2 comments about Account of the Black Charaibs in the Island of St Vincent's (Cass Library of West Indian Studies).

1. This is the first book I have ever read which speaks to the origin of both St. Vincents Island and what today we call Honduras. The majesty of precolonial East African people lives on through the African slaves who were washed ashore on St. Vincents and lived to grow and thrive. So successful were they, that the mighty English military had to physically capture and deport them to Honduras, where they again grew and thrived.

   The descendents of those very people now populate much of today's Honduras and St. Vincents Island. They fashioned their own language, which has survived and is now known as garifanu. This book is must reading for those who are serious about the real Central American History.




2. This is a reprint of a book assembled from a number of documents in 1795, as William Young speculated over where St. Vincent was for former African slaves, who intermarried with the indigenous people, the Caribs, or the Europeans, should have rights to the land of a small Caribbean country. More recent writers have another take on the real origins of the Black Charibs...where they from a single wrecked slave ship, or were they slaves who escaped from neighboring islands to hide in the remote mountains of St. Vincent ?
   
   In any case it is jarring to read the conclusion of this book, written so many years ago, when Young stated that either the Black Caribs or the Europeans must go, and the decision was to send these people off their home island.
   
   In order to appreciate the book, some reading in the history of the Caribbean and colonialism is in order, and a 2002 book by St. Vincent author, publisher and book store owner, Adams, called People on the Move would be a useful bit of background reading.
   
   It could also be used for study in a university level course in historigraphy
   
   Too bad the book is so expensive.

No comments about Mexico, C. America, Caribbean (World Political Map).

No comments about East Timor: Island in Turmoil (World in Conflict).

No comments about Fodor's guide to the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda.

5 comments about Yucatan & Southern Mexico.

1. I spent 3 weeks in the Yucatan this fall and this book helped make my trip very enjoyable. I traveled to Merida, campeche, cozmel, cancun, plus many of the ruin sites and this book proved to be an acurate and reliable friend! If you like to travel on your own and seek out those outta the way places this is the book for you. I also enjoyed "Tourist in the Yucatan" fun thriller adventure novel set in the yucatan.



2. This book is jam packed with in-depth information about the Yucatan including a full chapter on the Maya, another chapter on the history of the region, on top of all the important travel-related information that you usually see in travel books. I have a few books on the region and I think this is one of the best!



3. I took this book on my trip to the Yucatan, and it proved to be an absolute gem. The itemized, unreadable lists of hotels, restaurants, and sights that comprise most of the other guide books here are kept to a reasonable length. Instead, there is vivid -- and very readable -- prose, organized logically. What you can see by driving down southward along the Mayan Riviera, with histories of the region, histories of every little town. It's all put in context, like a novel. The detailed walkthrough of Chichen Itza made me a bigger expert on Mayan history, architecture etc. than the guide we hired. Overall, I highly recommend it!



4. I'll add my voice to the chorus of praise, with one very small caveat. Comprehensive, in-depth, great historical background to put everything in perspective. We traveled with this and the Lonely Planet, but eventually just left the Lonely Planet in the car at all the sites, as Nick covered things so much better. But this is starting to get a bit out of date - published in 2002, so much of the info is now 4 years old. While there was more practical information (restuarants, hotels, etc.) here than I expected, it's worth the few extra bucks to get another, more updated guidebook as well.



5. I have just returned from a two week driving vacation that visited 23 Mayan ruins and several museums and cities between Cancun and San Cristobal de Las Casas. I used it for hotel reservations as well as Mayan site and city visits and found it to be excellent, much better than the Moon guide or the Kelly guides to ruins. It let me down only once, in Cuidad de Carmen, where it had no map of the city, and its hotel recommendations were incomplete and misleading. Otherwise it was accurate and up to date. I recommend it highly to travelers who want comfort but not luxury, and who like to travel fast and intensively.

No comments about Island adventures with Muriel: An irreverent his-and-her travelogue through the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda.

No comments about Caribbean Ways: A Cultural Guide.

No comments about Berlitz Travel Guide to the French West Indies (Berlitz travel guide).

No comments about Urbanization, Planning, and Development in the Caribbean.

No comments about Barbados: Just Beyond Your Imagination.