Caribbean Books

A Small Place

Jamaica Kincaid

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The lovely tourists 1 out of 5 stars.
12 of 34 people found this review helpful.

I had to read this book for a Multicultural Literature class at my Uni, and, far from being informative, all it did was fill with me a contempt of my own. I am not a racist by any means, but when confronted with such a bitter, snide voice as the one Kincaid displays, I find myself unconsciously getting defensive. When she says, "you are a tourist; you are ugly," I find myself saying, "Fine, I'll keep my money and let you trade with seashells and beads." Kincaid is a master of the self-fulfilling prophecy: she says Antiguans are so oppressed and so downtrodden and so angry, and rather than doing anything to help it, she's exacerbating it by using such a bitter, over-the-top voice.

Other reviewers have stated that the vision of Antigua portrayed is a warped and extremely limited one, biased by Kincaid's apparent small mindedness, and I must confess that I'm glad to hear that. To think that the entire island is solely occupied by bitter people who imagine themselves to be ex-slaves would make me steer clear of the area any time I go on vacation.

Because, yes, I am a tourist. And no, being a tourist does not automatically make anyone ugly, despite what Kincaid's bitter rant might say.

Editorial Review:

A brilliant look at colonialism and its effects in Antigua--by the author of Annie John

"If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you will see. If you come by aeroplane, you will land at the V. C. Bird International Airport. Vere Cornwall (V. C.) Bird is the Prime Minister of Antigua. You may be the sort of tourist who would wonder why a Prime Minister would want an airport named after him--why not a school, why not a hospital, why not some great public monument. You are a tourist and you have not yet seen . . ."

So begins Jamaica Kincaid's expansive essay, which shows us what we have not yet seen of the ten-by-twelve-mile island in the British West Indies where she grew up.

Lyrical, sardonic, and forthright by turns, in a Swiftian mode, A Small Place cannot help but amplify our vision of one small place and all that it signifies.

Puerto Rico (Regional Guide)

Brendan Sainsbury

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Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands, 13th ed

Nancy Scott; Simon Scott

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not very in depth guide 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This guide only gives basic information about cruising the Virgin Islands. It's not much better than the free guides that are given out and supported entirely by ads. It only gives information on islands where a commercial interest has supported the write up. It only gives a mention of islands or anchorages where some one is collecting a fee, so if there is a secluded spot that is free you won't read about it here. It doesn't provide any critique on establishments so you won't know if you are walking into the best restaurant on the island or a complete dump. I don't know if there are better guides for the Virgin Islands but it is a poor example of a cruising guide.

Editorial Review:

Completely revised and updated with full color sketch charts, these guides have been indispensable companions for sailors and visitors to these islands since 1982. Includes a free 17" x 27" color planning chart covering the Virgin Islands from St. Thomas to Anegada. Anchoring and mooring information and fees. Customs, immigration and National Parks regulations. Particulars on marina facilities and the amenities they offer. Water sports - where to go and where to rent equipment. Shore-side facilities, restaurants, beach bars, shops, provisions, Internet connections. Alphabetical - by island - Directory of goods and services. Everything you will need to help make your vacation an enjoyable and memorable experience in a concise easy-to-use format.

The Best of the British Virgin Islands: An Indispensable Guide for Anyone Visiting Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Anegada, Cooper, Guana, and All ... (Best of the British Virgin Islands)

Pamela Acheson, Richard B. Myers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Invaluable! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a super guide for anyone visiting the BVI, either on a sailboat or not. It is about as accurate as it can be, considering signs fade and fall down. We have been there 6 times and always used the previous edition, and this new one is even better. If you are going there--buy this book.

great for traveling to BVI 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book for traveling to the BVI - if you are sailing i would recommend a BVI sailing book instead!

Great Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A Fabulous book, obviously written by someone who knows and loves the islands. Thank you for helping make the most of our vacation.

Editorial Review:

Brimming with insider hints and local information, this new edition of a trusted travel guide tracks all the newest hotels, resorts, and villas on each of the inhabited British Virgin Islands, along with the best restaurants, coffee houses, and beachside bars. The most spectacular scenic drives, deserted beaches, hidden snorkeling spots, and historic ruins—and the best locales for live, local music—are also revealed, and detailed information is provided for activities from horseback riding and nature walks to boat charters and boutique shopping.

National Geographic Traveler: Panama (National Geographic Traveler)

Christopher Baker

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Panama traveler 4 out of 5 stars.
20 of 24 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book in anticipation of traveling to Panama in January. I was able to find every place we intend to go and also find a lot of useful hints for our travels. We have traveled to a number of countries and always buy some sort of guides to let us know what to expect and to help us plan our trip. This book gives a concise description of the areas without being too concise but also without being too verbose. I also have the Frommer's guide to Panama and much prefer the much more colorful National Geographic guide.

Editorial Review:

In Panama, the new Traveler guide takes the visitor beyond the famous canal to the Darien, a biological Eden teeming with wildlife, to the homelands of indigenous cultures that predate the conquistadores to Bocas del Toro, synonymous with a funky lifestyle to the steamy cosmopolitan capital, Panama City.

Each guidebook in this series details how to get around and what not to miss... the most gracious hotels and recommended restaurants... the best spots for festivals, wildlife watching, water sports, and more—all presented with the reliable reporting and magnificent photos and maps that are the hallmarks of National Geographic.

An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude

Ann Vanderhoof

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Under the Tuscan Sun meets the wide-open sea . . . An Embarrassment of Mangoes is a delicious chronicle of leaving the type-A lifestyle behind -- and discovering the seductive secrets of life in the Caribbean.

Who hasn’t fantasized about chucking the job, saying goodbye to the rat race, and escaping to some exotic destination in search of sun, sand, and a different way of life? Canadians Ann Vanderhoof and her husband, Steve did just that.

In the mid 1990s, they were driven, forty-something professionals who were desperate for a break from their deadline-dominated, career-defined lives. So they quit their jobs, rented out their house, moved onto a 42-foot sailboat called Receta (“recipe,” in Spanish), and set sail for the Caribbean on a two-year voyage of culinary and cultural discovery.

In lavish detail that will have you packing your swimsuit and dashing for the airport, Vanderhoof describes the sun-drenched landscapes, enchanting characters and mouthwatering tastes that season their new lifestyle. Come along for the ride and be seduced by Caribbean rhythms as she and Steve sip rum with their island neighbors, hike lush rain forests, pull their supper out of the sea, and adapt to life on “island time.”

Exchanging business clothes for bare feet, they drop anchor in 16 countries -- 47 individual islands -- where they explore secluded beaches and shop lively local markets. Along the way, Ann records the delectable dishes they encounter -- from cracked conch in the Bahamas to curried lobster in Grenada, from Dominican papaya salsa to classic West Indian rum punch -- and incorporates these enticing recipes into the text so that readers can participate in the adventure.

Almost as good as making the journey itself, An Embarrassment of Mangoes is an intimate account that conjures all the irresistible beauty and bounty from the Bahamas to Trinidad -- and just may compel you to make a rash decision that will land you in paradise.


From the Hardcover edition.

I Was Cuba: Treasures from the Ramiro Fernandez Collection

Kevin Kwan

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I WAS CUBA 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I had originally bought the book for me, but when I opened the book and saw all the beautiful pictures of what Cuba once was, I knew I had to give this book to my parents. When my mother unwrapped the book on Christmas Day and started to look at the pictures with my dad, tears came from both their eyes. My mother hugged me and could not stop thanking me for the gift. Those of Cuban Heritage, please buy his book, for "YOU ARE CUBA" and you won't regret it.

Editorial Review:

While most think of Cuba as a mythical island of rum, rumba, and revolution, period photographs reveal a more complex place. I Was Cuba is an original look at Cuban history as seen through the Ramiro Fernandez Collection arguably the world's leading archive of Cuban photos and ephemera. I Was Cuba showcases rare, vernacular images from the nineteenth century through the revolutionary period, exploring the everyday and the eccentric. With texts from famed Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas (Before Night Falls), this captivating volume is an intimate view into a bygone era of glamour, political upheaval, and astounding visual culture.

Fodor's Caribbean 2009 (Fodor's Gold Guides)

Fodor's

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in the Caribbean!

•Updated annually, Fodor’s Caribbean provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook.

•Fodor’s Caribbean features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.

•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in the Caribbean.

•Experience the Caribbean like a local! Fodor’s Caribbean includes choices for every traveler, from scuba diving, horseback riding, and sailing to just lounging on the beach, and much more!

•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.

Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.

A Rotten Person Travels the Caribbean: A Grump in Paradise Discovers that Anyplace it's Legal to Carry a Machete is Comedy Just Waiting to Happen (Travelers' Tales)

Gary Buslik

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"If you look at a map, you will see that the island chain known as the Caribbean, or, to confuse you, the West Indies, lies between Florida and South America and resembles a string of gems or possibly drool." And so begins author Gary Buslik's tale of tropical adventure. Each chapter of this often hilarious and sometimes poignant travelogue recounts another island-hopping, culture-clashing crisis that pits the homesick author against falling coconuts, hospitals that remove wrong organs, insects as big and dangerous as stealth bombers, ticket agents that put him on hold for hours, mysteriously calculated currency exchanges, over-proofed rum, livestock, singing Rastafarians, garbage-bin sex, peanut-crazed children, Idi Amin, flesh-eating monkeys, dentists, cricket, steel drum bands, and the French. Fortunately, even when making fun of his West Indian hosts, the curmudgeonly author's essential good nature and devotion to his wife twinkle through, and in the end his stubborn geocentricity gives way to a heartfelt appreciation of his island hosts.

Cuba (Country Guide)

Brendan Sainsbury

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Controversial and just a bit conflicted, Cuba is a nation like no other – rhythmic, colorful, sophisticated and whimsical all in one sumptuous breath. Unlock the syncopated beat of this island paradise, revel in Habana Vieja’s culture and traditions, ramble along history’s trail in the Sierra Maestra or simply sit back on a secret beach till mañana dawns with this unparalleled and comprehensive guide.

Wanna Cha Cha? – the secrets of salsa, son, mambo and more are revealed in our special Music chapter.

Gaps On The Map – informed do-it-yourself content, day tripper itineraries and more than 60 maps open the doors to Trinidad, Santiago, Cayo Coco and more.

Travel Back – the revolution didn’t need to be televised, it comes to life with informed features and in-depth historic and cultural coverage.

Que Bola Asere? – learn what this phrase means and more with our authoritative Language and Glossary chapters.