Jamaica - Book Reviews

Book Review: The Mother of Us All: A History of Queen Nanny

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:30:06 UT

Queen Nanny was the leader of the Eastern or Windward Maroons of Jamaica, escaped slaves who established towns in remote parts of the island and defeated attacking armies from the British Empire from 1655 to 1739. In this exciting book, Karla Gottlieb analyzes the importance of Queen Nanny from cultural, military, historical and religious perspectives.

Book Review: The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:00:01 UT

Jamaica is the picturesque background for this explosive novel about love, fear, and intolerance, the second in Gillian Royes’s mystery series featuring charming and charismatic bartender-turned-detective Shad.

Book Review: Core Values

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:30:02 UT

The home my family occupied after we moved to Kingston was situated along the route taken by dignitaries on their way to Jamaica House, the Prime Minister’s official residence. As a result of this fortuitous bit of luck, we never had to join the throng at the airport eagerly awaiting Queen Elizabeth, Emperor Haile Selassie or other important visitors to our island; we merely had to wait by our gate for the motorcade and wave furiously as they drove by, escorted by the police and a line of other official cars.

Book Review: Runaway Comeback

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:30:01 UT

Runaway Comeback’s heroine is Rose Thorn, a high school dropout who flees her native Jamaica after years of physical and mental exploitation and voyaging over intercontinental waters way too many times. She hides out in Brooklyn with her young daughter.

Book Review: Black Inventors

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:30:01 UT

This book documents a number of inventions, patents and labor saving devices conceived by Black inventors. Among many other inventions, pre-enslaved Africans, developed agricultural tools, building materials, medicinal herbs, cloth and weapons. Although historical documents emphasize that millions of Black people arrived in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America and the United States under slavery's yoke, it is relatively unknown that thousands of Africans and their descendants developed numerous labor-saving devices and inventions that spawned companies which generated money and jobs, worldwide.

Book Review: You Did It Unto Me: The Story of Alpha and the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:30:01 UT

How could the four little girls who enrolled as the first students of Alpha Academy in 1894 have imagined that, a century later, fourteen hundred girls would be retracing their footsteps through the gates of Alpha?

Book Review: Missing Joe

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:30:02 UT

Joe, Dilys and their son Sean are all outsiders in the small English town where they live. Joe because of insidious racism, Dilys because she suffers the remaining stigma of her alcoholic mother and mentally ill father, and Sean because he seems slow. As Dilys and Sean become increasingly and unhealthily co-dependent, Joe is pushed to periphery of their lives. So much so that when he vanishes, Dilys is neither surprised nor concerned.

Book Review: The Girl From The Lane

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:09:35 UT

The Girl from the Lane is a fictional a love story that is set in the Caribbean island of Jamaica during a time that regional historians recorded as marking a period of pivotal social, economic and political change in the island. The story is set in the transient socio-political period of the late 1970’s to late 1980’s, and explores issues of honesty, integrity, spiraling criminality and the influence of drugs, money, and power.

Book Review: Jubilation!: Poems Celebrating 50 Years of Jamaican Independence

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:30:01 UT

In this compilation, more than 50 contemporary Jamaican poets reflect in outspoken, meditative, humorous, and outrageous ways upon the historical and existential moment of Jamaican independence. Ranging from the lyric and the pastoral to the declarative and the celebratory, these poems employ language registers across the full spectrum of Jamaican English and patois. Often surprising and sometimes alarming, this book affirms the contributors’ recognition of what it means to be Jamaican.

Book Review: Huracan

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:30:01 UT

Loosely based on the author’s own family history, 'Huracan' tells the story of Leigh McCaulay, who after unhappily leaving Jamaica at FIFTEEN, now in her thirties, returns home in the wake of her mother’s death, to reconnect with her birthplace, her estranged father and the family secrets that he holds. As she builds an adult life, she discovers the stories of her abolitionist and missionary ancestors who came to Jamaica in the 1780s and 1880s, and she grapples with the burdens of this historical legacy.

Book Review: Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:30:02 UT

Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories confronts the subject of bullying by using a well-known Caribbean folk tale, "Anancy, Snake, and Tiger," in the multicultural setting of Miami, Florida.

Book Review: A Jamaincan’s Journey to Time and Patience: Broken Vows, Shattered Dreams, Redeeming Grace

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:30:01 UT

A Jamaican’s Journey to Time and Patience is Derrick Garland Coy’s portrait of his multi-ethnic family whose African, Chinese, and European roots merge in Jamaica during the 1800s, then scatter across the globe in the mid 1900s, sending him on an odyssey to discover and fulfill God’s call in his life, heal family wounds, and share Christ’s message of redeeming grace and love.

Book Review: My Darling You

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:30:01 UT

A collection of six short stories set in Jamaica. They all deal with a love theme. From first love between teenagers to the aftermath of lost love for the more mature, love doesn't always end in 'happily ever after' even when there's a bit of fantasy thrown in. Each story provides food for thought about romantic love and relationships.

Book Review: New Beginnings

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:30:02 UT

New Beginnings is a contemporary rags to riches tale set in the island of Jamaica. It gives us tantalizing glimpses of the Jamaican inner-city life along with the completely opposite lifestyle of the rich and famous. It also touches on the decisions that one girl has to make between two completely different lifestyles and two completely different men, one an inner city don and the other an uptown Casanova.

Book Review: The Unrepentant Mother

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 13:30:02 UT

This is the story of a little boy, who was left in Jamaica by his mother when he was 6 months old. He was living with his maternal grandmother. He was then given the chance to go live with his mother in Canada. But when he went there, he met a mother he had never met before. He came to learn something about her that he wished he had never known.

Book Review: The Preacher and The Prostitute

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:30:02 UT

Maribel struggled to forget her past, when she dabbled in prostitution, made porn videos and was a nude poster girl. She became a Christian and made a decision to use her singing talent to glorify God. However, she quickly realized that a young, single, attractive, talented girl was never going to remain unnoticed at church.

Book Review: Toy Soldiers

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:30:01 UT

Stephen Thompson's brave story centres on the plight of Gabriel Powers, a man who finds himself in a hostel for addicts after the most frightening flight from Hackney and the world of crime he grew up in. For Gabriel to come to terms with his addiction, he must first confront his demons, and although his hostel worker and lover Marcia is there to help him, the journey to back to the wastelands of West London is harrowingly and brilliantly recreated.

Book Review: JAMAICA WRITES 50 - Great Reads for Jamaica's 50th

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:30:01 UT

This is a book of fifty reviews of Jamaican texts from the past seven years, It covers poetry and fiction as well as non-fiction and the reviews appeared in the local news-papers, The Sunday Gleaner and The Sunday Observer. The reviews are succinct and informative: they serve well as pieces of literary criticism with a view to establishing a literature that is Jamaican.

Book Review: Disposable People

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:30:01 UT

Ten year old Kenneth Lovelace often went to bed without dinner. Instead of feeling hunger, however, what he mostly felt was fear and shame, knowing that his family’s poverty was the reason he had no food. Kenneth also recalls his bitterness whenever his parents locked him out of their tiny, one-room house to act on their 'urge'.

Book Review: The Tender Side of Me

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:30:02 UT

This is a personal memoir that gives authenticity to social issues of love and relationships, single life, single parenting, jealousy, courage, envy, independence, coping skills, retirement and money. The Tender Side of Me chronicles Simpson’s fast paced roller coaster life to one that has finally found balance. Many will be inspired by her achievements, her boldness and her penchant for excellence and might be equally moved by her challenges and her ability to land on her feet.

Book Review: The Longer Run: A Daughter's Story of Arthur Wint

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:30:01 UT

A star was born on March 25, 1920 in the quiet rural community of Plowden in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica. Arthur Stanley Wint is perhaps best known as Jamaica’s first Olympic Gold Medallist and has been profiles as such in his native island’s rich athletic history. However, little is known of the man who trained to become a Royal Air Force pilot and broke the Canadian 400m record while doing so; or the British trained surgeon who returned to Jamaica in 1963, eventually settling in Hanover as the only resident doctor and treating the poor for free; or the diplomat who was awarded the Order of Distinction, in 1973 and served as Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the UK.

Book Review: No Pit Too Deep

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:30:02 UT

This novel, though not based on actual events, depicts real life experiences. It is the hard-hitting, graphic story of Julienne, a young girl who experiences rejection, sexual abuse and the consequences of her choices. Her journey takes her on a downward spiral, deep into a pit of pain, hatred, and bitterness. Through all of this, God’s hand is evident in her life, though at first she does not recognize this. She eventually cries out to Him in desperation and reaches for His hand to help pull her out of the pit

Book Review: The Misadventures of Saucy and Her Mama

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:30:02 UT

Saucy’s Journey begins in Kingston, Jamaica and takes her to hustling, bustling Brooklyn, New York in the 1970’s. Share her experiences with her promiscuous, overbearing, distasteful mother, and her tentative, beautiful venture into a teenage love affair.

Book Review: The Dark Side of Darkness - Some family secrets must remain that way.

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:30:01 UT

The Dark Side of Darkness is a story woven around time as it takes the reader on a journey through and into the dark side of the human psyche. It explores hidden passions and secret places that perhaps should be left alone. Written as a series of flashbacks, the book embraces issues that transcend culture, gender, and race, and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

Book Review: The Right To Belong

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:30:01 UT

Bothered by not knowing his father, thirty-eight-year old Pete Mitchell is prompted to start a search after watching a television show about single parents and developing a belief that a father must take care of the child he helps bring into the world. His search, however, would be easier if the family members who know the whereabouts of his father would help.

Book Review: AMEN – A pictorial journey to historic churches in Jamaica

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:45:00 UT

This coffee table book strikes at the core of Jamaica’s church history. The houses of God featured in AMEN represent denominations that were present on the island prior to the emancipation of slavery. 112 churches and one synagogue are included it and unfolds the history of the early leaders of these denominations. All net proceeds from the sale of this edition will be used for church restoration projects and to help further develop the faith based niche market of the tourism sector.

Book Review: Mariana

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:30:02 UT

Mariana is a short novel by Vjange Hazle, a Caribbean writer residing in the United States. This powerful first time novel tells the story of Mariana, a young Englishwoman who arrives in colonial Jamaica as the wife of the much older Fernando Sykes. She meets with resistance from a strange people she struggles to understand. Sam-Sam, her husband's driver, comes to her rescue and the passion is ignited.

Book Review - DanceHall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:30:01 UT

DanceHall combines cultural geography, performance studies and cultural studies to examine performance culture across the Black Atlantic. Taking Jamaican dancehall music as its prime example, DanceHall reveals a complex web of cultural practices, politics, rituals, philosophies, and survival strategies that link Caribbean, African and African diasporic performance.

Book Review: Sometimes There's A Winner

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:30:01 UT

A story of poverty, injustice and revenge in Jamaica, SOMETIMES THERE'S A WINNER tells the story of a poor black gardener, Byron Reid, and his sister Nadia, who work for a wealthy white Lebanese-Jamaican family in Kingston. Byron Reid surpasses his work ambitions and achieves success in a variety of jobs with Abraham Faroud, and is driven to bankruptcy by his employer's son Fabian who exploits Nadia's innocence and vulnerability when she worked as a servant in the Faroud home.

Book Review: Tastes Like Home - My Caribbean Cookbook

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:01 UT

Tastes Like Home - My Caribbean Cookbook is more than just a book of recipes, it's a conversation about food and how it connects and forms part of Caribbean identity. The book is divided into two sections - a memoir section and a recipe section. Cynthia shares personal memories which help us understand Caribbean food and lifestyle.

Book Review: Pieces of the Past – A Stroll Down Jamaica’s Memory Lane

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:30:01 UT

There is an old Jamaican saying ‘every mickle mek a muckle’. It means every experience – no matter how small – counts, because together they form a greater whole. There is another old Jamaican saying: ‘one one cocoa full basket’ which means that parts of things slowly combined make a whole. Pieces of the Past: A Stroll Down Jamaica’s Memory Lane is as much as combination of both meanings as it is an exploration of a deep-rooted interest in Jamaica’s rich history and culture.

Book Review: The Goat Woman of Largo Bay

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:30:02 UT

The Goat Woman of Largo Bay begins the detective series featuring Shad, a bartender in a fishing village in Jamaica, who is the community problem solver and right hand of Eric, an American who owns the bar and a hotel left in ruins by a hurricane. When Shad sees movement on the island offshore, he thinks it's just a goat. But it turns out to be Simone, an American who has run away from her professional and personal life in the U.S., an intriguing woman who captures Eric's heart

Book Review: Jamaica Fi Real

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:30:01 UT

Beautiful; aggressive; exuberant, talkative; humorous; resourceful; unpredictable – Jamaica brings many adjectives to mind, but boring is not one of them. No other country so young and so small has had such global cultural influence as the land of Marcus Garvey, Louis Bennett, Bob Marley and Usain Bolt. Jamaica Fi Real provides an in-depth look at Jamaica’s people, history, music, sports, religion and culture, creating a vivid twenty-first century portrait of perhaps the world’s most fascinating island.

Book Review: Marcus and the Amazons

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:30:01 UT

After traveling through the forest, Marcus returns to his home and discovers that Amazons have enslaved his colony and imprisoned Princess Amy, his bride-to-be. With the help of his friends from the forest, Marcus must save Princess Amy and rally his colony to stand against the Amazons. But during his stay in the forest, Marcus has also renounced violence. Will Marcus succeed?

Book Review - Daughter of the Caribbean

Mon, 09 May 2011 12:30:02 UT

Beloved Jamaica, the island of my birth, where brilliant sunshine and glistening white-sand beaches demand reverence; where the fruit is sweet and abundant; and where the people are strong, defiant and accomplished ... Daughter of the Caribbean is a love letter that pays homage to the culture and heritage of this exotic, beautiful and conflicting island paradise that is Jamaica.

Book Review - 118 Degrees Delicious

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:30:01 UT

118 Degrees Delicious is a collection of delicious healthy live vegan raw food recipes. These simple recipes will inspire healthier choices while satisfying even the most discriminating of palates! All recipes are dairy and gluten free and include complete nutritional information!

Book Review: The Tangled Web

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:45:01 UT

In the dead of night, international media and entertainment tycoon Logan Armstrong flies back to the island of his birth. Armstrong is on a covert mission, known only to himself and three top government officials. Their plan? A plot to assassinate the corrupt head of state, a dangerous megalomaniac who, in his dirty dealings with Colombia’s leading drug cartel, is sacrificing his country’s future for personal gain. Unbeknownst to Armstrong and his colleagues, a parallel plot is being set into motion by the powerful jefé of the cartel, the beautiful and ruthless Maria Echevarría.

Book Review: A Soh Wi Do It!

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:45:01 UT

For more than a decade, Joelle Cohen Wright, wrote hilarious Jamaican interpretations of major news stories and current events have been entertaining readers across the globe. Joelle will be the first to admit that she has the ability to see humor in every aspect of life. Her comedic writings have been ‘viral’ in e-mails and on the Internet for several years.

Book Review: Ska - An Oral History

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:30:01 UT

Ska: An Oral History is the story of ska music, told through the words and narratives of those who invented it. In Jamaica, and later in England, this music defined the culture and social conditions of the people. Through the words of their songs, the uplifting rhythm of their vivacious tunes, and the character and skill of each musician, ska music was the foundation for musical forms and the musicians that evolved. Hearing first-hand the stories of these tumultuous times, these creative times, the story of ska music is finally told by those who were there.

Book Review: Frisson of Spirit

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:45:02 UT

Inspired by the Songs of Solomon, J.J. Blackwood’s Frisson of Spirit reveals her poetic journey of discovery and revelation, pointing readers toward the one true spirit of God. J.J. Blackwood brings alive the universal questions that plague all mankind about worth, purpose, and the meaning of life with beautiful poetry born out of her most intense moments of sorrow and joy. As John Keats’s conception of life in poetry sought expression in the soul, so J.J. Blackwood adds the expression of the spirit and the will in Frisson of Spirit to alleviate the suffering that is an integral part of the human condition.”

Book Review - The Baby Who Would Not...

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:45:02 UT

This story comes out of the consciousness of a baby called Kaeli. This particular little person makes landfall on a children’s ward at a hospital. Its location in a multi-cultural setting turns out to be an appropriate setting in which her free-thinking spirit can speak for herself and other babies. At first and on her own terms (and not unlike a small tropical storm), she sets some challenges which in all fairness, are manageable to all grownups concerned. To begin with, she rallies her new friends to object, obviously by action rather than words.

Book Review - "Portland: The Other Jamaica"

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:30:02 UT

"Portland: The Other Jamaica" is intended to convey the unique qualities of this most beautiful of parishes. Portland has more mountains, rivers, flora and fauna and rain and perhaps has experienced more natural calamities than any other parish. That environment has shaped Portland's history and has also attracted many dreamers and a few schemers, and still does. As Errol Flynn once said: "Portland is more beautiful than any woman". The people and the places of Portland have combined to create a parish like no other.

Book Review: Moon Jamaica VI Edition

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:35:00 UT

Moon Handbooks give you the tools to make your own choices, with suggestions on how to plan a trip that’s perfect for you, including: The Best of Jamaica, Local Spas and Hot Springs, Roots and Culture, The Adrenaline Junkie’s Fix, Vital Vittles: Jamaica’s Best Food, Hidden Beaches and Hillside Hikes. Additionally, Moon Jamaica provides 25 detailed and easy-to-use maps, plus the firsthand experience and unique perspective of author Oliver Hill.

Book Review - Seven Letters to Heaven

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:45:02 UT

Seven Letters to Heaven tells the personal experience of the author’s relationship with God and her faith, by way of her letters of prayer to Him. In a poignant, simple, and personal way, she shares how her letters were answered, and she encourages others to believe that, through faith, they can expect answers to their prayers.

Book Review: Sprinting into History: Jamaica and the 2008 Olympic Games

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:30:00 UT

Jamaica has long been a global power on the track, having achieved far more medals on a per capita basis than any other country in the Olympics. The impact that the country has made on the global athletic landscape belies its population and geographical size.

Book Review--Turn Your Passion Into Profit

Walt Goodridge — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:45:02 UT

Business author, Walt F.J. Goodridge, shares his PassionProfit Philosophy and Formula to help a worldwide audience of anyone who yearns to escape the rat race, make money doing what they love, and live true to themselves.

Tags: Jamaican in china, turn a hobby into a business, turn your passion into profit, walt goodridge

Book Review - Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:45:00 UT

Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings is a semi-autobiographical motivational book by original Jamaica bobsled team member Devon Harris. In this book Devon has brought together all that he has learned along the way, from his days as a student in Kingston, to his education at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, his life as a Jamaica Army officer, and of course to his experiences at three Olympics which changed his life forever.

Book Review: Forever Young At 50+

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:30:00 UT

A compilation of 100 stories, featuring individuals over the age of 50 who have made great achievements, overcome tremendous adversity, and through it all, still remain forever young.

Book Review: Michael Manley: The Politics of Equality

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:01 UT

Michael Manley was a true internationalist who understood the complex interplay among national, regional and global processes. He readily grasped the fact that the historically determined structures underpinning these relationships played an important role in perpetuating the asymmetric power relations between the developed and developing countries and the need therefore for the adoption of a proactive stance in promoting the interests of the latter.

Book Review: Journey of Perseverance from Jamaica to America

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:45:02 UT

The objective of this book is to inspire others positively in their daily lives, regardless of their circumstances. There are some fascinating revelations that were challenging, humorous and entertaining, and this makes for interesting reading. The book is about the radical adjustments I had to make to the big city lifestyle from my country living in Jamaica.