Caribbean Books

In a world in which everyone is thinking about knowing the most hidden secrets of the life, Borges, when is asked to give some advice to the younger generation, only says:

I don't think I can give advice to other people. I've hardly been able to manage my own life. pp 75.

what a man.

He lived in Literature and Literature lived in him. Books were for him his truest friends and the secret intimates of his soul. When he spoke to another he spoke always to himself and to the books within him. But because he knew books so well and loved them so much all his speaking too became a book .And in the end even his final words there were books talking to books and talking to more books.
So for those of us who also love books , his particular love of books taught us so so much - but only in books.

Borges is great in in his writings, and almost as good in conversation. Witty, urbane, stylish, Borges shows that conversation can be as exciting as literature. Buy now!

This offers a series of interviews in chronlogical order (from 1966 until shortly before his death in '85) While he is good humored and self effacing he never lets you know more than he wants you to. There are also certain repetitons of ideas that occur, but anyone that has read Borges before will be used to that. To some extent it happans with most of the better writers in varying degrees anyways. Even with the repetitions it never comes across like he is doing memorized routines (which sometimes happans with William burroughs interviews)all in all important insight into the mind of an important writer.

See abov

The recipes in this book hold up to the high quality of food served in the restaurant. I have spent many mornings munching on fresh homemade scones, and my palate waters at the thought of the many varied deserts inside. Every recipe is a treasure in itself, and no kitchen can truly be complete without them.

The Kingston Hotel Cafe has been my family and friends favorite place for the best food on the Kitsap peninsula. Now to be able to recreate all my favorite recipes from Braided Salmon and Halibut with Sorrel sauce to the Hazelnut Torte and all her wonderful soups is very exciting. The cook book is fabulous as is the author who has created it. Thanks Judith!!!

This cookbook is a delight, mixing fresh, seasonal ingredients in surprising but always appetizing ways -- and best of all, using recipes that are not arcane or terribly time-consuming (but do expect to spend a fair amount of time chopping). My personal favorites are two unusual summer dishes, one a fruit gazpacho and the other a hot blueberry soup with coconut milk and lime. Yum! I *will* seek out the restaurant when next I'm in the Pacific Northwest.

After having traveled in the Caribbean as a tourist for years, I always wanted to read a good analysis of tourism in the Caribbean. This book is the best. It explains how very little of the economic benefits of the money we spend in as a tourist reaches the local people. Pattullo explains how deep this exploitation goes and has tons of data to support her conclusions.

Last Resorts: The Cost Of Tourism In The Caribbean, second edition, updated and revised by Polly Pattullo is an in-depth study of the economic and general effects of tourism upon the Caribbean area. Knowledgeably written, Last Resorts covers the overall economic effects of employment, history, government, social impact, culture, as well as an informative prediction of future probabilities for the Caribbean. Highly recommended for the vast coverage it provides, as well as its highly acute and accurate analytical content, Last Resorts is an excellent read for economics advisors, Caribbean trade executives, and non-specialist general readers, local citizens and vacationers with an interest in the Caribbean.

"Last Resorts" by Polly Pattullo is an excellent history and analysis of the Caribbean tourist industry. Ms. Pattullo examines the myriad social, environmental, economic and cultural changes that tourism has produced in the region. Along the way, the reader gains insight into how the promotion of the Carribean as a place of carfree escapism may be endangering the region's future unless vast inequities both within and without the Carribean are addressed in a meaningful way.

Ms. Pattullo explains that mass tourism emerged as an economic development strategy that was defined by the Caribbean's dependent relationship with the colonial powers of the 20th century and especially the United States. When air travel opened tourism to the middle classes in the 1960s, post-colonial governments turned to Western corporations to develop destinations that might attract foreign capital and thereby prop up local economies. However, the islands have gradually become ever more dependent on outside forces as airlines, cruise ship operators, and hotel chains have come to exercise near-monopolistic control over tourist itineraries. In order to maintain their privileged positions in the struggle for market share, most Carribean governments have found it necessary to concede the majority of tourist revenues to the procurement of foreign goods and services.

For example, Ms. Pattullo discusses how top jobs in the tourism sector tend to go to foreigners while locals get mostly dead-end jobs; many are resentful about earning poor wages despite working in a highly profitable industry. As street vendors and other freelancers seek to aggressively sell drugs and their bodies to tourists, more destinations have chosen to offer all-inclusive experiences that shut the dangers of the outside world away. Yet the coccoon-like world of the all-inclusives only serves to reinforce privilege, depriving locals of their own beaches and insulating visitors from the discomfort of viewing the socio-economic deprivation that often surrounds them.

Ms. Pattullo addresses that most pernicious of all tourism, the cruise ship industry which largely treats the Caribbean as a parking lot and waste dump for its 20 million annual passengers and where island culture is experienced in its most sanitized and commodified form. Most passengers spend little time onshore but frequently purchase goods at duty-free shops that are aligned with the ships, providing little revenues for the islands -- who, for their part, have found it impossible to impose reasonable rates of taxation on the industry for fear of being dropped from itineraries.

Whereas the path of corporate-controlled mass tourism is leading towards the Disneyification of island culture and the degradation of its environment, Ms. Pattullo believes that the Caribbean can secure a better future by embracing the principle of sustainability. The author contends that the region must begin to celebrate and preserve its unique history, culture and natural environment by implementing sustainable development strategies that are designed to empower local governments, businesses and people. To that end, she cites many examples of successful alternatives to the typical mass tourism model of sand and sun, including: eco-tourism, health spas, music festivals, living history, art and architectural appreciation, and other alternative vacation experiences. Indeed, it seems that the ideas advocated by the author might go a long way towards helping this remarkable part of the world both retain its uniqueness and gain a measure of the long-overdue success that it so richly deserves.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

- Everyone's tropical paradaise might be a victim of its own success. This book reviews the tourism industry and explores how to bring greater benefits to the region. Excellent! Ron Mader / El Planeta Platica

"Here's a tip for you. If you ever get sorta, well, down on your luck while you are in the islands, get a hold of Ron Añejo. He'll know what to do."

As THE LEGEND OF RON AÑEJO opens, Ed Teja's narrator does what just about every American adult has surely dreamed about doing at one time or another. He runs away to Never Never Land. Or at least, that's the sort of life he thinks he'll find in the Caribbean, after he spends a small inheritance to buy and outfit a boat on which he plans to live for the next several years. An old-timer on a wooden boat in the next slip, at the marina from which he departs "the good old US of A," knows better-and that's undoubtedly why the old-timer offers him that advice.

Before he knows it, our friend finds himself stranded on the tiny island of Kayakoo. At the Constant Din Guest House on Toenail Bay, where proprietress Esther Mae serves nothing in her restaurant except coleslaw and fried chicken, he wonders what to do next. Until, to his relief, he finds himself face to face-in that very restaurant-with none other than the legendary Captain Ron! Surely his troubles are over now?

They most assuredly are not, because Ron Añejo is this particular Never Never Land's resident Peter Pan. As the book's subsequent chapters unfold, Captain Ron takes his new friend under his wing and leads him (occasionally along with others) on a series of well-meant misadventures.

Make that hilarious misadventures. You'll chuckle as you read this book, and from time to time you may even find yourself laughing out loud. In between chuckles, you'll probably realize that Ed Teja's ability to bring the Windward Islands to life comes from knowing that part of the world well-and from knowing boats and the sea, too.

A relaxing, enjoyable read, featuring vivid characters and colorfully descriptive writing. Ron Añejo's self-created legend is one you won't want to miss.

If you're looking for a Caribbean adventure and excitement, with pirates and smugglers, you won't find it here. However, if you want to take a lazy cruise with Ed Teja, come aboard!

Disclosure: Ed lives here in Silver City, so I learned about his unique background. He has lived aboard a boat and his book is based on a real Ron Anejo. This book shares a few adventures as the nameless narrator drifts around, scrounging for food and a place to live.

Needless to say, every adventure ends in hilarious disaster. The boat goes around and they call the Coast Guard -- before they realize they're carrying smuggled goods! They cater a charter -- and leave everyone stranded when the boat dies.

There's plenty of rum, sunshine and laughter, and nobody takes himself (or, occasionally, herself) seriously. As Ron sums up: They're living the life that everyone dreams about. Who cares what else happens?

Very Caribbean Feel. Light breezy humor. Keeps the reader intrigued but not overwhelmed. Teja has an interesting background as a poet, musician, and sailor. Outstanding read for that escapist seeker looking to get lost in a high seas adventure novel. Required hammock reading even if you don't live in the tropics.

Really good cover art that fits the subject matter.

Eric Dondero, Author, Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book

Ever wonder what it would be like to just pack it all in and sail the seven seas -- or at least the Caribbean? Well, wonder no more. Ed Teja has written a novel about doing just that. And you might have second or fourth thoughts about doing it
yourself! That said, however, I can guarantee you'll laugh out loud while reading about the antics of our anonymous narrator and his "boss", Ron Anejo -- a legend in his own mind.

THE LEGEND OF RON ANEJO is told from the point of view of a narrator we never fully meet "in person". The author merely shares the story, giving us glimpses of our hero's physique and an in-depth look into his mind, all the while keeping his
name a secret (no easy feat, I imagine, while writing). It works.

Characterization is wholly developed from the main characters on down to Ron's boat, the Meinn Gott. Yes, the boat takes on a life of her own, and in sometimes typical female fashion, plays hard to get. The adventures they experience, Ron Anejo's seemingly endless optimistic outlook on life -- even with Murphy's Law working overtime against him -- are all fodder for an exciting, laugh out loud read. Our narrator's thoughts and witty dialogue are exceptionally insightful.

For an eye-opening and thoroughly delightful read told entirely from the male psyche, don't miss THE LEGEND OF RON ANEJO. As a female reader, I was glad to have the opportunity to see what makes some men tick -- and was pleasantly surprised.

This book is a treasure and a new classic. I've given several copies to friends and family. If we're very lucky, this story of a six year-old boy 'Little Lion', will be just the beginning of a long-term relationship between children and a wholy original character that is adorable, eccentric and very special.

In addition to being an engrossing, colorful read, and a great way to introduce or reinforce the values of tolerance and individuality, Little Lion is also a beautifully written, poetic work of children's literature. In the much more eloquent words of Jamaican scholar Dr. Elsa Leo Rhynie, "Little Lion is a book that should be in the library of every Caribbean boy and girl...The flow of rhyming is like music to a child's ear."

With great animation and just the right inflections, this book is perfect fodder for bedtime reading for toddlers.
Since I am determined for my chil to be literate by the time she is 3, I have been reading to my daughter since infancy and now she mocks my behavior by grabbing one of her numerous books and reading to herself.
I introduced this book t her after meeting the author in a bookstore and having it signed. My 2 year old fell in love with it immediately ! The next day I saw her in her favorite chair, trying to mock my voice while flipping through the pages. Mind you, this was only after ONE reading!
Ms. Magnus has that "it" Oprah raves about .. to write outstanding children's books. This book has a storyline any child can relate to and appreciate. This is a highly recommended one for your child's library.
The illustrations are outstanding as well.
This one is right next to my other favorite "Please Baby Please"
PICK THIS ONE UP... YOUR CHILD WOULD LOVE YOU FOR IT!

I simply love this story! Little Lion is truly an inspiration to children and adults regardless of ethnicity or cultural background. The illustrations are vibrant and fun, and the themes and tenets of the story are witty and heart warming.

I fell in love with this inspiring story. I'm Jamaican so I really appreciated the cultural references, but I've shared Little Little with some of my American friends and they enjoyed it too. My son, who is almost two, also loves it. He's particularly fond of Little Lion's shoes and socks (the illustrations are great).

La editorial Pathfinder y los lectores fieles siempre sostienen que lo que más le molesta al imperio de una revolución es el ejemplo que pone. En el caso de Granada admitió tal tesis. Los asesores de Reagan dijeron lo peor de la revolución granadiense no fue tanto de porque es una isla de negros, sino que son anglohablantes: podrían comunicar directamente con estadounidenses inconformes y rebeldes.

Los conocedores de Pathfinder a veces la llamamos "la editorial de los mártires" porque sus libros más populares dan voz a generaciones pasadas; ésta es un ejemplar glorioso. A Bishop era el primer ministro de la revolución, y le hicieron mártir en el momento que literalmente encabezó la resistencia a la contrarrevolución.

This is the story of a big revolution in a very small country.In 1979 the movement led by Maurice Bishop overthrew the local dictator of Greneda, one E.Gairy.Land reform,free education and health care, new forms of working people's power to replace outdated parliamentary "democracy" which led to the dictator in the first place, development of agriculture and tourism as national industries to benefit the workers and farmers instead of superrich foreign bosses : all this inevitablely infuriated Washington D.C. But most of all they feared and loathed the fact that Grenada marched alongside the other anti-capitalist revolutions in the region : in Cuba and Nicaragua.Read this book and find out why Fidel Castro said "Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada are three giants rising up in the Carribean."Perhaps most interesting for fighters against the profit system in this country is the story of the evolution of Bishop and his comrades : from Carribean followers of Malcolm X to socialist revolutionaries.The Stalinist coup that assasinated Bishop and opened the door to Reagan and the Democrats' bipartisan brutal invasion in 1983 is also well covered here.Others in the Carribean will take the same road during the new Great Depression looming in our ( workers' and farmers' ) future.

Advertisements for cruises and holidays to Grenada describe this Caribbean island as a place where "nothing much ever happens". The truth could not be more different. Less than 20 years ago Maurice Bishop led a popular revolution there that lasted for three and a half years and involved Grenada's working people of town and countryside in transforming their society and lives. The Grenada Revolution's giant strides in popular education, economic production, slashing unemployment, and developing national pride and internationalism, are graphically detailed in this outstanding book of Bishop's speeches that were made in the course of the revlutionary years. Bishop and the people of Grenada wrote an imperishable chapter in world history. The speeches address not just the situation of one small island, but the entire world faced with the crisis of capitalism that has sharpened greatly in the past two decades. This book is also valuable for the introductory analysis by Steve Clark of how the revolution was overthrown from within with the murder of Bishop and other revolutionary leaders in October 1983, plus indispensable documents from the Cuban government and speeches by Fidel Castro on Cuba's role in supporting the revolution.

Maurice Bishop, the assassinated leader of the revolution in Grenada, was a great revolutionary leader, and his speeches and writings, his struggle not only for revolution in Grenada, but also in solidarity with revolution in Cuba, Nicaragua, Africa, and around the world are recorded here. Stalinist thugs assassinated him. This opened the door for Washington's criminal invasion that crushed the revolution. The words in this book will live. When working people, especially the peoples of the Caribbean, and the Black people of the US, Europe, and Africa move into struggle we will seize the Maurice Bishop's words in this book and use them as weapons to fight for our liberation.

While this book may not always be available from Amazon, it is always available from Booksfrompathfinder which you can reach by clicking on used and new at the top of the page.

En una prosa sencilla y amena, Cabrera Infante relata eventos de su vida en Cuba. Es una lectura necesaria para conocer la historia de Cuba de los últimos 50 años.

This collection of essays and short pieces by Guillermo Cabrera Infante was not only educational to me (in the sense that it introduced me to many of Cuba's top writers, poets and artists), but also eye opening in the way in which it opened yet another mental file to store away the immense brutalities that Castro has caused upon all segments of the Cuban population.

It is sad to read about the suicides of many of Castro's most heroic Revolutionary supporters (such as Yeye Santamaria), as well as broken poets and writers.

Guillermo Cabrera Infante's books drives home, like a nail being pounded into a hand, the brutal and malignant nature of Fidel Castro, equally distributed among friends and foes alike. It is a must read for students of Cuban history from the viewpoint of an insider.

In this book Cabrera Infante takes us by the hand through the history of Cuba, past and present, in a masterful way. As a growing teenager in Cuba myself in the sixties, I can "see" again all that happened in the beautiful island-archipelago from a richer, most understandable perspective than when I was there and saw things take place, but did not fully understand them: The witchhunt against all intellectuals who dared "think" what was not sanctioned by the totalitarian state and its main disease: Castroenteritis ! The repression against "hippies", "Beatle Lovers", homosexuals, singers and anyone who could challenge the Caribbean Nazi-Stalinism. (It made me remember my "underground" listening to the Beatles!).
An excellent, deep analysis of causes and consequences, of life in internal and external exile and very sharp chronicles about the lives of poets, writers, politicians and "men with many exes decorations", i.e. exminister, exambassador, exrevolutionary, experson, etc. Incredibly good use of the Spanish language, worthy of the prize Cabrera Infante recently earned: The Cervantes Prize of the Spanish language! I highly recommend this book for lovers of true history and of the Spanish language!

El Autor de Tres Tristes Tigres nos ofrece una visión distinta del fenómeno Castro (un cubano que ama su patria y escribe contra su líder). Un libro que denuncia algunos de los atropellos que el "presidente" cubano perpetra contra los mismos cubanos. Una compilación de textos escritos a lo largo de los varios años que G.C.I. vive en su autoexilio, con la calidad y el humor al que nos tiene acostumbrados. La marca indeleble de Caín en el juego de palabras y en su estilo erudito, no se extrañan en Mea Cuba, una obra que expone los sentimientos más íntimos del autor frente a la Isla Caribeña que lo vió nacer. Aspectos de la Revolución (la mayúscula es de Guillermo)que se entrepapelaron en la historia, sus actores, el arte cubano y el pensamiento de Castro, vistos todos desde la ventana pineal de Cabrera Infante.

The book was brand new and was the one I needed for class. I couldn't find it in our book store, but luckily enough, amazon had it! Thanks!

Up in Manhattan's Morningside Heights and its Dominican analogs all over the US, salsa is edged out by the magnificently manic beat of the merengue, whether stirred into Dominican rap and house (the most original as well as the least known versions of the genre) or in the tear-em-down accordion of Fefita La Grande. Austerlitz has all this and a lot more, all the way from the luckless Toma' back in the 1840s (read the book!)Austerlitz covers merengue from rural to hi-society in all its fierce joviality. Read this book and you'll know there's one good thing Trujillo did for the Dominican Republic!

John Storm Roberts

If you are looking for a quick yet thorough coverage of this topic then this is the book for you. It is a relatively short book, coming in at 167 pages (not including bibliography but including notes section), yet it covers the whole spectrum of the national music of the Dominican Republic.

Mr Austerlitz covers the beginnings of this music all the way through to its current state. It also spends time on Merengue's development during the Trujillo era (a particularly interesting topic to anyone who studies the Dominican Republic).

Mr Austerlitz also does a good job of addressing the sociological issues that arise from music and manages to blend well the merengue of the campo with that of the salon.

A good read and it even comes with a CD with some very good campo (country) merengue. If you are looking for merengue at its roots then this CD should please you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1.Introduction

PART 1: THE HISTORY OF MERENGUE 1854-1961. 2. Nineteenth-Century Caribbean Merengue. 3. Merengue Cibaeno, Cultural Nationalism, and Resistance. 4. Music and the State: Merengue during the Era of Trujillo, 1930-1961.

PART 2: The Contemporary Era, 1961-1995. 5. Merengue in the Transnational Community. 6. Innovation and Social Issues in Pop Merengue. 7. Merengue on the Global Stage. 8. Enduring Localism. 9. Conclusion

Let me know if you found this useful.

Enjoyed the insight into the history of Merengue and its cultural context. This book has a place on my bookshelf along with "The Latin Tinge" and "The Brazilian Sound."

"If you're looking for an insight to Jamaica's underbelly - poverty, violence, racism and classism, Mutabaruka is one stop shopping. His lyrical beautiful poems reach out and grab you by the ears and take you for a turbulent ride across a sea of hot topics.

But it's not all gloom and doom. Muta's brilliant exciting verse is sprinkled with love and a wicked sense of humor. He navigates our ship with cool calm confidence. And you don't have to be Jamaican to 'andastan' his work. He's more than a poet. He's a prophet.

My favorite poem of the collection is "Butta Pan Kulcha."

I discovered Mutabaruka when vacationing in Jamaica and was delighted to find this collection of his new and current poems. Every time I read one I feel like I was transported back to that wonderful island and the friendly people.

Mutabaruka is back in a beautiful book with perfect heft. It feels good in the hand. It offers a feast of creole poetry that sings in the mind. It appeals to Jamaica lovers, Rastafarian scholars, libertarians of all kinds looking to share riddim ravings and reasonings. Paul Issa's careful and considerate editing of Muta's powerful songs make the reading easy and the quality paper and print compliment the striking cover and clever dual-design. This book makes a special gift for island lovers and is a tribute to poetry rebels everywhere. Anyone who has heard Muta's voice on these poems will hear them "in your mind, in your mind, in your mind" while looking at them on the page. It's a brilliant translation from dub performance to print where little is lost. Professor Mervyn Morris's two Introductions provide useful context. This double book is a first rate product with authentic appeal for specialist and layperson alike.

This is an unusual and enthralling collection for a number of reasons. The format is brilliant; his early poems are presented under a cover on one side and if you flip the book over, the new ("Next") poems stand on their own, under another cover. I was stuck by Mutabaruka's innovative word play; he's expressive on many levels and the fact that much of this is in Jamaican vernacular makes for an almost Chauceresque reading experience; you "hear" the poems as much as you read them. His is a powerful voice, with strong spiritual and geopolitical threads running throughout. No matter if you read the new poems first or the first ones first, it's a literary journey well worth taking and taking again.
Bob Merlis, author of Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Black Music Style in America, 1930-1975

Judy Ann's book gives a very good survey of her work. I do not know how she was able to select the various images from her vast body of work, but she did an excellent job. Her paintings truly show a lot about Jamaica, from the landscape to the people. I have had the privilege of meeting the artist and I have visited Rockfield; but neither of these experiences influences my judgment of the excellence of her paintings. I particularly enjoyed the short commentary Judy Ann includes with each painting.

And what a wonderful introduction by Edward Lucie-Smith. His commentary on Caribbean art in general is very enlightening and his observations of the artist herself are personal and informative. One gets not only the remarkable art, but also a glimpse into the life of the artist. What an illuminating combination.

Ed Vaughn

Certainly one of the best artists from the Caribbean, Judy Ann McMillan's "My Jamaica" shows some of her loveliest paintings of the land that she loves! Her lighting is really special and her depictions of peple and places shows up her emotions so very well! Really a very worthwhile art book if you enjoy the Tropical scenery - people and places of Jamaica!

I bought this book a few months ago and am now ordering another copy for a present. The portraits are incredible.

With this collection of paintings, MacMillan has reflected the mystery and the complexity of this amazing island. I've traveled to Jamaica several times and finally now I can take home the beauty and the intensity of the landscape and the people. Cheers to this extraordinary painter and national treasure.