Caribbean Books

This series of guides has a well-established format - which, in this instance, has been used to very good effect by an Author who knows what he is doing.

Beginning with an explanation of how the book should be used, there are keys, legends and icons to be understood. These are placed next to each dive site throughout the book as an instant means of identifying the type and standard of diving involved. Not popular with everyone - but very useful for those who like them. Next is an introductory chapter which provides plenty of information vital to anyone contemplating a visit. This is followed by a large section on diving and snorkelling in general, before the book gets down to specifics - all of which provides an excellent "lead-in."

Commencing with the USVI, this section kicks off with an introduction to the country and then goes on to cover 72 specific dive sites throughout St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. This is followed by similar information on the BVI before tackling 60 dive sites found throughout Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Anegada. The book then concludes with chapters on the marine environment, photography, health & safety and a bibliography.

Lawson Wood is an immensely capable and experienced underwater photographer and author. Altogether, the photography is well above the average standard normally encountered in such guides as this and it says much for Mr Wood's skills that I was unable to find a single poor photograph within the book.

In Summary; an excellent and well-presented book produced by a talented writer and photographer - and one that will not disappoint anyone contemplating a visit to the Virgin Islands.

NM

I really love this book..it is really well written and incredibly informative. I would love to read anything Lawson Wood decided to write next!

Great photos & maps too. I especially like the little tidbits of information set off in blue boxes throughout the book.

Agree with the 1st review. Very well written and clear. Good photos and easy to read layout. A must have for anyone who wants to dive Curacao.

An accurate portrait of the dive sites, with clear descriptions for both the beginner and advanced diver. I highly recommend this book to anyone who plans to scuba dive Curacao.

There are those Publishers who know how to produce Guide Books for Divers and those Divers who are able to provide the goods. Aqua Quest and Cancelmo are an excellent combination.

"Diving Cayman Islands" measures 10" x 7" and is another guide in the medium size format favoured by Aqua Quest. These particular publishers set high standards in terms of quality of information and standard of photography and this book is a worthy addition to the series.

The book is clearly laid out with chapters on the islands, accommodations, shopping, nightlife, an overview of the diving, specific dive sites and marine life. The first chapter begins with a précis of the country's history followed by details of the present day. This is followed by a map and all that essential information such as climate currency, dress, electricity, entry/exit requirements, getting, there, medical, language, time, water, postal - and, if I have forgotten something, this book did not.

The overview of Diving includes all the relevant information the diver needs to know including; boat diving, conservation, dive operators on the 3 Cayman islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman), regulations, equipment, safety, shore diving and more.

As one might expect, the specific dive sites are then divided into those 3 islands with a chapter dedicated to each. These commence with a map of each island with all the relevant sites numbered and displayed on that map before each site is finally described with an adequate narrative and relevant depth. It was nice to see the Russian Frigate off Cayman Brac being featured in a guide book - without this outstanding dive site being allowed to take over and dominate the entire work. The book then concludes with a chapter on Marine Life and an Appendix containing Emergency Information.

This is a well-rounded book with everything supported by some pretty stunning and imaginative photography. For anyone considering a trip to this corner of the Caribbean - this is the only book you will require.

NM

I aquired this book just prior to a trip to the Caymans. The general information about the islands was thorough and very helpful. The details about each island - people, geography,accomadations, dive sites, etc. assisted me in making a decision on which island to visit. I ended up in Little Cayman where the diving was spectacular! We also enjoyed a day of diving on Cayman Brac. I had the book on our dive boat and I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyed by many divers. Some would reference the dive site before we reached it and others enjoyed reading the reviews after taking the plunge. All the dive site info was thorough and accurate. The photographs are excellent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to the Caymans or anyone who enjoys beautiful underwater photos.

THis book was great. I used it for a trip to the beautiful island of Dominica. It was very insightful

The book was indepth. Anyone planning on traveling to Dominica would appreciate it

Excelent translation. Like "Eagle or Sun", "A Draft or Shadows" is the best Paz's poetry. Without doubt, some of the best poems I have ever read. East and West, Water and Stone, White and Black... encounter each other... on the other side.

Octavio Paz, A Draft of Shadows (New Directions, 1979)

I am kicking myself for having had this book in my collection for long enough that I donýt remember buying it and not getting around to it until now. Paz is the most exciting poet Iýve run across since discovering the work of Ira Sadoff five years ago. His work, more than capably translated here by Eliot Weinberger (with a few translations from others thrown in for good measure), is a perfect blend of the art and craft of poetry. It is also the finest overtly political work I have read since Aime Cesaire last put pen to paper. Paz understands that if the poetry is good enough, the message of the poetry will come out on its own, something nine hundred ninety-nine out of every thousand political poets never grasp. Those who would dispute it need only read the title poem here and hold it up against the best works by inferior political poets. The difference is stunning, and obvious.

When Paz won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1990, the committee stated that his writing was characterized by ýsensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity.ý Indeed. This is poetry the way itýs meant to be. **** 1/2

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/08)

If you've ever cruised on one of the megaships, I bet you've occasionally caught a glimpse of a sleeker, much smaller ship that crossed your path somewhere, but you've never seen them in the same port as your megaship. I've often wondered who could possibly be using those luxurious-looking, very appealing smaller catamarans and yachts, since they seemed to be oh-so-expensive.

After reading "Dream Cruises" by Kim Kavin I wonder no more. Ms. Kavin wrote an all-encompassing guide to choosing, chartering and enjoying vacations on private yachts. Surprisingly enough, those vacations can be quite affordable, and she provided examples for budgets from $1,000 to $1,000,000. If you regularly cruise with several friends, a private yacht charter could be even more cost effective for you than a cruise ship vacation. And with all the research that went into Ms. Kavin's book, unpleasant surprises, unnecessary hassles and wrong decisions could and should well be avoided.

After I've gotten over the feelings of intense jealousy, stirred in me by reading about the absolutely fabulous cruise vacation Ms. Kavin has taken in the past (just kidding, just kidding... but they are enough to make you sigh wistfully for sure!), I delved deeper in the technicalities of chartering a yacht. Ms. Kavin provided all of the necessary information to make the decision process simple and streamlined. Starting with the basic explanations of yacht chartering and comparison of yachts vs. cruise ships, Ms. Kavin familiarized the reader with boat basics, types of boats and what one could expect on different boat types. An in-depth discussion of destinations, both the usual, classic ones and a nice sampling of the emerging, new ones, followed those basic chapters. Ms. Kavin did not neglect to include a detailed overview of the cost, both up-front and the additional as well as optional ones. The next half-a-dozen chapters dealt with all of the other cruising aspects, from whom to choose to be your boating party to how special requests and needs could and would be accommodated, how to decide on the right type of the charter for your, how to find a respectable broker and what exactly will you encounter once on board, down to the descriptions of the different types of staterooms or bedrooms as well as how a head looks on a yacht and where to find it.

If you are planning a cruise vacation and would like to depart a bit from the routine of the megaships, or if you are just curious about how other people live, "Dream Cruises" is an excellent book to familiarize you with the world of private yacht chartering. And there is no law against dreaming, is there?

Cruises have never been viewed as a luxury for the average earner - but they can be, thanks to "Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Charter Vacations". Speaking of private cruises, free from the hustle and bustle of community cruises and all of their hassles, it speaks clearly on how to make these, as the book is titled, dream cruises a reality and a possibility on funds as low as a single grand and other options if you manage to have more money lying around. "Dream Cruises: The Insider's Guide to Private Yacht Charter Vacations" is highly recommended for community library collections dedicated to travel.

Sólo quiero dar unas palabras de grande aprecio para este trabajo fantástico de Jorge Edwards, gran escritor quién considero el más grande escritor chileno en vida, y a quién tengo el placer de conocer personalmente. Esta novela, muy fácil de leer, con prosa excelente y ritmo de gran suspance, nos trae de vuelta a la tensión de la guerra fría, entre la Alemania de Hönecker y el Chile de Pinochet. Para mí que en esa época ni había nacido es un cuento memorable. Se lo aconsejo a todos !

Sólo quiero dar unas palabras de grande aprecio para este trabajo fantástico de Jorge Edwards, gran escritor quién considero el más grande escritor chileno en vida, y a quién tengo el placer de conocer personalmente. Esta novela, muy fácil de leer, con prosa excelente y ritmo de gran suspance, nos trae de vuelta a la tensión de la guerra fría, entre la Alemania de Hönecker y el Chile de Pinochet. Para mí que en esa época ni había nacido es un cuento memorable. Se lo aconsejo a todos !

Una historia que se lee como se ve una buena película. Sus secciones de acción y reacción cautivan al lector, haciendo que acelere su lectura y no la quiera soltar hasta el final. Con esta novela, logramos identificarnos con los protagosnistas, héroes y villanos por igual; reírmos y llorar juntos; compartir sus logros y sentir por sus fracasos. Se desarrolla en el Chile cambiante post Pinochet, pero no cae en la postulación política. Es una excelente muestra de la nueva literatura latinoamericana, la que se aleja del ya trillado realismo mágico que tanto ha dado que hablar y leer durante las más recientes décadas. Es audaz, juvenil, sensual, renovadora, entretenida y diferente. Muy merecedora del Premio Planeta 2003.

Excelente propuesta para explorar el incipiente erotismo narrativo latinoamericano, además de una buena situación vivencial y anecdótica. Divertido, muy recomendable.

Get to know "Gabo" through his own words as he converses with his old friend Plinio. I found "El Olor de la Guayaba" beneficial in helping me understand the author's view of his own books, including the popular and Nobel Prize-winning "Cien Años de Soledad"/"One Hundred Years of Solitude." García Márquez explains how this novel is thoroughly based in Caribbean reality, not "magic." In addition, "El Olor de la Guayaba" provides valuable and interesting biographical and personal information, plus some great photos. García Márquez is a brilliant, witty, and humanistic soul, and this little book fully shows off his character.

Algo asi como una platica escrita entre Garcia Marquez y Plinio Apuleyo, sin faltar el colorido lenguaje y el ambiente confortante que se crea solo al tocar un libro de el

Si eres seguidor de el pues es muy recomndable leerlo ya que como buen inventa cuentos de una historia sale la otra y nos hace participe de ello!

This book is an absolute masterpiece. I started reading it a few years ago when I was a lot younger and got throwed back by the long sentences and immense vocabulary Carpentier uses. However, now that I am a little older and have more patience, I can say that this is one of the most impressive novels ever written in Spanish. This book deserves more than five stars.

Carpentier's Siglo de las luces (The century of light) is the novel that can truly be called the key representative of magic realism. In the story of three brothers wandering all around the world the author crammed every little detail of the wonders of the eighteen century America (and of some parts of Europe). Thus he gave a sweeping portrait of the atmosphere of the age of the Enlightenment (hence the title), how the elevated ideals gradually drowned into blood and destruction. Carpentier originally studied music theory and we can say that in this book he found the closest equivalent in prose to a Beethoven symphony. In his literary essays he also talked about the existence of the eternal baroque, which roughly means that during literary history there are always periods when the rules of content and form are subverted. The finest example to the existence of the baroque in the twentieth century is precisely not only because of the luxuriant action but because of its carefully planned, winding sentences. Because of its difficult syntax and vocabulary, the lengthy sentences crammed with every possible little detail of the described scene, this book is not an easy read, especially originally in Spanish. Partly because the story is not set in our time, reading this book can be compared to the reading of a great Baroque classic, it conveys a strange eternal feel, similar to watching a flamboyant gilded altar of a XVII century church.