Showing titles in Caribbean & West Indies

In this compelling, behind-the-scenes account, former top CIA officer and Cuba expert Brian Latell examines the extraordinary Castro brothers and the impending dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother, Raul. Exploring the brothers' remarkable relationship, he reveals how Fidel and Raul have collaborated, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than 46 years, a challenge to the notion that the little-known Raul has been an insignificant player.

The Cuban missile crisis was the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War and the most perilous moment in American history. In this dramatic narrative written especially for students and general listeners, Sheldon M. Stern, longtime historian at the John F. Kennedy Library, enables the listener to follow the often harrowing twists and turns of the crisis.

Gangsterismo is an extraordinary accomplishment, the most comprehensive history yet of the clash of epic forces over several decades in Cuba. It is a chronicle that touches upon deep and ongoing themes in the history of the Americas, and more specifically of the United States government, Cuba before and after the revolution, and the criminal networks known as the Mafia.

In this audiobook, we will explore the man behind the revolution, explore the good and the bad of the man who - despite his lionization - was still a man with all of the foibles and complexities that can plague us all. From his days as a carefree medical student roving the South American countryside to his tenure as the most preeminent revolutionary in the world, the true story of Che Guevara is finally uncovered.

Using breakthrough reporting and interviews with long-silent sources, Gus Russo and Stephen Molton have crafted a dramatic retelling of the time before, during, and after the killing of John F. Kennedy. The book centers on the two opposed sets of brothers - the Kennedys and the Castros - who collectively authored one of modern history's most dangerous, and tragically ironic, chapters.

The Haitian Revolution was a slave rebellion that began in 1791 in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti. On this small island, the tyrants were the slave owners, people who not only denied their slaves freedom, but felt justified in killing them. The Haitian Revolution began to change the way slaves were viewed all over the world.

Unveil the thrilling life of Juan Ponce de León, the fearless Spanish conquistador, whose quest for gold, glory, and the mythical Fountain of Youth shaped the destiny of an entire continent. "Juan Ponce de León: Conquistador, Explorer, and the Shaping of the New World" delves into the gripping narrative of a man whose legacy extends far beyond legend, touching the foundations of modern Puerto Rican and American history.

Vivas en su jardín is the memoir of the only survivor of the Mirabal sisters, killed by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, an event made famous by Julia Álvarez in her book In the Time of the Butterflies. Four sisters (known as the Butterflies) founded a movement defying Trujillo’s dictatorship, and three died for their beliefs. Dedé Mirabal gives readers unparalleled insight into the lives of three modern heroines. (Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.)

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was the most feared pirate of the Golden Age—a towering figure who struck terror into the hearts of sailors from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Most biographies seem to start and stop with that statement, but there was much more to the life of Blackbeard than that, and much more to learn about the man behind history’s most fearsome pirate legend.

Are you interested in Caribbean history? More specifically, in the Arawakan people? One of the indigenous tribes of the Caribbean, the Arawakans are a fascinating study in how culture and social order can be disrupted and wiped out by one historical event - the colonizers’ arrival. This account explores the Arawakan people and their culture in detail, together with an exploration of the events surrounding Christopher Columbus’s arrival and what followed - the Arawakans were forced to change their social institutions and forget. Explore their culture and social institutions:

In Colonizing Paradise, historian Jefferson Dillman charts the broad spectrum of sentiments that British citizens and travelers held regarding their colonial possessions in the West Indies. Because British sentiments in the Caribbean located danger and evil not just in indigenous populations but in Spanish Catholics as well, Dillman’s work begins with the arrival of Spanish explorers and conquistadors. Colonizing Paradise spans the arrival of English ships and continues through the early nineteenth century and the colonial era.

Puerto Rico is more than beaches and postcards, it is a centuries-long experiment in survival, rebellion, and rhythm. From the first Taíno villages to the sugar empires, from Spanish fortresses to American bureaucracy, the island has been conquered, taxed, forgotten, and reborn more times than anyone can count. In Rum, Revolution, and Resilience, Jordan Blake Carter uncorks five hundred years of history with equal parts humor and honesty. The result is a portrait of an island that keeps rebuilding itself, through hurricanes, politics, and colonial hangovers without ever losing its flavor.

"Las Raíces de Honduras: rastreando la historia de una nación" es un relato histórico integral de Honduras, comenzando con los pueblos indígenas y abarcando hasta los tiempos modernos. El libro profundiza en la rica historia precolonial del país, incluida la civilización maya y su impacto en el patrimonio cultural de Honduras. También explora el tumultuoso período de las repúblicas bananeras y las posteriores luchas por la modernización. El libro continúa detallando las transformaciones sociales, económicas y políticas que han ocurrido en la historia reciente de Honduras.

This book explores the reversal of the French colony of Saint-Domingue, from the richest plantation colony in the world (roughly 1700-1791) to the poorest country in the Americas (modern-day). A profitable plantation economy based on coffee and sugar was disastrously abandoned by the new Republic of 1805 in favor of peasant agriculture. The resulting isolation from the world market squandered the rich resources that had made white (and non-white) planters the envy of the colonial world. Where the hand of academic specialists points insistently to Haitian victimhood and powerlessness, ...

Cuba is a nation with a long, rich history. The study of Cuban history is also the study of the development of the New World by Europe, and the first steps taken by New World countries to establish independent governments. Cuba played a significant role in the growth of the New World, and throughout its history has been a part of major world events that have taken place around it. This audiobook is designed to familiarize listeners with a broad overview of Cuban history and the context that made that development possible.

When Jamaica became independent on August 6, 1962, ska music was playing in yards, dancehalls, and in recording studios as this new nation celebrated. It was a spirited music, full of promise, optimism, and energy and it was the perfect sound to showcase to the world. Now that Jamaica was independent, what better way to demonstrate the culture, beauty, and art of Jamaica than through ska, both as a music and as a dance. The Jamaican government, tourist and business industry, and newly developing music industry made it their mission to bring Jamaican music to the world, through events they ...

Following in the tradition of Richard Wright's Black Boy, Joseph Zobel's semi-autobiographical 1950 novel Black Shack Alley chronicles the coming-of-age of José, a young boy grappling with issues of power and identity in colonial Martinique. As José transitions from childhood to young adulthood and from rural plantations to urban Fort-de-France on a quest for upward mobility, he bears witness to and struggles against the various manifestations of white supremacy, both subtle and overt, that will alter the course of his life.  

When we hear of Jamaica or the Caribbean, we think of beautiful islands of paradise with sun, sea and sand, reggae music, cannabis, and "irie" people like Usain Bolt - people who are living out their best dreams, desires, and lives. But this book analyzes this motif, given the historical and current economic and political situation in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the "Global South". In an attempt to escape the adverse realities of poverty, inequality, and injustice, the people of the Global South find themselves in north metropolises with very little agency.

When you hear about one of the biggest scandals in modern home office history, it piques your interest. The Windrush Scandal is an example of the mentality of a bygone era in operation at the top levels of the UK government. Citizens of the British Commonwealth were invited to stay in the UK indefinitely between the end of the 1940s and the start of the 1970s in an attempt to bolster the UK labor market. Many people took up the invitation, upending their lives in an attempt to create a better life in their mother country.

The Story of Las Carpetas plunges readers into the hidden yet pervasive history of Puerto Rico’s surveillance era, a period where the government maintained secret "files" or "carpetas" on thousands of citizens. These files meticulously recorded personal, political, and cultural lives, leading to deep societal rifts and a legacy of fear and mistrust. Alex Alicea brings this dark chapter to life, beginning with a powerful narrative of María Rodriguez opening her file in 1987—a moment that forever altered her understanding of herself and her country.