Amphibians and Reptiles of La Selva, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean Slope  •  Craig Guyer  •  Maureen A. Donnelly FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 420 PAGES This comprehensive guide, intended for the field, covers all the frogs, lizards, snakes, and other reptiles and amphibians of the Caribbean slope. (CRB177, $24.95)
The Angel on the Roof  •  Russell Banks LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 505 PAGES A group of 32 short stories written by Russell Banks, the award winning author of "Affliction," "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Continental Drift." Collected over the last 30 years, and containing 9 newly published pieces, many of the stories are set in small town New England, where Banks was raised. The stories, which can be painful and somber, are served up with Banks' signature dignity. (USE103, $15.95)
At the Bottom of the River  •  Jamaica Kincaid LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 82 PAGES Originally published in the "New Yorker," this wonderful collection of ten short stories captures the rhythms of work and play in the Caribbean. In this short book, Kincaid (re)captures the essence of her childhood in Antigua, transporting you to the tropics. (CRB19, $12.00)
Caribbean  •  James Michener LITERATURE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 811 PAGES The sweeping, compulsively readable Michener saga of the Caribbean islands, chock full of historical detail. (CRB82, $7.99)
Caribbean Art  •  Veerle Poupeye ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A survey of art found throughout the Caribbean and created by artists of Caribbean descent, highlighting the multitude of influences from Africa, Europe, Asia and South America. Organized thematically, the book features 177 illustrations (76 in color). A volume in the "World of Art" series, it includes the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sonia Boyce, Wifredo Lam and many other artists. (CRB76, $14.95)
The Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises  •  Linda Coffman GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 600 PAGES (CRB186, $22.95)
Coral Reef Fishes  •  Ewald Lieske  •  Robert Myers FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A convenient handbook to shallow-water fishes associated with coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, compact and comprehensive. With 2,500 illustrations covering 2,100 species worldwide. (DIV05, $24.95)
Don't Stop the Carnival  •  Herman Wouk LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 395 PAGES For a sense of life in the Caribbean, we recommend this novel, a great rollicking comic masterpiece. It tells the tale of Norman Paperman, an expatriate American approaching middle age who sets out to run a hotel on the Caribbean island of Amerigo. The island itself may be fictional but the atmosphere is authentic, derived, in part, from the author's experience. We were thrilled to dig out our sandy, dog-eared copy that dates from a brief stint in the Caribbean twenty years ago. First published in 1965, this book is a gem. (CRB18, $15.95)
Down Time, Great Writers on Diving  •  Ed Kittrell  •  Casey Kittrell  •  Jim Kittrell ANTHOLOGY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 262 PAGES A diverse anthology on the experience, pleasures and peril of diving by great writers, including William Beebe, Robert Stone, Diane Ackerman, Tim Cahill, and Adrienne Rich. It's a thoughtful, literary collection that communicates the rewards of being underwater. (DIV40, $15.95)
Eastern Caribbean Cruise Tour Guide  •  Coastal Cruise Tour Guides 2000 •  MAP A handy guide and booklet that unfolds to a six-foot-long full color map. Designed for the ship-based traveler, it features historical background, visitor attractions and maps of all the islands from Puerto Rico to Trinidad. (CRB135, $15.95)
Eastern Caribbean in Focus, A Guide to People, Politics and Culture  •  James Ferguson GUIDEBOOK •  1997 •  PAPER  • 88 PAGES The history of the eastern Caribbean, its cultural heritage and current political, environmental and economic challenges. With maps, photographs and some travel information. It's an excellent synopsis from an unabashedly left-leaning perspective, strong on facts. (CRB37, $12.95)
Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call  •  Christina Colon GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A comprehensive guide to Caribbean ports of call, including street maps and an abundance of practical information for the Cruise traveler. A great book to have in hand as you cruise the Caribbean. (CRB27, $17.99)
A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands  •  Herbert Raffaele FIELD GUIDE •  1989 •  PAPER  • 220 PAGES A compact field guide to the birds of the Virgin Islands, with 25 handsome color plates, including winter visitors. The book also includes a good introduction to the natural history of the birds of the region. (CRB17, $32.95)
A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago  •  Richard Ffrench FIELD GUIDE •  1991 •  PAPER  • 426 PAGES A specialized, comprehensive guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago with handsome color illustrations and nine additional full-page portraits of trogons, motmots, tanagers and other showy birds of the islands. The guide covers 433 species and includes introductory chapters on biogeography, climate, vegetation and conservation. (CRB16, $39.95)
A Guide to the Coral Reefs of the Caribbean  •  Mark D. Spalding  •  Sylvia Earle FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  PAPER A diver's guide and atlas of coral reefs of the Caribbean, with color photographs, detailed maps and an overview of each island reef system. Organized geographcially, it also includes chapeters on Mexico and Central America and South America. (CRB176, $25.95)
Insight Guide Caribbean: The Lesser Antilles  •  David Schwabeder GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 406 PAGES This handsome travel guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of the region, featuring concise essays by well regarded authors on natural history, politics and culture, as well as hundreds of photos and maps and some limited practical information. (CRB02, $24.95)
Lesser Antilles Map  •  Nelles 2007 •  MAP A nice shaded relief map of the Lesser Antilles (the eastern part of the Caribbean), including the Venezuelan coast, at a scale of 1:2,500,000, with more detailed maps of every important island from St. Thomas to Trinidad on the reverse side. Fine for both regional overview and island detail. It includes inset maps of the Virgin Islands, Anegada, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Anguilla & St. Martin, St. Barts, Saba, St. Eustatius, the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, St. Vincent, Barbuda, Antigua, Saint Lucia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, La Desirade, Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, Haiti & the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. (CRB05, $10.95)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes: Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas and Bermu  •  C. Lavett Smith FIELD GUIDE •  1997 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 720 PAGES A photographic guide to coral reef fishes found in the Caribbean, Florida, the Bahamas and Bermuda. This portable, pocket-size book features 417 excellent color photographs, each with a range map and description. Species are grouped according to taxonomy and shape. (FG24, $19.95)
Peterson Guide Coral Reefs, Caribbean and Florida  •  Susan Kaplan  •  Eugene Kaplan FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 289 PAGES A volume in the Peterson Field Guide series, this compact guide features 500 species of fish, sponges, coral, mollusks, shrimps, and other reef inhabitants. With 400 illustrations, mostly line-drawings, a 32-page color insert and overview of the ecology and distribution of Caribbean coral reefs. (CRB54, $21.00)
The Rough Guide to Jamaica  •  Adam Vaitilingam  •  Polly Thomas GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 503 PAGES A comprehensive guide in the lively, literate and very infomative Rough Guide style. (CRB220, $19.99)
Shanties from the Seven Seas  •  Stan Hugill MUSIC •  1994 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES An eclectic collection of traditional songs published by the Mystic Seaport Museum. The Caribbean, in particular, has a long history of pirates, buccaneers and whaling that is reflected in these sailors' songs. Traditionally sung while hauling the sails, the shanties helped to keep up the spirit and coordinate team work. (CRB13, $19.95)
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies  •  Bartolome de las Casas  •  Nigel Griffin HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 143 PAGES A Dominican friar, Las Casas wrote this account in 1542 after witnessing the devastation wrought by Columbus and those who came after him. It is full of graphic violence, an appeal to the conscience of the Spanish monarchy to end the massacre of a people in the name of Christianity and the quest for gold. A spirited classic of human rights literature and the definitive refutation of those who would romanticize the conquest. (CRB44, $13.00)
A Small Place  •  Jamaica Kincaid CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2000 •  PAPER  • 81 PAGES • FAVORITE A stunning achievement, this book by Antigua-born Kincaid meditates on the politics, history and culture of the island. She exposes the poverty, corruption and startling beauty of the Caribbean in this book -- a thought-provoking antidote to the usual fun-in-the-sun approach of the local tourist office. Essential reading for anyone interested in the Caribbean and tourism. (CRB03, $12.00)
Sunken Cities, Sacred Cenotes and Golden Sharks: Travels of a Water-Bound Adventurer  •  Bill Belleville EXPLORATION •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 248 PAGES (CRB184, $29.95)
Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola  •  Michele Wucker HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES An engaging social history of Hispaniola. Constantly at each other throats in a confined space on the one hand (and egged on by their powerful neighbor to the north), Haiti and the Dominican Republic are divided by history, race and class. They also share deep cultural traditions including the cockfight itself. (CRB46, $16.00)
Wide Sargasso Sea  •  Jean Rhys LITERATURE •  1982 •  PAPER  • 189 PAGES A sensation when it was published in 1966, this short novel by Dominica-born Jean Rhys is steamy -- both in its lush, tropical setting and goings-on among the characters. It is strong on atmosphere, well paced and a good look at the tension between white Creole society and the emerging identity of the recently independent West Indies. The book imagines the encounter between Edward Rochester and his mad wife -- a sort of prequel to Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." (CRB21, $13.95)
The Windward Road, Adventures of A Naturalist on Remote Caribbean Shores  •  Archie Carr NATURAL HISTORY •  1979 •  PAPER  • 266 PAGES Originally published in 1956, this book is a delightful record of people and islands. Nominally the story of his adventures in search of sea turtles, the book ranges over wide territory, including Tobago and Costa Rica. (CRB08, $16.95)