental simplicity. If you have any reverence for books as objects, or as vessels for meaning, then you should possess this "secret" book.

interwoven with poems and stories by borges are these stunning, surreal representations of books as objects of art and mystery. while none of them "illustrate" the text, they follow a parallel theme.

the imagination behind these compositions is both uplifting and a little scary. the notion of a text composed completely of small beetles opens all sorts of interesting possibilities. my only complaint is the binding- this would have made a beautiful hardcover.

Another fantastic poet pushed to the chest of oblivion of women's achievements, in spite of her Nobel Price of Literature. Touching and profound stories of innocence, longing for one's roots, lost loves, and nature's beauty. The Spanish original poems are so rythmic and endearing, and yet, the excellent English version maintains the purity of its message. A book worth reading and re-reading.

This book gives you great insight about the amazing writer Gabriela Mistral. I wish more translations were available.

This bilingual collection offers a superb selection of poetry from all of Gabriela Mistral's volumes. Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957)was the first Nobel Laureate from Latin America, teacher to Pablo Neruda, forerunner of writers such as Garcia Marquez and Rigoberta Menchu. Her work is hardly known in the United States in part because Mistral was not (unlike these other, better-known writers) identified with any particular political platform. She was always, first and last, a writer and a teacher...and incidentally one of Latin America's first celebrities, a public intellectual in every sense of the word. This collection draws from Gabriela Mistral's poetry alone (excerpted from five volumes; short selections of Mistral's poetic prose have been ably translated by Stephen Tapscott, published by the U of Texas, while the hundreds of journalistic pieces that Mistral wrote and circulated all over the Spanish-speaking world are still unknown to US readers).

The editorial standards in this text are very high. Pages have been laid out so that it is easy to consult the corresponding lines in Spanish and English. While LeGuin states in the introduction that she has little prior experience translating from Spanish to English, she makes clear in her introduction that she worked on this project for years, aided by associates fluent in both languages, and her motivation throughout was the desire to bring this extraordinary, brilliant, hard-to-classify poet's work to English language readers. LeGuin has succeeded admirably. The translations are close to the feeling of the Spanish, yet they avoid wooden literalism.

At all moments LeGuin opts to communicate the mood of the poem, and her choices of poems to translate is clearly dictated by a combination of elements. She chooses, first, what can be most readily translated - she prefers the narrative poems over most of the "songs" (cradle songs and rounds) since the rhymes and rhythms of latter are difficult to convey. Also the book selects more or less equally from the volumes of poetry that Mistral produced over her lifetime, so that we get an excellent overview of this poet's development. Finally, the translator has worked with poems that are among the poet's most intellectually complex works, ones that show the poet's utopian vision for the Americas, her unique feminism, her fascination with landscape and her travels all over the world.

A simply outstanding addition to any personal or academic poetry collection, Selected Poems Of Gabriela Mistral is an extensive anthology of poetry by Gabriela Mistral who is the first Latin American writer to earn the Nobel Prize in literature. These free-verse poems are presented side-by-side in their original Spanish and expertly translated into English by Ursula K. Le Guin. Impressionable imagery and powerful, sweeping themes of the human condition mark this truly exceptional collection as highly recommended and memorable reading. Evening: In this sweetness I feel/my heart melt like wax./In my veins runs/not wine, but slow oil,/and I feel my life slipping away/still and soft as a gazelle.

What I like best about this collection is that the author (or editor, really) tells you a little bit about the people who tell the stories. He also includes the original Quechua, which is an interesting touch even if I can't read it. At any rate, if you enjoy fairy tales, and are interested in hearing them from other cultures (there are a few parallels to the traditional Brothers Grimm in this book), this is a good book to buy. If you aren't interested in fairy tales, this is a good book to change your mind.

An enchanting book! Here is a unique opportunity to read stories never before written down, much less translated. The author was told them in the original language in the high Andes by Quecua storytellers. Now he has translated them into English, and in She-Calf and Other Quechua Folk Tales we find, opposite each translated page, a page printed in the original Quechuan language. Fascinating! Johnny Payne further enriches our experience by sharing the similarities that he observed between these stories and stories with which we are already familiar. Included as well are wonderful background stories of experiences and people he encountered in the story-gathering process. For those interested in stories, folk tales, oral tradition, antropology, history, language, travel... This is not only a must-read, but a must-own. It's a keeper!

This is a marvelous collection of Quechua folktales, told by various Quechua speakers to anthropologist Johnny Payne. These are short and "catchy" tales printed in English with the Quechua version on the facing page. This gives you a chance to get acquainted with the sentence structure of the Quechua language which I found very helpful. The author also shares interesting insights into the people who tell the tales. I love to travel in Peru and I am going to pass this book on to a Quechua friend who will surely enjoy it as much as I did. If you're interested in the cultures of the Andes, or if you plan to travel there, don't miss this book! .

An excellent collection of stories -- not merely in the presentation of a different set of stories than those which reach the common awareness, but also in the insights it gives to the shape of the Quechua culture and people. It is not presented as an explication of the way these people live, the way the thoughts go, but the stories show that shape, show that means, bring the world alive in a way both subtle and profound.

The stories are presented both in the Quechua language and in English translation, and it is possible to see the shape and patterns of the language with careful text comparison; it makes it worth considering learning the Quechua tongue to pick out the nuances which are inevitably lost in translation.

Wide range of Darío's life work. Short stories and poems. Contains most of his famous stuff. Print large enough to read easily. English translation on right side helpful for intermediate Spanish readers. It's amusing to disagree with the translator's take.

You simply can't go wrong with this series. Here is one of the great names in Spanish literature, Rubén Darío, made even more accessible through the dual-language format. A must for teachers, students, and those of us will always be both!

The egregious ascendancy of Latin American poetry ever born; Dario incarnates as nobody else the sublime beauty, nocturnal gaze, autumnal meditation and existential anguish tinged of a bucolic scent and contemplative mood.

Along his poetry it 's easy to certain to associate with Whitman in determined concerns; Dario visits the hospitals of the hell and makes his own journey; but besides, his dark reflections are impregnated with a visible tinge of spiritual penury and incurable hopeless.

Baroja stated once: the Castllian owns two great names: Valle Inclàn and Ruben Dario. Go for this invaluable book and ve part of that poetical iniverse.

I found this book to be very insightful into the mind of Ruben Dario. Having the translation in both languages gives the reader an accurate idea of what Dario wanted to express; and also gives the reader an accurate idea of why he chose certain words to say certain things. Some small detail I would have wished is that it contained the full lirical calendar, the autum, winter, spring, and fall poems. Overall, an exellent book.

Both my parents were born and raised in Cuba and I am a first generation American. I remember growing up, my friends would come over my house and look in the pot of black beans cooking on the stove and say "ewwww...that looks gross!!!" Who would have known that when I grew up, black beans would be "trendy". :o) Anyway, I've always said that my mother is the best cook in the entire world and it's always been a challenge to get her to pass down her recipes, because she never measures anything.

Luckily, I stumbled across this book last week, purchased it and immediately went to my mother's house to get her "expert" opinion...are these recipes authentic? It was great to see the smile on my mom's face as she looked through the book. Not only did she give the thumbs up on the recipes, she loved the artwork. She said she usually uses more bell peppers than recommended in the book, because she thinks it gives more flavor and she said that sometimes she takes steps in a different order, but for the most part these recipes are just right! I can't tell you how happy this book has made me...knowing that I will be able to prepare the dishes I grew up with...it's really awesome!

I made the glazed sweet potatoes today to go with our Thanksgiving dinner and they were extremely delicious. Thanks to the author for the wonderful recipes and the artist for the beautiful artwork. I can't wait to make everything in this book!

Great recipes. Easy to follow. Genuine Cuban cuisine specific dishes -autentico- Will bring much "sabor" and "salsa" to your plate and cooking! You will never get bored in the kitchen with this book while bringing the goodness of the enchanted isle to your dinner plate. Enjoy!

Beatriz Llamas was born in Spain, ran cooking classes and a catering business while still a student, then worked at the Alambique Cookery School in Madrid before moving to Cuba, where she developed a keen interest in the local cuisine and culture. In A Taste Of Cuba, Llamas showcases an impressive culinary mix of cultures and ingredients associated with Cuba's complex history and natural resources originating with the Cuban Indians (cassava, taro root, corn, sweet potatoes, black beans), the Spanish colonizers (coffer, sugar, roasted meats and peppers), and African slaves (okra, plantain). All of these diverse heritages of foods fused into a vibrant new culinary culture. Illustrated with drawings and color photography, the recipes range from Taro Root Fritters; Avocado and Shrimp Salad; and Susana's Rice with Green Plantain; to Celie's Chicken and Corn Pie; Squash Pudding; and Soursop Champola Ice Cream. A Taste Of Cuba is an ideal addition to any personal or community library multicultural cookbook collection.

4/5/2005

A Taste of Cuba
By: Beatriz Llamas

A review by Marty Martindale

Just as our feet are itching to journey freely to the tastes and rhythms of colorful Cuba, our eyes can, at least, feast on the bright, lively illustrations by Ximena Maier in Llamas' A Taste of Cuba cookbook. This is also a chance to bone up on our menu familiarity once we again get to visit. In the beginning of the book, Llamas explains some of the details of the Cuban Table. Next she identifies frequently used ingredients.

Here's just a few of the dishes she tempts us with:

* A couple of interesting and very simple soups: Avocado Soup made with chicken broth, mustard and lime juice. Her Green Plantain Soup similarly calls for beef broth, lime juice and cloves.

* Jose's Ceviche uses king mackerel, onion, lime juice, olive oil and parsley.

* Fish in Escabeche is olive oil, onion, garlic white wine, wine vinegar, spices and fresh tuna.

* Glazed Sweet Potatoes is a combination of lime juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and dry Cuban cooking wine.

* Her Apple-Flavored Banana Ice Cream is a simple recipe calling for apple bananas, lime juice, 7-year-old rum, milk, sugar, light whipping cream and egg whites.

* Black Boy in His Shirt is a rich cake made from cooking chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, roasted peanuts and confectioners' sugar.

A Taste of Cuba is a pretty little Cuban book, only 139 pages, but filled with the little country's unique appetizers, soups, main dishes, side dishes and sesserts. Generally, it is a good idea to own a lime tree, if you live in Cuba ...

© Marty Martindale, 2005, Largo FL
mm@FoodSiteoftheDay.com

Los q ue falsificaron la firma de Dios

PERSONAJES: Antonio Bell Arturo Gonzalo ( alias Viriato Sencion) Frank Bolaño

Tres jóvenes cuyas vidas se juntan alguna vez, para luego tomar destinos separados

Y PERSONAJE INVITADO: EL Doctor Mario Ramos, que firma la orden y esconde la mano.

Archimalo de la novela, hombre enigmático, callado, de maneras suaves y andar pausado.

Una novela muy buena aunque los personajes están afectados de cierto acartonamiento y no sean del todo creíbles. Pero el libro es excelente en todo lo demás. En verdad merece el premio de literatura que le arrebataron en el 93.la historia trata del autoritarismo en días de libertad y de ese extraño personaje el doctor Mario Ramos, un hombre malvado, impulsado por quien sabe que sueños y que ilusiones. Como una maquina de manejar a la gente se desenvuelve el doctor ramos, que pasa de simple títere a real arbitro de la vida nacional aun cuando esta fuera del poder; Su presencia gravita en la vida del país.

Paréntesis ( el gallo, Juanito, pierde si quieres, de Ramos pa arriba coño, un hombre frio y calculador, nadie como ella para apagar el calor de una hembra, el autor esta en la novela, esta adentro,es la novela, es el es el es el ....... =?====?????????) Esos muchachos tan imbuidos de sueños como los presenta el autor, nunca he tenido el gusto de conocerlos. Quizás la juventud de esta época sea más mercurial, mas material, que en ese entonces. Hay pocas personas preocupadas seriamente por lo que les pase a los pobres de este país y casi todo lo que se hace es pantalla para ganar votos o afectos del pueblo en un determinado momento; un pueblo con tan mala memoria que no recuerda la cara de los verdugos a los que elige para ser oprimido. Tengo la confianza de que algún día la gente no necesitara de este tipo de obras, pues ya no habrá más tiranos que derrocar y doctores ramos a quienes descifrar y a quienes alabar. Algún día los pensamientos no serán perseguidos y en que tendremos paz y seguridad social. Bueno basta de soñar. Es un buen libro y basta....

NOTA: el comentario anterior se basa en la obra escrita por Viriato Sención y los personajes ahí descritos. Cualquier parecido con personas de carne y hueso es pura coincidencia y queda el autor de este escrito libre de toda culpa por difamación. Ja ja ja

LUIS MENDEZ

Los q ue falsificaron la firma de Dios

PERSONAJES: Antonio Bell Arturo Gonzalo ( alias Viriato Sencion) Frank Bolaño

Tres jóvenes cuyas vidas se juntan alguna vez, para luego tomar destinos separados

Y PERSONAJE INVITADO: EL Doctor Mario Ramos, que firma la orden y esconde la mano.

Archimalo de la novela, hombre enigmático, callado, de maneras suaves y andar pausado.

Una novela muy buena aunque los personajes están afectados de cierto acartonamiento y no sean del todo creíbles. Pero el libro es excelente en todo lo demás. En verdad merece el premio de literatura que le arrebataron en el 93.la historia trata del autoritarismo en días de libertad y de ese extraño personaje el doctor Mario Ramos, un hombre malvado, impulsado por quien sabe que sueños y que ilusiones. Como una maquina de manejar a la gente se desenvuelve el doctor ramos, que pasa de simple títere a real arbitro de la vida nacional aun cuando esta fuera del poder; Su presencia gravita en la vida del país.

Paréntesis ( el gallo, Juanito, pierde si quieres, de Ramos pa arriba coño, un hombre frio y calculador, nadie como ella para apagar el calor de una hembra, el autor esta en la novela, esta adentro,es la novela, es el es el es el ....... =?====?????????) Esos muchachos tan imbuidos de sueños como los presenta el autor, nunca he tenido el gusto de conocerlos. Quizás la juventud de esta época sea más mercurial, mas material, que en ese entonces. Hay pocas personas preocupadas seriamente por lo que les pase a los pobres de este país y casi todo lo que se hace es pantalla para ganar votos o afectos del pueblo en un determinado momento; un pueblo con tan mala memoria que no recuerda la cara de los verdugos a los que elige para ser oprimido. Tengo la confianza de que algún día la gente no necesitara de este tipo de obras, pues ya no habrá más tiranos que derrocar y doctores ramos a quienes descifrar y a quienes alabar. Algún día los pensamientos no serán perseguidos y en que tendremos paz y seguridad social. Bueno basta de soñar. Es un buen libro y basta....

NOTA: el comentario anterior se basa en la obra escrita por Viriato Sención y los personajes ahí descritos. Cualquier parecido con personas de carne y hueso es pura coincidencia y queda el autor de este escrito libre de toda culpa por difamación. Ja ja ja

LUIS MENDEZ

This novel, of the Dominican writer Viriato Sencion, reflects the interests and anguished of the Trujillo/Balaguer reign through a host of lively characters and their contempt of the political reality. It presents us with the two important figures of those times, Trujillo and Balaguer, and the somber reality of Dominican politics of the time are presented in a frank manner. Because of this reasons in 1993 a jury awarded unanimously to Mr. Sencion the Dominican National prize of Literature sponsored by the Education Secretary of State's 'Secretaria de Estado de Educación, Bellas Artes y Cultos'. But by a decision of the Dominican government (in these times headlined by the PRSC under the constant command of Balaguer), through the Minister of State of in that era, they awarding of the prize was recalled. In other words, the government robbed from Mr. Sencion the justly won prize, because it displeased the Head of State. This book is not the first and will not be the last time where the Dominican government, or for that matter any other Latin Government, those as it pleases, crushing the rights of its citizens. You want more examples of such disgusting actions, buy this book. Every Latino, Dominicans in particular should read this novel to understand the lack of liberty and excess of abuse that existed and continuous in the Dominican Republic and the world.

Imagine in modern times a novel so powerfully authentic that the author's very life is placed in danger. Or that having initially won the nation's prestigious National Fiction Award upon publication, the prize is immediatley snatched away by the President because of its perceived personal offense to that president. What serious reader of good literature could possibly resist such excitement (however frightening) surrounding a first novel? Such is only part of the sordid history of Viriato Sencion's sensational novel They Forged the Signature of God.
The story is straightforward and uncomplicated. It narrates the maturation of three seminary students as they try to understand life against the nightmarish socio-political backdrop dominated by the monstruous dictator Tirano and his enigmatic cohort and successor Dr. Mario Ramos. The author skillfully incorporates real-life individuals and places under fictitious names. Thus, it isn't difficult to unmask Tirano as the diabolical and ruthless dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, Ramos as Dr. Joaquin Balaguer, and the nameless Caribbean island-nation is the Dominican Republic. The student Arturo is Sencion's own alter ego. But we must be careful not to catagorize this novel as either a political expose or political biography; it is more correctly a brilliantly crafted and unique artistic text. The author's only dilemma, I suggest, is the problematic element of fusing literature and reality. The striking dominance of authenticity seduces the reader into sharing the intensity of "lo dominicano" --that is, the Dominican Experience in all its essence and intensity. Sencion, for example, effectively captures the language and its distinct subtleties of orality as spoken and heard on the Island. For this reason among many others, I personally preferred the original Spanish version [Los que falsificaron la firma de Dios, 1992]. I agree totally with the renown Dominican intellectual giant and literary critic Silvio Torres-Saillant when he observes that "Sencion's artistry is one of the most important contributions in recent years to Dominican Letters." Sencion's prose resonates in elegance.
A Highly Recommended Novel.

Alan Cambeira, Author of AZUCAR! The Story of Sugar (a novel)

The Prologue sucks you inexorably into macabre world from which there is no escape until you have shared the deadly ride with Lance Hawvermale's relentless heroine, Lieutenant Marcella Paraizo, known to her friends as Zo. I admire the author's ability to imbue his characters with a quirky combination of passion and sense of humor. Zo wades through clues to her friend's death, even as she fights the mental demons of a medical diagnosis that could threaten her life, if she survives an elusive killer and a looming hurricane. Welcome to carnage in the Caribbean. While Hawvermale goes on to the next, we await the motion picture that must result from this intriguing tale.

A great novel. When I first picked it up, I read it in a matter of days. My curiosity over who commited the crime during the prologue of the novel carried me through all the way to the end. I found the writing original and enjoyable. The plot was enticing to a point that I could get nothing done until I knew, absolutely knew, who the criminal was. The ending will leave you surprised but wanting more. Then you can pick up Erin O'Rourke's novels.
Lance is a great writer who strives to make each written work he does better than the last. Way to go, Lance. Now, on to the next.

I enjoyed THE TONGUE MERCHANT, and the "Weird Mind" of Lance as he wove a macabe and senseless murder mystery to it's brutal climax. His vocabulary and choice of descriptive words is excellent as he paints a picture for you. This young writer is well on his way to greatness.

I have read other works from Hawvermale/O'Rourke and can't wait to get my copy of The Tongue Merchant. Lance's writing style is at once daring, ubiquitous, and delicious. This author is the next J. K. Rowling. Keep them coming!

A. Nelson

I ordered this book for a recent trip to the Dominican Republic. It proved to be very useful! Great tips and great advice; it really helped out a lot while there.

Very beautiful, lots of good pictures.

On the negative side, a little bit hard to read, a just too little of information and not enough maps.

In general, very good book.

I've read other books on the Dominican Republic from cover to cover and ended up with too much information. The top 10 book summarizes the major sections of the country in such a way that you can get a feel for each area.

If you are looking for a colonial city, mountains, out of the way places, an all inclusive resort atmosphere or surfing areas then you can locate them here. If you know the type of vacation area you enjoy, this can be quite helpful to avoid centering your lodging base in the wrong section of the country.

The book also has the top 10 highlights for interests in history, museums, Indian sites, children activites, sports, nature, beaches, quiet beaches, views, religion, festivals, local flavor, shopping, restaurants, bars, nightlife, food, plants and animals.

For 6 areas of the country it additionally describes the top 10 cities plus includes two other top 10 lists that reflect the vicinities areas of interest.

In the street smart section you'll want to review the summarized explanations and tips for planning your trip, arriving, getting around, driving, information resources, money and communications, security and health, things to avoid, budget tips, eating and drinking, special needs, tours, lodging tips and 5 different lists for hotel types.

If you are trying to decide what country to visit, this book can give you the highlights in a concise fashion and save you a lot of time. The book can also assist you in confirming your decision to visit the Dominican Republic or prevent you from making a mistake. Once you do decide to travel here, you can leave this book at home. Instead, you may want to bring along along another book that includes larger city maps, schedules, price levels and other details.

There is a surprising amount of information and colorful pictures in a such a small book. If you want to find out as much as you can about the country, you should definitely get a second book that covers more information in depth. However, don't overlook it as a valuable resource no matter what you do.

I have to say that I haven't been there to validate what the book contains, but from the looks of it I think it provides a fair assessment. It was helpful and has loads of categories so whether you're going all-inclusive or not it can help.