Caribbean Books

FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Black Studies emerged from the tumultuous social and civil rights movements of the 1960s and empowered African Americans to look at themselves in new ways and pass on a dignified version of Black history. However, it also enriched traditional disciplines in profound and significant ways. Proponents of Black and Ethnic Studies confronted the false notion that scholarly investigations were objective and unbiased explorations of the range of human knowledge, history, creativity, artistry, and scientific discovery. As they protested against hegemonic notions like 'universal' psychology and re-evaluated canonical texts in literature, a new model of academic inquiry evolved: one committed to serving a range of populations, that critiqued traditional politics, culture, and social affairs, and worked with activist energy for the transformation of the existing social order."

SYNOPSIS
"In 32 articles, leading scholars examine what the editors call the 'socially engaged field' of Black studies. They examine the evolution of consciousness, feminist resistance, and the representation of Black men, as well as the conceptualization of culture and ideology. They also examine Black sexuality, education and religion by analyzing autonomy, subjectivity, the pedagogy and practice of education, and the role of faith in Black life. A selected bibliography is included."--Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book is awesome because it debunks earlier information written by Hugh Thomas about Blas Hernandez. Blas was a hero of the Cuban people and brilliant in guerilla warfare, he was a man to be respected and admired. His motivation for waging revolution was to free his fellow cubans from tyranny, not to secure power for himself. What a contrast from Batista and Castro!

A wonderful book for those who wish to engage in the game of collecting shells - beautifully illustrated and written. While the book is written at an adult level, an engaging card game is included to amuse and educate young shell collectors. Mactaggart is clearly passionate about shell collecting and her enthusiasm comes through loud and clear. The author's discussion of the ethics of shell collecting is especially apropos. Thou shalt not kill a living animal for its shell, nor support such behaviour in others. Her simple philosophy and respect for the islands shines through the pages of this book, for readers young and old.

I think the author's research is thorough and compelling, giving us a new perspective on the intricate world of Borges writing. This book will give Borges readers a new glimpse on Borges times,(and its influence on him), his relation to the present, the many aspects that influenced Borges in his way of writing and his influence in many other aspects of literature and art. It will also expand and challenge the way many readers and critics understand Borges writings and style. This book will encourage them to understand the realtionship between Borges fictional texts and the culture industry, as well as many other issues still not explored before. The author has a strong argument, which I applaud and respect.

Wonderful CD. Listening to exquisite poetry read out loud is always illuminating. Listening to poetry read by the poet who wrote it is sublime.

Like its provocative cover --Basquiat's "Arroz con Pollo"-- this book is a rare combination of "the raw" and "the cooked." It navigates a treacherous and booby-trapped passage through the entire 20th century to the birth of a distinct Boricuan literary tradition!

Boricua Literature highlights the literary creativity of Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States. The author focuses on recuperating "minor literature" by Boricua writers who often fall and disappear into the cracks between disciplinary boundaries and too-rigidly defined cultural and political spaces. She offers useful insights into contemporary cultural studies, focusing especially on gender and race.

Reading Boricua Literature introduced me to several remarkable literary figures, and the approach in the book was a colorful quilt of critical concepts. The way the author challenges political orthodoxies and literary canons without dismissing scholarly rigor is edifying. Sanchez-Gonzalez' style reminds one of Zora Neale Hurston's famous phrase "going a piece of the way with them," i.e. not "all the way" uncritically.

Each chapter spends a good deal of time reframing and re-negotiating theories and identities with sharp feminist and critical race questions. The author bestows on Luisa Capetillo --a turn of the 20th Century anarcho-feminist writer-activist-- the position of The founder of Boricua Literary tradition. In another chapter, Sanchez-Gonzalez recuperates children's stories written by Pure Belpre, a librarian at the New York Public Library, whose work on behalf of children remains alive in libraries throughout the U.S. today. One chapter is on Salsa lyrics and performances by Boricuas at the end of the 20th century where tropes in performance theory are utilized for analysis of lyrics. At the same time, the book focuses on more canonical figures such as Arturo Schomburg and William Carlos Williams. Sanchez-Gonzalez argues that scholars have often erased the Boricua formative experiences of these major intellectuals. Shomburg is known for his great achievements in establishing the most prestigious archives of Black history in New York. Moreover, William Carlos Williams is rarely read or studied as a Latino or Boricua poet. Anyone who knows James Clifford's admirable essay "Pure Products go Crazy," in Predicament of Culture, will be very surprised to read Sanchez's critique leveled against Clifford in this book! Students and writers of other diasporic communities in the United States, whose distinct literary and cultural production --performances, poetry, music, and fiction-- have not received proper attention as a discrete area, will find this book invaluable. It is well crafted, theoretically dense, yet impassioned and non-elitist.

But for the most part, it is satisfying to read a critical history of the not-so "minor literature" --indeed formidable literature-- of diasporic Puerto Rican artists and intellectuals. Their role in shaping the literary history of United States is not appreciated, and their works are still viable today. Boricua Literature re-acquaints us with these neglected writers-artists so we can better catch their drift!

I have always been enraptured by the work of Botero; I love his oddly-proportioned people whose immense, weighty bodies often teeter on tiny feet. Botero's off-kilter figures engaged in the horrors of Abu Ghraib make his work in this book even more compelling, disturbing and engaging.

Fernando Botero, one of the most admired artists on earth...is Colombia's official "Master of Volume." His distinctive figures...rotund and swollen to monumental proportions articulates his consciousness of tradition. Botero blends this unique "figurative rotund and swollen style" with gentle satirical observations of human beings. To this end, "Botero: Donations to the Museo Nacional," is Botero's heartfelt artistic documentation of the tragic tradition of violence in his native land...Colombia.

Colombia is in the midst of a bloody 58-year civil war. Well-armed guerrillas, paramilitary death squads, drug traffickers, kidnappers, sophisticated money forgers, emerald smugglers, common criminals and an armed forces with a long tradition of human rights violations have assaulted the sensibilities of the people of Colombia to the point that...death is a common companion. Consequently, Botero took it upon his artistic shoulders to document the suffering of the people of Colombia.

The result...a masterpiece. Botero captures the bullets flying...the bloated dead bodies in the rivers..the march of death with coffins...the horrible violence to women in Colombia...the regular injustice...the people praying to be saved...the suffering of children...his intense artwork of Colombia's civil war communicates far better than television or cable broadcasters or journalists or non-fiction authors who try to report the overwhelming violence in Colombia. Botero has done his nation a great service. He has dedicated the time to document the dark and sinister violence of his nation so the world can see how so many suffer. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

This book should be read by anyone, young or old, I first read it when I was 6 and enjoy it just as much today. A must-have for any book fan.

Brazil Body and Soul is a 600 page tome that covers Brazil's artistic history from the early 1500's until the 1990's.
The book is filled with intelligentlly detailed writing and artistically lush with photographs.
This is a book (not a skimpy museum catalog) for anyone interested in the art and culture of Brazil; or a useful reference tool for someone interested in the arts of this grand nation.
When you purchase this book, I believe you will pleasantly amazed by the arts throughout the centuries in Brazil. This is not a book for those who only want to look at photos or decorate their coffee tables; this is for those who want to expand their horizons of the Americas.