Reviews (7)

Deserves a close reading
I hated this book the first time I read it.The writing is that good - it definitely evokes strong emotions.However, I kept coming back to the ideas in the book, especially her conflicts as an artist and as a dubious and somewhat neurotic 'internacionalista.'So, I read it again a year later....and loved it.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dancer
The person who stressed this is a memoir is on target though I think it is quite well written. As a long time admirer of Guillermoprieto's journalism I found this a fascinating and unfaiingly honest account of her life as a dance teacher in Cuba before she became a writer. IT IS a memoir and the self pity of her young self is conveyed with a brutal honesty--it is the middle-aged writer descibing where she once was and her perspective is a perfect balance of scorn and affection for who she was. If you are looking for a wide ranging view of the revolution, this is not the book you want to read, though you will get a very interesting perspective on life in Cuba in the early 1970s. If you have not read anything by her before, read The Heart That Bleeds and Looking for History (as well as Mark Danner's The Massacre at El Mozote, a story she was responsible, with Ray Bonner at the Times, for breaking in 1982. She is a remarkable writer and this memoir was one of my favorite reads of the last several years.

Different and interesting
Why is it that so many readers, incorrectly, think a memoire is going to teach them something -- in this case about Cuba and Fidel? This is a memoire, folks. You won't get all the facts. You'll get the writer's reactions to the events of her life as they occurred against the background of an historical era or event, not details of what "really happened." If you're looking for history, read a history book.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Cuba - History    5. Description And Travel    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    7. Historical - General    8. Latin America - General    9. Women    10. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (23)

sorry the book ended
This book is written in many short snippets of daily and weekly life in Cuba rather than long chapters.I enjoyed it immensely; this style kept me wondering what was going to happen next with the parade of characters introduced - from household help to visiting friends to political and diplomatic appointees.It also highlighted the beauty of the island while presenting a sad gloom of the reality most of the people live day to day. It made me sad to see the family leave at the end without knowing more of the fate of all the people the author brings to life so intimately for us to care about.

Bleech!
Truly is what it says it is: An American housewife whines about not getting fresh whatever daily from the servants. She could visit the south side of Chicago and whine, sans servants. Her Martha Stewart sensibilities are out of place in a poor country struggling with social issues, quite successfully, I would add, despite North America's stupid blockade.
More than any other book, 'Diaries' puts you in Havana
I read 'Cuba Diaries' by "Isadora Tattlin" (pen name) a month ago and was compelled to write about it today as I look at various stories circulating on the Web about Fidel's broken kneecap (filed under the humorous title 'The Fall of Castro').I loved Tattlin's book and so has everyone else who I've recommended it to.Others may criticize it as being the boring diary of a housewife with not much to say, but I think that misses the point.More than any other book I've read about Cuba, 'Diaries' seems to put you squarely in Havana by showing you the challenges of every day life.Granted, Tattlin and family are not every day Cubans - she's quite frank about her life of (comparative) privilege...but she does give you a true sense of how all Cubans must survive on guile and wit.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Caribbean & West Indies    3. Cuba    4. Description and travel    5. Economic conditions    6. General    7. Social conditions    8. Tattlin, Isadora    9. Travel    10. Travelers    11. Women    12. Travel / General   

Reviews (6)

Great but dated
A highly influential book on vodou in its day and worth buying still as an historical document, but now rather dated in terms of information. A good book to accompany this would be Vodou Shaman by Ross Heaven, which brings the whole subject area truly up to date.

Really entertaining !!
The writing of Zora Neale Hurston is fine. The content of the book is, in his second part, is a "first hand" experience of what voodoo was in 1930. This is therefore a classical and valuable source of knowledge. Interesting enough, Zora Neale Hurston took probably part at various voodoo initiations, and we would have been interested to know more about her experiences, feelings, philosophical and religious insights. Unfortunately for us, she respected the "secret de l'arcane" which characterizes most of the so called esoteric societies. There is also hope for Ha�ti in this book, but it demonstrates also the power of USA to bring some kind of mismatch in the political affairs and economic life of a poor and very small country. Abobo!

Engaging reading, fantastic stories
Reading this book is like travelling along with Ms. Neale Hurston as she explores life in Haiti.You will meet fanscinating and intriguing people.The practices and beliefs are explained in just enough detail to make you feel like you were there, but all the mystery is retained as even the author is unable to explain or understand the depth of experience and strength of beliefs held by the native Haitians.Finding non-fiction that reads like a novel is a rare and wonderful treasure. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Cultural And Social Anthropology    4. Description and travel    5. Ethnic & Tribal    6. General    7. Haiti    8. Jamaica    9. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    10. Social life and customs    11. Voodooism    12. Fiction / Literary   

Editorial Review

Covering tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda, this field guide by C. Lavett Smith (curator emeritus, Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History in New York) sets the tropical-fish standard. There are 417 truly magnificent color photographs evincing the glories of the coral reefs and full-text descriptions for more than 400 species, each with its own range map. In addition, the guide includes maps of the regions, more than 100 fish anatomy illustrations, and close to 800 more brief species descriptions. Easy to use and understand, lightweight, and sturdily constructed for travel, the field guide is a great boon for one's snorkeling or scuba-diving vacations. Read more

Reviews (8)

disappointing
Although there are many fishes accounted for, it has quite a few that are missing, and it would be helpful if more showed pictures of the difference between adult and juveniles.

OK, But Paul Humann's Book is Much Better
A few years ago, I bought the Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes and found when I tried to use it in the Florida Keys that there were many fish I couldn't identify. People recommended I buy Paul Humann's book, "Reef Fish Identification."The book is more expensive, but I found it to be far more comprehensive and user friendly. For example, many fish look entirely different when in their "juvenile," "initial" or "terminal" phase, and the "Reef Fish Identification" book has clear photos of each of the three stages shown beside each other, and frequently includes photos of alternate color phases as well.The Audubon book usually just shows a picture of the fish in just one phase, and often not a terribly good photo at that. Next to each photo in the Humann book is an excellent line drawing of the fish, highlighting and labeling which features of a fish are most dependable for identification. The Audubon book includes no such diagrams to aid identification. Finally, the Humann book is based upon both an extensive bibliography and collaboration with field biologists, and if the detailed descriptions in his book of definitive features for discriminating species of fish are correct (and experienced scuba divers tell me they are correct) then some of the pictures in the Audubon guide are actually even misidentified as to species. For example, the Audubon picture labeled as a "Leopard Goby" is almost certainly a picture of an "Orange-sided Goby" (if the Humann book is correct about dark lines outlining the orange rectangles being areliable discriminating feature). If there were no other reef fish identification book available, I would have given the Audubon book more stars, I am usually a great fan of the Audubon Field Guide series, but in comparison with the Humann book it just doesn't rate very well. I should add that I have never met, nor have any private or professional association with, the author of either of these books, so my opinion is not biased by any such affiliation.
Necessary installment.
The Audubon Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes is used for identifying brightly colored fish that are most likely to found in the open ocean or on reefs. This guide is different from its predecessor, "Audubon Guide to Fishes" in many ways. First off, the range is quite different, containing a wider variety of fish. This book also takes up where "Fishes" left off. There were so many species to cover that there needed to be more explanation in a second book, "Tropical Marine Fishes". Read more

Subjects:  1. Atlantic Ocean    2. Fish    3. Fishes    4. Ichthyology    5. Identification    6. Marine fishes    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Reference - General    10. Travel    11. Tropics    12. Fishes (ichthyology)    13. Nature / Fish    14. Reference works    15. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Reviews (4)

This is the true IDIOTS guide
I'm not one for drafting copy in these review tabs but I had to tell my tale on this book. Give me my money back please. This book is so base and embarassingly retarded. It covers the basics of traveling to a degree that will bore even the first time traveler to death. I have to believe that there is another publication in the world on the BVI that has a true beat on the local vibe. Some suggestions on great things to do... first one is "float." Yes, float. Gee I would have never thought to do that on an island. When you're done with that "watch the planes land." I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Save your money on this one folks. Unless you want a good laugh or are tutoring an elementary school student.

A must-have for a trip to the BVI
We took this book with us on our recent trip to Virgin Gorda in the BVI, and we were amazed at how accurate the information was. We went to many places on Virgin Gorda recommended in Acheson's book and were thrilled that her reviews were so on-target. Would highly recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to the British Virgin Islands, and especially to Virgin Gorda.

The Best of the BVI
Pamela Acheson gives many, many helpful comments on each island in the BVI. She describes all of the beaches, many restaurants and bars, and offers many helpful hints. We relied heavily on her book for our recentvisit to Tortola and were not disappointed. She is right on with all of hercomments, such as Jost Van Dyke is a really great day trip, how to greetand deal with the locals, Tortola's amazing roads, her suggested adventureto Smuggler's Cove (with complete directions and what to expect), and herevaluation of many restaurants including Brandywine Bay, Sugar Mill, RotiPalace, an unnamed local fish fry, and especially a lovely Italian cafenamed Capriccio di Mare (all very good). Her suggestions such as to take atleast one nautical adventure, take in the view from Sky World, watch outfor a particular mule, etc., were all helpful and accurate. Ferryschedules, banking, the best water taxis, etc. were all very useful. As iswritten on the book jacket, we found it to be an indispensable, friendly,fun-to-use guide for anyone visiting the BVI. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel & holiday guides    5. Virgin Islands   

Reviews (1)

Puerto Rico Island in the Sun
This is an excellent book from Puerto Rico. It will help you if would like to share with others how beautiful is our island or if you live far away from PR and like to remeber and see beautiful images of PR.It offers a great variety of images from Old San Juan to Cabo Rojo's lighthouse.
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Description and travel    3. Photography    4. Photography / Travel    5. Puerto Rico    6. Travel    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    8. Views    9. Pictorial works   

Subjects:  1. Aruba    2. Bonaire    3. Caribbean & West Indies    4. Guidebooks    5. Scuba & Snorkeling    6. Scuba diving    7. Skin diving    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. United States - General    5. Caribbean islands    6. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    8. Travel / General    9. Travel-United States - General    10. USA   

Reviews (3)

The Fun of Snorkeling
This book is a must for anyone who enjoys water activities. It is a terrific book for beginners and also for those who are advanced in snorkeling.

Divers Delight
I love this guide. My dive vacations are strickly to take underwater photos and being able to plan ahead makes my life so much easier. It gives me the airlines, the resorts with prices, when I can expect good weather. It's like having a personal travel planner.I would not plan a Caribbean dive trip without consulting this trustworthy book.

Best snorkeling guide around
While most travel guides give vague descriptions about snorkeling or send me to places with nothing to see, Best Dives Snorkeling Adventures gives complete vacation planning details with maps and directions to terrific places in each destination to snorkel off the beach, sign up for a boat trip. IT COVERS all the best Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda snorkeling sites, the dive shops that will take you on boat tours and resorts that are especially dive-friendly. Great for families, novice and experienced divers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. North America    3. Scuba & Snorkeling    4. Sports    5. Sports & Recreation    6. United States - Pacific - Hawaii   

Reviews (4)

If you're diving the BVI This is the book to have!
Jim and Odile Scheiner have been photographing and diving the BVI since long before any Bush's were in the white house. Their diving expertise and professionaly crafted photgraphs will guide you to some of the best diving in this area. Don't travel to the BVI without this book if you're planning any diving! It's that good.

Essential resource
If you're planning a bareboat charter in the British Virgin Islands and would like to head off to dive sites on your own then this is the book you need.The book contains dive site locations, mooring locations, skill requirements, weather considerations, site layouts, suggested underwater routes, and dive descriptions. We arrived in the Virgin Islands with a bag of dive books and this is the one that we used over and over again!

Diving at BVI
If you want a realy good book for diving at the BVI then take this one. I got all of my informations out of this book and all dives where fine. The only thing i missed was a map with stations for tank refill. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Scuba & Snorkeling    3. Sports    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Winter Sports    7. Sports & Recreation / Water Sports   

Reviews (2)

A Comprehensive and Beautiful Publication!
Do you ever experience that feeling of "goosebumps" running up and down your body when something - an emotion, a work of art, a courageous act - deeply moves you? That is how I felt when Julia & Phil Davies showed me a preview copy of their new book, Turks and Caicos Islands - Beautiful by Nature. I had previously been given the opportunity to read the copy, which itself is an awesome compilation of facts and information about the natural history and heritage of these Islands. However, the combination of the well-researched text, Phil's spectacular photography and Julia's meticulous drawings of selected species tremendously impressed me. Finally, in one comprehensive and beautiful publication, TCI-philes will be able to learn all about the country's magical wonders and how they came to be. The First Major Publication to focus exclusively on the TCI
If you live in the Islands, you've probably already seen a copy of Phil and Julia's beautiful book, and l hope you've already bought a copy or two. For those who have not seen it yet, I urge you to search it out. Except for Bertie Sadler's historical survey of our country, Turks Island Landfall, this book is the first major publishing effort that focuses on the Turks & Caicos Islands exclusively.Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Caribbean & West Indies - General    3. Nature    4. Nature/Ecology    5. Reference    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Places & peoples: general interest    8. Plant life: general    9. Turks & Caicos Islands    10. Wild animals   

Reviews (4)

Great Read!!
I thought this was a great insight into a time in our country when many things were undiscovered. Living in the south myself, it was great to hear about Bonaventure and descriptions of the people John Muir came across in his travels. If you want a sense of what nature and the southern way of life used to be like, this is the book for you.

A Nineteenth-century Glimpse of America's Natural Heritage
Shortly after the American Civil War, John Muir, a 29-year-old budding naturalist, set out on an epic journey across the eastern United States. Starting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 2, 1867, he walked southward through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, where he was delayed in Savannah. After crossing through Florida he finally reached the Gulf, but, unfortunately, his desire to continue on toward South America was hindered by an illness. Not fully recovered, he eventually made for Cuba, but went no further. Muir returned home only to set out for California a short while later.During his journey, he kept a journal in which he recorded his experiences and observations of the flora and fauna he came across. This journal, along with an article written in 1872 and a letter that he wrote while in California, constitute A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, which was originally published in 1916, two years following Muir's death. Although there are a few instances when the author reveals himself to be a man of his times, his observations of a natural world which in many instances have long since been destroyed, are priceless.

A view across time....
As the human population expands the natural world around us disappears. This is a fact we mostly ignore as we go about our daily life.One day, you wake up, and discover that within your own lifetime things have been permanently altered. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1838-1914    2. Biography    3. Cuba    4. Essays    5. Muir, John,    6. Natural History    7. Naturalists    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. North America    11. Southern States    12. Travel    13. United States    14. United States - South - East South Central (General)    15. Wildlife    16. Classic travel writing    17. Nature / Wildlife    18. The Environment    19. USA   

Reviews (6)

not helpful at all as a guidebook
In general, I like to avoid touristy spots, and bought this book in the hope that it would recommend places to visit.The format of this book is like a long essay, which makes it difficult to read, and not very useful as a guidebook.It goes something like: "if you take this street, first you'll pass this restaurant, which some people like for the chicken, and then this museum, etc" without giving definitive recommendations and must-sees for the tourist with limited time.I'm glad that my boyfriend brought a Fodor's, which was pretty comprehensive.But the best part of our trip was at an ecolodge that was very much off the beaten path (45 min on a narrow dirt road, up into the El Yunque rainforest), which I found by doing good old web research (search "elena el yunque").

Great Motivation to Explore More
Noticing this book was a recent guide to Puerto Rico written by a woman, my wife insisted on buying it. We both enjoyed reading it for its combination of listings and colorful background notes. It makes you realize there is an island and culture worth exploring. We liked the descriptions that helped us better understand the way of life and why things are what they are. We decided to stay at smaller hotels where we heard Spanish and could eat local food. It let us appreciate what a fascinating and friendly place the island is.This book really did encourage us to get "off the beaten path."

Pretty good book, but not all that unique
The most helpful thing about this book was the lists of places to stay at the end of every region-discussion.Other than that, "Explore Puerto Rico, 5th Edition" had almost all the same sites & activities listed.For the sake of traveling lightly, we ended up not even bringing "Off the Beaten Path" with us, relying instead on "Explore Puerto Rico" (which has its own issues, see my review on that page for details). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Europe - Switzerland    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Switzerland   

Subjects:  1. Boats and boating    2. General    3. Guidebooks    4. Nautical charts    5. Reference - Cruise Guides    6. Reference - Guides (General)    7. Sailing - Navigation    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Travel    10. Windward Islands   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Antigua & Barbuda    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Reviews (1)

Stephen P Has Been There and Done It
I have cruised the Bahamas aboard all kinds of small boats for over 30 years, and I wouldn't go without Stephen P's books. There have been many Bahamas cruising guides written but many fall far short of the complete story.Read more

Subjects:  1. Abaco    2. Bahamas    3. Boats and boating    4. Caribbean & West Indies    5. Grand Bahama    6. Pilot guides    7. Reference - General    8. Sailing - Navigation    9. Ships & Shipbuilding - Engineering    10. Travel    11. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (1)

The Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands
This book is an excellent guide to cruising the Leeward Islands.It has detailed information about the islands, activites to do, sailing tips, and where to get equipment and supplies.It is incredibly thorough and well put together. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Maps    3. Reference - Cruise Guides    4. Travel - General    5. Navigation    6. Sailing    7. Travel & holiday guides    8. West Indies    9. c 1990 to c 2000   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Cuba    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Aruba    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Caribbean Area    3. Guidebooks    4. Ships & Shipbuilding - Engineering    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Yachting