Caribbean
Author: James A. Michener
Published: 1991

Not heavy, not light; it is one of Michener's more easily read sagas, all about the Caribbean Islands and brimming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition. This book is an epic fictional account of the European colonization of the Caribbean, an historical novel spanning 7 centuries, from the early 1300s, through the 2 world wars and into the era of Castro.

As part of the wonderful Collector's Library Series, Treasure Island is one of the best-loved children's classics of all time. This attractive volume contains the complete and unabridged story with 8 full color illustrations, plus numerous black & white illustrations throughout. The deluxe edition features a full piece cloth case, a four color illustrated inlay on the front cover, foil stamping on front and spine, stained edges on three sides, printed endpapers with book plate, and a satin ribbon marker. This book should have an honored place in any child's library.

Tales of St. John
and the Caribbean
Authors: Gerald Singer, Jack Andrews, Curtney Chinnery, John Gibney, Andy Rutnik, Bob Tis
Published: 2001

From the Back Cover: Written by locals, for locals, and for those who want to feel like locals...Tales of St. John and the Caribbean is about...

The time that Art the Painter took Janis Joplin out sailing
A young West Indian's first encounter with a white person
The five-year-old John Gibney's impressions of his neighbor, Dr. J.
Robert Oppenheimer, "the father of the atomic bomb."
Adventures at sea, hurricanes, pirates and buried treasure
Island characters, folk tales and supernatural beings

A feeling for the islands that you won't find in any guidebook

Sunfun Calypso
Author: Julian Putley
Published: 1999

Book Description:A Caribbean novel of laughter, passion, poignancy and tragedy. An authentic and colorful portrait of Caribbean island life

Customer Review: A great book for transporting you back to the islands! Sunfun Calypso is a must read for anyone who has been or dreams of traveling to the islands.

The author, Julian Putley's imagination has woven together fact and fiction in a cleverly disguised and very descriptive story that makes you smile knowingly as it transports you back to the very places he writes of. It will take you along the pot holed roads in the back of taxis with Bob Marley shrines on the dashboard listening to the lilting dialect of your driver while holding on for your life, to feeling the spray on your face as you are sailing from island to island. His characters, some endearing and some not so..are all people we have met along the way. All this plus a very entertaining story that keeps you reading and ready to anticipate the next page.

This has to be one of the most descriptive books I have read and I marvel how the author writes in such as way that the stage is set and in your minds eye you imagine it perfectly. He captures the essence of the people so that they are part of your life plus the flavor of the islands making you yearn to return and experience what you may have missed on your journey. The author obviously knows and loves his islands and I am very much looking forward to another of his stories. - Reviewer: An Amazon.com Customer, June 19, 1999

Waiting for
Snow in Havana:
Confessions of a Cuban Boy
Author: Carlos Eire
Published: 2003

A New Purveyor of Magical Realism: Carlos Eire arrives on the literary scene with a tasty eye for the magical, a sense of humor that is ingratiating, an ability to capture the tenor of Cuba at the time of the Revolution, and an adult's sense of tragedy as perceived through the trusting eyes of a child. WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA: Confessions of a Cuban Boy is a wonderful rollercoaster .. ride that recalls the unimaginable beauty of Cuba before the fall, walks through the tangled streets of a city destroyed by a dictator, and finally, looks back (and down) at the Cuba of today from a vantage in the United States.

Eire's ... writing is so convincingly that of a wide-eyed child that the reader needs to back up a few pages to realize this is a memoir and not a novel. In the end he has ... given us an insider's view of Cuba in the 50's and 60's [making] it possible for us to understand the mountainous changes that Fidel Castro effected on this lovely island. To say more would be to spoil an E-ride in Disneyland. Read this book for the joy of a child's perception, the insight of an expatriate's knowledge, and the philosophy of a man of heart and hope. A fine Debut Novel. - Reviewer: Grady Harp from Altadena, CA, April 15, 2003

Rediscovering Cuba:
A Personal Memoir
Author: Jorge Reyes
Published: 2001

Cuban memories. from Red Soul: In "Rediscovering Cuba" Jorge Reyes creates an intricate patchwork of experiences built on the memories, dreams, reflections, and interior visions of a ten year old child. [Returning to his native island after 20 years away] he spellbindingly chronicles the circumstances and eccentricities of the Reyes family. His prose gives an insightful glimpse into a family fragmented by the cruelty of the Cuban revolution. We hear the different voices of family members both living on the Island and in exile, now separated by vast political and cultural differences but unified by a much stronger force: love. - Reviewer: A reader from Hialeah, FL United States - September 11, 2001

Tales from Margaritaville is a collection of short stories (some purely fiction, some based in truth) so vividly packed with restless dreamers, wild wanderers, and pure gypsy souls that just reading it is a wild adventure.
A laid back book of loosely knit yet unique short stories. Margaritaville is a state of mind, , the stories are optimistic, humorous, with romance and adventure. Travel with the Tully Mars, the Wyoming cowboy who packs his horse and truck and heads to live in the Caribbean. Meet Buffett's large characters, some bizarre, some you know well, likable scoundrels and seekers of new worlds. Read through in order or jump around.

Traveling the Caribbean from the the Florida Keys to the ruins of Cartegena on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Buffett looks back on life events and contemplates the choice becoming responsible as he matures or rewarding himself for having survived. This travel diary/autobiography demonstrates his philosophy of life and how he has chosen to live it. Tales from his past are told as to a friend include dips into such memories as how he got his start in New Orleans, his father's struggle with Alzheimer's his passion for flying planes and his solo plane crash in Nantucket harbor. He is making peace with the aging process, and decides that rewarding his life rather than judging it is the right choice.

This time Jimmy Buffett has written full length novel based in the tropics filled with colorful characters and wonderful settings written in a relaxed and somewhat rambling manner. The entertaining plot involves seaplanes, a rock star, magic, the pretty girl and the bad guy along with island stuff like conch burgers. Don't settle in too comfortably though for there is an unpredictable flash twist to the plot at the end.

Book Description: This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who sell their successful Vermont food business and escape civilization to open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island. -- and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea. It's about the maddening, exhausting, outlandish complications of trying to live the simple life -- and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.

Customer Review: A Refreshing, Easy Read: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have never been to these islands but through Melinda's words, I felt as though I was right there with them . . . meeting all of their new friends and employees, sharing their joys and sorrows, experiencing their challenges and achievements. I can't wait to read the new Blanchard's Table. Melanie Blanchard definitely knows how to write an extremely enjoyable book! - Reviewer: Annette from North Canton, OH United States, March 23, 2003

Be sure to check out Blanchard's Table in the Caribbean Food section.

The essential novel of New Yorkers moving to the islands and making the transition from Manhattan island life to Caribbean island life. A classic!

(I am reading this right now and am thoroughly enjoying it!)