Caribbean Books

This is an incredible book for anyone interested in the abolition of slavery.

Christopher Schmidt-Nowara has written an excellent book to understand the process that led to the abolition of slavery in the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, taking into account the latest developments in Cuban, Puertorrican, and Spanish history. This is an important new viewpoint: to understand the nineteenth-century history of Cuba and Puerto Rico it's necessary to have a fine understanding of Spain's colonial policy and the socio-economic links that these two colonies established with the metropolis. I consider this book a major break through, a very important book for any person interested in the history of the Caribbean, Latin America and/or Spain.

Jan Carew, Professor Emeritus, University of Louisville - novelist, anti-colonial activist and thinker.

Carl Greenidge, in his meticulously-researched work, entitled, 'Empowering a Peasantry in a Caribbean context," follows in the tradition of Walter Rodney's "History of the Guyanese Working People." Greenidge brings into focus the land settlement schemes in Guyana between 1865 and 1985. One must bear in mind in looking at this seminal work, that the British controlled a world-wide empire and central to their manipulation of the 'divide and conquer' axiom, was the way in which land was distributed and controlled. For, along with the control of arable land went the control of irrigation systems. In short, the land 'empowered' those controlled it.

Greenidge has done the kind of detailed research that Rodney did not have time to do prior to his assassination and has, thus, opened new venues for meaningful academic studies. It is interesting that he uses quotes from novelists, like Janice Shinebourne and Pauline Melville, at the beginning of each of his chapters. This shows a certain prescience that some of the most profound insights into the history of the Caribbean and its people, can be found in novels and not in academic treatises.

It is to the credit of the University of the West Indies that they published this seminal work which provides us with new insights of the legacy of racial divisions that now plague the Guyanese body politic.

This book makes very interesting reading for expert and layperson alike. It is a study that portrays Guyana as a set of physical and political contrasts and contradictions - contrasts between the beauty of the land and of its rewards, between coast and hinterland and, contradictions between pronouncement and intent, between opportunities and their exploitation. Among the many interesting pictures found in the book is that of the beautiful, but little-known, Chinakuruk Falls on the Essequibo. The falls have the appearance of a chimera or mirage - a theme of the book!

Carl Greenidge worked as a research and teaching economist in the UK, Africa and Guyana prior to taking up the post for which he is better remembered in the Caribbean - Minister of Finance and Planning of Guyana in the 1980s. The style of the book reflects that varied background, especially in teaching, and makes for easy reading. He writes about land settlement schemes but does so through the lens of the wider political, economic and social developments over the last 120 years.

Land settlement schemes were initially established for Chinese emigrants but they primarily benefited East Indians. Their objectives have changed over time, which means that in time they affected other ethnic groups also. They touched, and were a contrast to, early the village settlements. Subsequently, they too spawned villages. Initially, they served the sugar plantocracy, then the rice barons and the managers of `Cooperative Socialism' in different ways with many, often hidden, consequences for the politics and social life of Guyana. The stated objective of these schemes has been to establish a peasantry but life beyond settlement has always been precarious and the economic stability of small farming has never been assured. The story of this sector and of the attempts at its modernisation is told against a historical background but ironically the lessons remain pertinent today.

So, although the book is about agricultural policy, its triggers and its consequences, it is of much wider interest. It is about Guyana, its policies and economics, its struggles and ethnic tensions as well as its prospects. The book is meticulously footnoted, draws on a wide range of primary, as well as secondary sources and, contains an extremely extensive bibliography on Guyana. The latter alone would be welcome to many students due to the paucity of current, well-researched material on Guyana.

Mr Greenidge draws on the works of a number of well-known Guyanese novelists, current and past - Melville, Shinebourne and Mettleholzer, for example - to illustrate his theme of contradictions and mirages and of the link between the physical and social. An extensive foreword has been provided by Dr Professor Cedric Grant, head of the School of Caribbean and Political Studies at Clarke University. Grant positions the book in the setting or context of the current political debate on Guyana and highlights the significant academic importance of this contribution to the debate on public policy as well as ethnicity in the Caribbean.

This is highly recommended reading and a worthwhile purchase for both the expert and the intelligent observer of Guyana and Caribbean affairs!!

14/6/2001.

The book is well written. It is balanced, and gives an insight into the deep love and commitment Dr. Eric Williams had for the people of the Caribbean, and especially citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. The book discloses in authentic detail, the struggle to reclaim Chaguramas from the United States of America, who had got if from the British in the second world war, ostensibly for defence of North America, South America, and the Caribbean. It is a treasure of history, showing the struggle of a former British colony reaching for its political and economic independence. The book is also well worth reading from a literary point of view.

Eric Williams was a complex and controversial giant who led a small Caribbean nation into independence. Professor Palmer attempts to understand him and his influence on the modern Caribbean by dissecting some of the major issues with which he dealt in the course of constructing his government. The result is a fascinating, well-researched study which should interest students of the Caribbean but also those interested in the problems of governance of small countries generally. He ends his book in 1970, though Williams continued as Prime Minister until his death in 1981; the years of plenty when high oil prices funded an economic boom are not covered, and would also make fascinating reading. However, while there is much more to say about Williams' tenure, what Palmer does cover can be taken on its own merits.

Just one quibble: the author's arithmetic in the paragraph beginning at the bottom of page 228 doesn't add up, making his conclusions unintelligible; I trust this is the result of typographical error??

Through the vivid illistrations, the reader is able to travel on an imaginary jounrney with Estrellita as she describe her nostalgic homeland. One is able to feel many emotions such as warmth and love. Estrellita's love for her family, culture, and homeland is clearly shown. My 3 year old absolutely loves this book. We are trying to improve our spanish and this book makes learning so enjoyable and pleasurable. I must admitt that I have read it a few times just for fun!

Estrellita was a great book . It was beautifully written and illustrated. I makes you think of your island (Puerto Rico). We just had the pleasure of meeting the author and we are going to buy the book for home.

This book, the companion piece to the exhibition of the same name, is a blessing. Thompson, professor & head of the department of African Art at Yale, directed this incredible exhibition in 1993 at NYC's Museum of African Art. From Ifa in Nigeria, to Santeria in Puerto Rico, to Obeah in Jamaica, to Vodun in Haiti, he and his companion scholars and curators have contributed in a healing circle across the Middle Passage. Shattering damaging, racist mythologies of these religions, _Face of the Gods_ fosters an understanding for these misunderstood religions while maintaining a respectful distance. Complete with analyses, interviews, and color photographs.

This book is SO GOOD! I've had it for about five years, but every time I take it off the shelf I learn something new. Highly recommended for any Orisa devotee, a follower of African traditional religions, or anyone interested in the African diaspora. It would be a great gift even to the illiterate, as the photographs are amazing. I think this book sold for about $500 originally, and even at that cost it would have been worth every penny.

I would like to inform the writers of this book that a "republic" according to the dictionary is a country where the "president" has been elected by voters, by the people, that is. There has not been a public vote in Cuba for 38 years. The people have not elected Fidel Castro as their president. He elected himself so I strongly suggest that you change the title of the book. You are maliciously and with felonious intent subverting the meaning of "republic" and "president" and I do resent calling Fidel what he is not.

This book was wonderfully well-written and I am not just saying that because one of the authors, Jeff M. Elliot, is my Pol. Sci. professors!! In, response to the last review by "A Reader" - You need to get over yourself!! The use of "Persident" and "Republic" is NOT being used subversively - GET A LIFE!!! It was a wonderful look at Castro's Presidency!!!

Fidel Castro remains one of the dominant political figures of all time, certainly the most controversial and impactful political leader Latin America produced in the 20th century. The Cuban Revolution was an important moment in the history of the Americas, one can easily see it's influence in later movements such as the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Salvador Allende in Chile and in our own time Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. "Fidel: My Early Years" is a great collection of material where Castro himself discusses his youth from his childhood in Cuba to his student years up to the time right before the revolution. Political and history students must read this volume which gives a clear insight into the vast intellect and powerful speaking skills of Castro. Colombian Nobel-Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez opens the book with a wonderful essay where he describes his long-time friend and his eccentricities, sleepless working hours, voracious reading habits, passions, angers and hopes. Marquez with true eloquence captures a giant of revolutionary movements. Excerpts from major works such as "Fidel & Religion" are featured where Castro discusses his religious upbringing (mostly from his mother) and the poverty and suffering Cuba's campesinos and blacks suffered under U.S. imperialism. He also makes a point of supporting Haiti, which has also been ravaged by colonial abuse. There are fascinating moments such as Castro's discussions of his time in Colombia where he witnessed the political upheaval resulting from the assasination of the reformist Gaitan who Castro (and many others) suspect was assassinated in a plot hatched by Colombia's elites. The beauty of "Fidel My Early Years" is that we get a true human portrait of a man reduced to the level of slogans, cartoons and demonization by the American press, here we get his actual words and ideas. What we see is a man with an amazing capacity for recording facts, figures, thoughts, philosophies and a brilliant sense of calculation and observation and an appreciation for history. Fidel Castro has already left his imprint on Latin American and world history, but for many in the U.S. he remains a distant, threatening figure, here you get a chance at listening to the actual words because listening is a habit we really lack and very much need in the current world state.

This book consists of one lengthy speech that El Commandante favored students with at his alma matter, the University of Havanna law school in 1995, and a few long interviews, including his famous 1985 interview with the Brazilian priest, Frei Betto. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has a very good introductory essay, with some personal reflection on his buddy Fidel.

If you are a good right thinking American, you probably consider Fidel Castro an evil dictator, even though most Americans the polls show, favor a lifting of the embargo. Well whether you consider him a monster, a somewhat brutal benign dictator (as I do) or as a holy saint (as Fidel hints he thinks himself at some points in this collection), this book is a fine piece of literature. Fidel is a first rate storyteller, he evokes the images of his life in a simple and clear style and is able to impart to the reader the rather inspiring gusto and confidence with which he went about life in his early years.

Cuba pre-1959 was a very wealthy country and put up some good numbers but most of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of an indiginous elite, significantly tied to American investors. Once the United States grabbed Cuba after 1898, much of the land was handed off cheaply to U.S. investors. Castro describes how his father was an extremely poor Spanish immigrant who arrived in Cuba in the late 1890's as a soldier in the Spanish army that was barbarically trying to repress the Cuban independence movement. His father, Angel, over the years managed by his own enterprize to eventually become a pretty successful landowner out in the sticks of Oriente Province. His mother, a native Cuban, also was extremely poor growing up. His father eventually came to employ a large number of workers in his sugar fields, including some Hatians. He grew up playing with the children of these workers and never was aware of any class distinctions between him and his mates, or so he says. The Haitians, Fidel says, he used socialise with in their mud and thatch dwellings. The workers lived an extremely hard and impoverished life, but these Hatians had the hardest lot of all.

In the 1933 revolution against the dictator Machado, Hatian migrant workers were expelled on the ground that they were taking jobs away from Cubans. Included in this expulsion was the Hatian Consul General at Santiago De Cuba, a mulatto who became Fidel's godfather. As a four, five or six year old Fidel spent some time during the Great Depression in Santiago, as a student in the home of an impoverished teacher and got his first taste of real poverty. The Great Depression years in Cuba made the same period in the U.S. look rather mild by comparison. Many people starved to death. When it set up its neocolonial rule over Cuba in 1902, the U.S. also set up a military contigent called the Rural Guards, which terrorized the peasants. Fidel reminisces how in the elections of 1940, when he was back home, he was assigned the task of visiting the homes of the illiterate workers around Angel's estate and others in the area, explaining to them how to vote for his step-brother as a parliamentary canidate for the Autentico party. The workers on estates ussually voted for whoever their boss told them to vote for. Fidel says he remembers the Rural Gurads terrorizing the peasant voters at the voting booth, making sure that the peasants understood that they had to vote in that election for Bautista and his associates.

He spent his school years in various private Catholic institutions and had a few notable bouts with the authorities after he recieved physical punishment. He remarks that at one point he felt compelled to ask at of curiousity why there were no students of color at these institutions. People of color, of course, in Cuba before 1959, suffered Jim Crow style discrimination. At Jesuit schools in Santiago and Havanna, he, with no false modesty, describes that the priests were deeply impressed with his extraordinary gifts in intellectual fields as well as in sports. Just about everyone of these Jesuits had been a supporter of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, but nonetheless, he says, he grew close to many of them and deeply admired their austere spirit, their willingness to sacrafice for their students even though they didn't recieve any salary.

His life took a dramatic turn when he entered the University of Havanna Law School in 1945 at the age of 19. In 1944, Ramon Grau San Martin, was elected President. Grau had been a leader in the short lived government of 1933 that tried to enact social democratic measures but was overthrown with U.S. backing by Bautista. Grau and his Autentico party had forgotten their revolutionary roots by this time and devoted the next eight years mainly to murdering their opponents and each other, and embezzling government money at a really astounding level. The Autenticos controlled the administration of the University of Havanna and used gang violence against their opposition. Fidel threw himself into this mess, gradualling setting himself up as the leading student opponent of the Autenticos. He describes one instance, when apparently his struggle with the Autentico gangsters had reached such a point that they were going to kill him if he kept opposing them, he went to the beach and cried. He resolved while he was thus wiping away the tears that he would go back to campus life and face whatever came his way. Actually I think that he probably used the connection of his father-in- law, the United Fruit company lawyer, Rafael Diaz Bilart, to fly to the United States, after there was a bounty on his head by some Autentico gangs for allegedly planning to kill one of their leaders. I'm not sure. Ann Louise Bardach's book "Cuba Confidential" is a really fine book that explores these matters about CAstro's life. Maybe this incident after the killing of the gang leader took place later, I can't remember. Certainly, the people who told such a story to Bardach had a motive to strech the truth.

In any case, Fidel aligned himself with the most progressive forces in Cuban society. He joined the Orthodox party under the leadership of Eddie Chibas, and became the leader of that party's left wing. The Orthodox party wanted to eliminate the extreme corruption that had been an endemic part of Cuban life since 1902 and create a government that respected civil liberties, but it was in favor of keeping the capitalist system. Castro explains that he was really worried about the party because it was being co-opted by big landowners and being dilluted of its principles.

Castro was a leader of the Havanna University organization in solidarity with opponents of the barbaric U.S. backed dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo. He joined a boat expedition in 1947 that aimed to land in the DR and start a guerilla war but the boat was stopped by the Cuban military as it went out to sea and its occupants were arrested but Castro jumped out the boat and swam to safety before they could get their hands on him. This expedition had been originally funded by the most corrupt minister in the Grau government, Julian Aleman, but some of the latter's rivals in the military called off the expedition after a couple of Autentico gangs massacred each other.

Castro's description of his involvement in the mass uprising in Bogota, Colombia after the assasination of Jorge Gaitan in April 1948 is really extraordinary. He is a first rate story teller as I've said. What is probably most remarkable about this section is how Castro explains, with no false modesty, repeatedly that it was his own extraordary courage and selflessnes that got him through that difficult period, as he tried to organize the people. He led a detachment of revoltees and tried to encourage a mutinous police station, to go on the offensive. No doubt the murder of Gaitan played a role in convincing Castro as did the U.S. backed coup in Guatemala in 1954 for Che Cuevara, that one cannot affect social change for the poor without having the oligarchy or the CIA kill you. Castro had been in Bogota as the leader of a Pan Latin American conference which was supposed to serve as a forum for Latin American students to unite to oppose the British occupation of the Falklands, U.S. control of the Panamma Canal and Puerto Rico and other such banal nationalist issues.

The idea that there is anything admirable whatsoever in Fidel Castro is likey incomprehensible to the average American, who rarely hears any notion in the corporate media that U.S. policy and U.S. foreign investors have served as a deciding factor in keeping the masses of Latin America in extreme poverty and misery. Few Americans, except those in Florida in a mostly positive way, have ever heard of Luis Posada Carilles or Orlando Bosch.

This is a fine piece of literature.

First, let me say that I'm always skeptical of poetry presented in a translated state. Oftentimes, the nuances are lost and therefore, a work falls lifeless. That said, in Filigree of Light, I honestly sense a unique poetic voice at work. Bravo to Miss Maciel (and of course Mr. Bursztyn)!

Poetic in both original and translated version. Excellent.

This book is for anyone who already enjoys exotic food and those who would like to try exotic food in the comfort of their kitchen. It is easy to follow the recipes and the food is exquisite. The thing I like about the book is that it would appeal to a diverse audience because it has Caribbean, South American, European and Asian flavor. I highly recommend this book. A must buy for expert and novice cooks.

A satisfied customer

I saw this book and thought it was very appealing from the outside. I purchased it and saw interesting easy to make recipes, I gave one a try and was taken back by the taste-different. I made it again and shared it with friends and family.
I have since made three of the recipes and love them!!
The title is correct very different and great for holidays and everyday cooking.

Give it a try and enjoy!!!

This is much better than the fish identification books I've used. I no longer have to thumb through all kinds of pages to find the fish that I saw or photographed. At first glance, it's kind of daunting, but after the video tutorial, it's a breeze. Just put a check mark next to the charactaristics of the fish you're looking for and the software does all the work of searching and returns a number of possible matches. Another major advantage of the software is all the multimedia content. You aren't limited to one or two photos in a book - there are often more than 5 photos per species, video, sketches, and behaviors. Awesome product.

This is a very good reference of Tropical Western Atlantic reef fish. I own several fish ID books and another electronic set and use them frequently as an avid diver and fishwatcher. This reference is very good in the way that you can sort by species or by family and other sorts as well. This reference generally has a better coverage of the various color phases of a species than most. Most tend to cover the different life phases, juvenile, intermediate and terminal phases and the "classic" color of each. In real life the appearance of the fish is somewhere in between the extremes and sometimes just different from the normal published photos. This work offers more photos and in most cases the photos do a good job of covering the range of appearance the fish may have.

There are also good reference notes about the fish, description, habits and behavior, abundance and distribution.

You can do quizes with the software in which you ID fish as they are presented on the screen. This is a good learning tool and refresher. It could also be very useful in teaching fish ID classes though I have not used in this way yet. (I am a scuba instructor).

It will do slide shows and you can set up and save slide shows - also a good instructional tool.

There is also a search function in which you enter characteristics of an unknown fish and the software presents you with a list of possible hits. I generally haven't found these to be very effective and this one is no exception. I can enter characteristics of a fish of known identity and not get a good hit. Some times it will produce a good hit but it's hit or miss.

There is a very good tutorial with the program to jump start your use of it.

It's well worth the money for an avid fish watcher.