From Library Journal
Offered as a brief history of a diverse and intriguing region, this work is a veritable sourcebook of information about the Caribbean, ranging from the climate to vegetation to colonial history to politics. The book, in five parts, covers Spanish rule, the northern European influence, the sugar empire, independence, and post-World War I development. Textual clarity, access to straightforward tables covering primarily demographic information, and various statistics will prove useful to the reader looking for a ready reference source. The author delivers on his claim to provide analysis as well as description, and the general reader will find many interesting interpretations and much data. Highly recommended for all libraries.- Roderic A. Camp, Latin American Ctr., Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
A nicely written--accessible but non-condescending--descriptive and analytical history. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Book Description
The first complete history of the Caribbean islands--updated through the year 2000.This comprehensive volume takes the reader and student through more than five hundred years of Caribbean history, beginning with Columbus's arrival in the Bahamas in 1492. A Brief History of the Caribbean traces the people and events that have marked this constantly shifting region, encompassing everything from economic booms and busts to epidemics, wars, and revolutions, and bringing to life such important figures as Sir Francis Drake, Blackbeard, Toussaint Louverture, Fidel Castro, the Duvaliers, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This superbly written history, revised and updated, with new chapters that reflect the islands' most recent social, economic, and political developments, is a work of impeccable scholarship. Featuring maps, charts, tables, and photographs, it remains the ideal guide to the region and its people."A veritable sourcebook of information . . . analysis, description, interpretation . . . interesting and useful."--Library Journal


About the Author
A freelance writer specializing in historical and technical subjects, Jan Rogozinski holds a Ph.D. in social and cultural history from Princeton University.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Since Columbus landed in the Bahamas 500 years ago, the history of the Caribbean has been marked by European domination and the ongoing struggle of both native and immigrant islanders for political and economic autonomy. Over the centuries, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Britain, and the United States have vied for sovereignty over the islands and their rich resources, and all have left their indelible mark on the peoples and cultures they touched. Taking this heritage into account, and beginning with the first known Caribbean islanders - the Arawak and the Carib - A Brief History of the Caribbean traces the complex and ever-changing course of events in the region, with in-depth coverage of the social, economic, and political factors that have shaped its history.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Offered as a brief history of a diverse and intriguing region, this work is a veritable sourcebook of information about the Caribbean, ranging from the climate to vegetation to colonial history to politics. The book, in five parts, covers Spanish rule, the northern European influence, the sugar empire, independence, and post-World War I development. Textual clarity, access to straightforward tables covering primarily demographic information, and various statistics will prove useful to the reader looking for a ready reference source. The author delivers on his claim to provide analysis as well as description, and the general reader will find many interesting interpretations and much data. Highly recommended for all libraries.-- Roderic A. Camp, Latin American Ctr., Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La.

Booknews