Caribbean Books - Page 8

Moon Puerto Rico (Moon Handbooks)

Suzanne Van Atten

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Subjects -> Travel -> Caribbean -> Puerto Rico
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Subjects -> Travel -> Caribbean -> General AAS

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

Editorial Review:

Puerto Rico may be best known for its spectacular beaches, classic golf courses, and rich Spanish culture, but that's just the tip of the palm tree. Moon Puerto Rico provides you with the essential details needed to discover all the can't miss sights, attractions, and restaurants on the island, while including the best lesser-known and local hotspots.
With firsthand experience and honest insight, expert author Suzanne Van Atten provides you with all the tools you need to create your own unique experience. Suzanne's fun and creative travel suggestions can help you plan your perfect trip including, 21-Day Tour of Puerto Rico, Thrillseekers Tour, Beach Bum Tour, Romantic Getaway, and Family Fun.
Explore El Yunque rain forest or the underground caves at Cavernas del Rio Camuy; swim in a glowing bioluminescent bay at night; and dance to the beats of a salsa band in San Juan. From Vieques and Culebra to Cordillera Central and Rincon, Moon Puerto Rico gives you the tools for an entirely uncommon, more personal, and ultimately more satisfying travel experience.

Frommer's Caribbean 2008 (Frommer's Complete)

Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer's Caribbean features gorgeous color photos of the stunning beaches, crystal-clear waters, and colorful coral gardens that await you. There are dozens of islands and hundreds of accommodations to choose from, so our guide compares all the options, helping you find the tropical getaway that's right for you. We've included web addresses for every hotel, so you can check out pictures as you make your decision. Inside you'll find in-depth, honest reviews of lavish honeymoon resorts, intimate inns, family-friendly motels and condo complexes, and more, with selections in every price category.

We'll point you to the loveliest secluded beaches, and send you to the best places for snorkeling, diving, golf, sailing, tennis, deep-sea fishing, and more. You'll also get a complete shopper's guide, and up-to-date coverage of the hottest nightlife in the region, from glittering casinos and sizzling reggae clubs to funky beach bars. You'll even find an up-to-date cruise planner, tips on finding the best package deals, and an online directory that makes trip-planning a snap.

Frommer's Portable Dominican Republic

Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Good guide, but ... 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful.

The Frommer's Dominican Republic guide is a good guide for anyone making a quick trip to the DR. The book does overexaggerates on the crime issue. Crime in the DR is relatively low, maybe even lower than in the USA. Other than that, the book is excellent.

Very Little Useful Information 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I know this a "portable guide" to the Dominican Republic, but still it is extremely bare bones and basic. It includes a decent section on Santo Domingo but absolutely nothing on Santiago - the country's second largest city. The rest of this thin volume includes only a couple of short sections on the DR's tourist areas - the North Coast, Punta Cana and Boca Chica. To someone attempting to explore anywhere else in the DR this book is virtually useless. Even for my brief one week trip to Puerto Plata I found nothing in this guide that I had not already discovered on the Internet.

I am usually a fan of Frommer's guidebooks. But this one just doesn't cut it.

Editorial Review:

More than 1.3 million Americans travel to the Dominican Republic every year, according to the Department of Transportation.

An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba

Ruth Behar

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> Hispanic & Latino
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> Jewish
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> General

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

Editorial Review:

Yiddish-speaking Jews thought Cuba was supposed to be a mere layover on the journey to the United States when they arrived in the island country in the 1920s. They even called it "Hotel Cuba." But then the years passed, and the many Jews who came there from Turkey, Poland, and war-torn Europe stayed in Cuba. The beloved island ceased to be a hotel, and Cuba eventually became "home." But after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, the majority of the Jews opposed his communist regime and left in a mass exodus. Though they remade their lives in the United States, they mourned the loss of the Jewish community they had built on the island. As a child of five, Ruth Behar was caught up in the Jewish exodus from Cuba. Growing up in the United States, she wondered about the Jews who stayed behind. Who were they and why had they stayed? What traces were left of the Jewish presence, of the cemeteries, synagogues, and Torahs? Who was taking care of this legacy? What Jewish memories had managed to survive the years of revolutionary atheism? An Island Called Home is the story of Behar's journey back to the island to find answers to these questions. Unlike the exotic image projected by the American media, Behar uncovers a side of Cuban Jews that is poignant and personal. Her moving vignettes of the individuals she meets are coupled with the sensitive photographs of Havana-based photographer Humberto Mayol, who traveled with her. Together, Behar's poetic and compassionate prose and Mayol's shadowy and riveting photographs create an unforgettable portrait of a community that many have seen though few have understood. This book is the first to show both the vitality and the heartbreak that lie behind the project of keeping alive the flame of Jewish memory in Cuba.

Frommer's Portable Cayman Islands

Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Guide to the Cayman's 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This little guide book is a good item to have if you have never traveled to the Cayman Islands before. It is a bit outdated but still a good back up. Don't atke all the recommendations to heart. They tell you to skip "Hell" the end of the island but I think the short trip is worth it, but the airport stores accually have better T shirts than can be had on site.
Beware: The Caymans are VERY expensive to visit and with the US dollar only being worth .75 to each Cayman dollar, your money does not go far. Be prepared to spend over $1000 to eat for a week, for 2 people and you won't be eating very big!

Editorial Review:

Frommer's Portable Guides are for the short-term traveler who insists on value and doesn't want to pack a full-size guidebook. The Portables have the same commitment to accuracy and detail as the Frommer's Complete Guides, with the same broad demographic appeal, from budget to deluxe. Frommer's Portable Cayman Islands includes complete information for all three of the Cayman Islands— Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman— in one easy-to-carry guide. We currently publish a complete guide to Frommer's Caribbean that includes coverage of the Caymans. This portable guide is geared toward travelers visiting only islands in the Caymans and will feature more detailed information on the islands than is found in Frommer's Caribbean.

The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Stephen Keeling

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Editorial Review:

Discover a land of lush jungles and dazzling white sand with The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico. The full-colour introduction will inspire you with stunning photography of the “things not to miss” from the cosmopolitan city of San Juan to the exotic flora and fauna of the Caribbean National Forest. Dozens of user-friendly maps will guide you to our recommended accommodation and there are hundreds of restaurant reviews for gourmet eateries and local food stalls across the island. Covering all must-sees such as the Río Camuy caves and the romantic colonial town of Ponce, the guide also features full-colour inserts on Festivals dedicated to fruits and flowers, and Food, including independent gourmet coffee producers and regional specialties. The guide features in-depth sections on Mayagüez, La Cordillera, Vieques and Culebra, as well as all the practical information you’d expect from a Rough Guide. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico.

1000 Mile Walk to the Gulf

John Muir

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( M ) -> Muir, John
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Nature Writing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

John Muir is really underrated as a writer 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

The title sums up quite a bit of the review for me. Not only was he a brilliant naturalist and visionary, but he was a better than decent science and adventure writer. This book, thousand mile walk to the gulf, is from Muir's younger days when he basically dropped out and went exploring. He walked from Wisconsin to the gulf, shortly after the war, and literally slept wherever. Hedges, roadsides, the occasional house. His observations on reconstruction South are all the more insightful because they are unadulterated (is that a word?) by any agenda, and have the overpowering reality of truth.

While his time in the Sierras is what he is most famous for, and the mountains more rugged and inspiring, this pre-Jenkins "Walk Across America" is a tamer warm-up for reading his journals from Yosemite days. I highly recommend it myself, it gives a bit of botany and a lot of background on Muir himself.

Editorial Review:

This book tells of Muir's journey on foot, immediately after the Civil War, from wild Indiana and Kentucky through the war-weary towns of the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast.

The History of Cuba (Palgrave Essential Histories)

Clifford L. Staten

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

Short and Sweet 4 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

I walked into this book knowing virtually nothing about Cuba, and this book did an excellent job of providing a short overview of modern Cuba. The history begins with the war for independence from Spain, and proceeds through all of the revolutionary movements, through to Castro's takeover, the Soviet relationship with Cuba, and Castro's changing policies. I found it very enlightening, a quick read, and well worth an afternoon! I would have given it a higher rating if it had more unique information, but it keeps the readers interest, and gives a reasonable overview of the politics and economics of the country.

Editorial Review:

Cuba is much more than cigars, classic automobiles, and Castro. This remarkable nation has had a long history of relations with larger political powers that were drawn to the island because of its valuable resources and strategic location. Ties between Cuba and the United States have been strong since the mid-nineteenth century, and the theme of U.S. dominance over the island and its people is a primary historical perspective. Cuba's history is told in eight chronological chapters, from its earliest days as a Spanish colony, through its wars for independence and the U.S. occupation in the twentieth century to Batista, the Cold War, and the so-called "Special Period," when Cuba faced the crisis of the downfall of the Soviet Union. With special emphasis on the twentieth century, the Castro era, and U.S.-Cuba relations, this is the most accessible and current history of Cuba available.

After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Crown Journeys)

Edwidge Danticat

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> African American -> Danticat, Edwidge
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In After the Dance, one of Haiti’s most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart.

Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.

Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself. It’s also a wonderful introduction to Haiti’s southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.

Barbados Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs)

Melissa Shales

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Subjects -> Travel -> Caribbean -> Barbados & Trinidad and Tobago
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The handy pocket-size guide is packed with useful information, tips and recommendations, accompanied by colour photographs, charts and maps for the first-time traveller who wants to experience the major highlights that Barbados has to offer. This travel book surpasses other guides in that it incorporates essential information in an easy-to-carry and easy-to-read format that is attractive and
useful at the same time. It provides a visitor with an invaluable introduction to Barbados by concisely highlighting the region’s ‘must see’ areas in a practical and user-friendly format, thus encouraging the tourist to make the most of his/her available time. All the essential information you need to get around an unfamiliar region is compacted into useful and practical ‘At-a-Glance’ sections at the end of each chapter. The fold-out map of Barbados is ideal for tourists and visitors. In addition to the main map of Algarve, which highlights scenic routes, it features 2 detailed area maps and 10 town plans.