Book Description
Rough Guide DIRECTIONS Barbados fits neatly in your pocket and is packed with ideas for making the most of your trip to this to this dazzling island. Full-colour throughout, the guide highlights the best the island have to offer - from the eerie rock formations of Harrison’s Cave to cocktails at Sandy Lane - helping you to decide what to do, 24 hours a day. Use the practical ‘Places’ section of the guide to explore the island, every attraction, walk, restaurant, hotel, bar and beach is given a review and organised by geographical area so you always know what''s immediately around you and what''s worth making a special trip to see.
Rough Guide DIRECTIONS Barbados is like having a local friend plan your trip!
Book Description
This handy guide spotlights the best places to eat, drink, play, and stay, with choices for every budget. Comprehensive restaurant and bar reviews cover chic spots on the Platinum Coast along with local favorites, with tips on where to find authentic rum cocktails and the tastiest flying fish. The island’s many outdoor activities, including hiking, golf, sailing, and surfing, are covered in depth.
Customer Reviews:
Historical Account of Irish Slavery in 17th Century.......2007-05-11
The nonfiction book "To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland" by Sean O'Callaghan describes a moment in history that very few know about. In the seventeenth century, Oliver Cromwell (who took over England) encouraged the mass slaughter and enslavement of Irish men, women, and children for various reasons, one being that the Protestant English regarded the Catholic Irish as inhuman and unchristian.
According to O'Callaghan, many Irish priests were hunted down like wolves and Irish soldiers exiled to Spain or France, while rebels and widows alike were forcibly sent to Barbados in the Caribbean as indentured servants or slaves. Over 50,000 people were sent to Barbados to work on the sugar plantations. This book chronicles what happened to them. Beatings, whippings, torture, rape, and humiliation were just some of the terrible indecencies that these people suffered because they were Catholic and Irish.
The book itself is short, well written, and easy to read. The narrative moves from Cromwell's battles in Ireland* to the treatment of the surviving Irish to exportation to the Caribbean and indentured servitude/white slavery to modern-day descendants of the Irish on Barbados. In between, you will get a detailed and informative account of life in the seventeenth century while at war in the UK and as plantation owners and slaves in the Caribbean. There is even a chapter on Irish buccaneers (pirates).
*Please note you may want to look up who Oliver Cromwell was before you read this, as the book jumps straight into the action without too much political/biographical background.
I read this book quickly. It was fascinating, yet horrifying and thoroughly depressing. It is also eye-opening history. I highly recommended it to anyone interested in Caribbean, Irish, or English history, as well as for those interested in the slave trade or religious conflicts.
A history of the Irish as slaves.......2007-01-13
This is an excellent history of slavery imposed upon the Irish by the British government. This history of white slavery is frequently ignored.
The first chapters with detailed histories battles in Ireland are somewhat too complex. However, when the author gets to the story of slavery, the gathering of mostly women and children to serve as slaves in Barbados, the writing is excellent.
English power under Cromwell clearly did not consider the Irish as humans. The captives were treated almost like animals. The imposition of slavery shows well how an ideology of superiority can turn to cruelty, starvation, and oppression. While we tend to think of slavery in terms of racial groups, this work shows that racial groups are defined (socially constructed). To the English, the Irish were a racially inferior group.
Excellent book that covers what the history books omit.......2004-12-10
Being an Irish history buff, one day I had come along an interesting bit of Irish history, about a time period during the slave trade years, where there was a great deal of Irish slaves. Yet, I could only find this information on websites with bibliographies of books that are rare or no longer existant. Yet, I had the fortunate luck of stumbling across this book here on Amazon.com. I must say, it was everything and more than I asked for. Detailed accounts of the invasion of Ireland by Cromwell and his forces, the brutal savagery and overall genocide committed by these men. The detailed accounts of how the slaves were sold on the auction block, how they were looked down upon by even the other slaves, since they were white.
I highly reccommend this book to any Irish history buffs like myself or any students doing a report on Irish history.
It is sad that the average American history book sums up Cromwell's attrocities as "Cromwell treated the Irish very poorly". This book brings to light the extent of the savagery done upon the Irish, and does great justice in explaining the time known as the Irish Holocaust.
Average customer rating:
- A bit of a let down
- winston reed
- Needs more vacation details
- This is the book the Experts Use.
- Completely the BEST Dive Guide!
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The Complete Diving Guide: The Caribbean (Vol. 1) Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Grenada, Tobago, Barbados (Complete Diving Guide)
Colleen Ryan
Manufacturer: Cruising Guide Publications
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Similar Items:
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A Cruising Guide To The Windward Islands: Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Carriacou, Grenada, Barbados
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The Complete Diving Guide: The Caribbean, Volume 3 (Puerto Rico/US Virgin Islands/British Virgin Islands)
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Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands
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Adventure Guide to Grenada, St. Vincent & the Grenadines (Adventure Guides Series) (Adventure Guides Series)
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St Vincent and the Grenadines
ASIN: 0944428428 |
Book Description
The Complete Diving Guides to scuba diving in the Eastern Caribbean, including descriptions of ALL dive sites, dive stores and operators. Island maps show the location of dive sites and stores. Dive sites are illustrated by underwater maps and photographs.
Volume 1 gives you everything you ever need to know about scuba diving on these fantastic Caribbean islands: Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines, Grenada, Tobago & Barbados.
Customer Reviews:
A bit of a let down.......2003-12-19
Earlier dive guides I have used have come from the Globetrotter series - who do not have a guide for Barbados, which is what I was looking for. Coming to the "Complete Diving Guide" after the high standards of Globetrotter is something of a disappointment. There is nothing wrong with the book in terms of the content it is providing - it gives information on the sites, some (though by no means all) dive schools, and a little background on the islands. However, the writing style is very narrative - think "what I did on my diving holiday this summer" type essays. The presentation is also a bit dated. It is not a bad guide by any means, but if Globetrotter do get around to publishing on the area, it is almost certain to be a better bet.
winston reed.......2002-03-07
July 2001 I dove several of the sites reviewed by ms Ryan and Mr Savage
and found their profiles of the dives to be very accurate and
helpful.I hope she and Brian Savage will do a "complete
DG of the Bahamas,I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Needs more vacation details.......2001-03-07
I found this guide pleasant to look through, but not half as helpful as Best Dives of the Caribbean by Hunter Publishing, which gives a lot more detail on the dive sites, places for kids to snorkel, hotels and everything I need to plan a vacation.
This is the book the Experts Use........2001-03-01
It is always interesting to see which books are used by the local Dive Guides at the sharp end and this is how I was first introduced to this particular book just over three years ago in Grenada. Since then I have put it to good use on a number of assignments in the Caribbean and I have yet to find it lacking in any way.
The opening introductory chapter is well written and includes plenty of general information on diving, facilities, climate, sea, regulations, boats, cruise liners, resorts, hotels, flora, fauna, shipwrecks, photography and safety. The book then commences with Dominica in the north and moves southwards to include Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Tobago and Barbados before concluding with a Glossary, Bibliography and Accident and Emergency Information.
The relatively few photographs are all of a good quality - but this is book that concentrates on providing all the relevant and peripheral information that any Scuba Diver will want to know before and during a trip to any of the Caribbean Islands covered. The maps and diagrams are particularly useful - and very easy to follow in situ.
On first sight, however, the book cover lacks impact and might easily be overlooked as the prospective purchaser gets side-tracked by something a little more flashy. Do not be tempted away from this one - it is a straight forward, no nonsense guide containing everything you will want to know.
Altogether, almost 400 pages packed with information - although that does include a small number of one-page advertisements.
In summary, any book claiming to be "A Complete Guide" has to include an awful lot of information. This one has achieved just that and will not disappoint the purchaser.
NM
Completely the BEST Dive Guide!.......2000-07-27
We dive regularly in these areas covered by the Complete Dive Guide Vol 1, a place where information is scarce except for that offered by local operators. We found this guide, especially the Dive Maps and the information on the local Dive shops and their services to be the ABSOLUTE Best available. We recommend everyone who dives these areas grab a copy and keep it close. This guide has given us the ability to dive confidently and know we aren't going to miss anything the area has to offer.
Thanks Brian & Colleen
Book Description
Packed with stunning photographs, easy-to-use maps, and all the information you really need to get the most from your visit! In this compact guide, our writers help you plan itineraries for short and longer stays. Complete with must-see sights on and off the beaten track as well as current hotel and restaurant recommendations. And the convenient size of the guide allows you to take it along in your pocket or handbag. Take the world in your pocket next time and travel with this handy Berlitz guide.
Product Description
With 80 sketch charts this is the most comprehensive guide covering The Windward Islands. The Windward Islands Guide contains GPS waypoints, approaches and routes, anchorages, dive sites, an extensive appendix, photos and a bibliography. As with all of Steve's guides it contains sections on history, marina services, and much more useful info.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Guide-The Real Deal.......2007-06-13
Before purchasing this book, I did a bit of research on the different guides available. One had a lot of advertisements, but was popular. It was more like a Frommers travel book. This one was written by the guy who actually used equipment relied upon by chartmakers for local depth soundings. You could tell by his "local" hints that he really took the time and effort to give you the insider's view. From recomming "Mr.Fantastic" (a local boat vendor who sold us delicious lobster), to recommendations on local restaurants at each of our island stops along the way, this book was fantastic. The black and white pages made it all the more authentic as not being overly commercialized. In each port he gave highly reliable waypoints which I fed into my Garmin GPS, and everything worked like clockwork. His depth soundings in the anchorages were highly reliable as well. Our crew of 6 sailors, all passionate for adventure in the Windward Islands, raved about this book. Other books were aboard, but this one quickly became the one that we relied upon. It was concise and to the point, and we really enjoyed using it. Accolades to Mr. Pavlidis. This is a winner!!
Pretty Good.......2007-01-09
Lots of great info. Unfortunately in Black and White. Good complement to the "Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands".
Book Description
This Barbados travel guide provides valuable information in an easy-to-use format. Pocket-sized and packed with information, it takes travelers from planning to arrival to return home! This guide is full-color throughout with vivid photographs, graphs, charts and maps.
Customer Reviews:
the BEST Barbados handbook.......2007-09-10
the perfect tourguide handbook for Barbados. Almost everything mentioned in it was current, about 90%. Lots of great useful maps, spot on recommendations for tourist sites, restaurants, hotels, etc. Helped us get organized and get the most out of our 4 day trip to Barbados. Top 10 List was fun and helpful, too.
AAA Barbados.......2007-05-19
The book was published in 2001 and republished in 2006 manking you think it was a new book. Amazon does not tell you this. I found it out after I bought the book. Basically to old to use.
Not that great.......2006-06-30
The book is published in England so its difficult to convert in my head from the metric system to the US system.
The atlas is separated onto many pages, making it difficult to figure out what goes with what.
Overall not a good choice if you need US measurements and if you need a good atlas.
not the best book about Barbados.......2006-03-12
Not the best maps- One large map would of been nice. Information on buses to take to locations inaccurate. Could of had more sights listed to see.
Book Description
Plants seldom figure in the grand narratives of war, peace, or even everyday life yet they are often at the center of high intrigue. In the eighteenth century, epic scientific voyages were sponsored by European imperial powers to explore the natural riches of the New World, and uncover the botanical secrets of its people. Bioprospectors brought back medicines, luxuries, and staples for their king and country. Risking their lives to discover exotic plants, these daredevil explorers joined with their sponsors to create a global culture of botany.
But some secrets were unearthed only to be lost again. In this moving account of the abuses of indigenous Caribbean people and African slaves, Schiebinger describes how slave women brewed the "peacock flower" into an abortifacient, to ensure that they would bear no children into oppression. Yet, impeded by trade winds of prevailing opinion, knowledge of West Indian abortifacients never flowed into Europe. A rich history of discovery and loss, Plants and Empire explores the movement, triumph, and extinction of knowledge in the course of encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean populations.
Customer Reviews:
Adds much to Atlantic history.......2005-04-13
Atlantic history is turning into quite the hot topic these days in various academic circles. When I use the phrase "Atlantic history," I'm not referring to mere narratives dealing with navies or trading vessels, but rather the sweeping arc of political, economic, cultural, and social dynamics of the nations and continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is a topic that also deals with slavery, piracy, colonialism, revolution, and the rise of capitalism. Histories in this field tend to look at events spanning three or four centuries, usually the 1600s to the 1900s but often greater swaths of time, and how these events arose from the complex interactions of various peoples. I've read quite a few books in this challenging field, from Marcus Rediker's "The Many-Headed Hydra" to Barry Unsworth's fictional novel "Sacred Hunger" to a series of essays from Philip D. Curtin. All three were enlightening in particular ways, but all three couldn't possibly hope to cover every aspect of such an enormous topic. Well, Rediker comes close. But plenty of work still exists for the keen-eyed historian. Enter Londa Schiebinger and her "Plants and Empire: Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic World." Plants, it seems, moved about as much as people during this time frame.
Who collected plants in the New World and took them back to Europe? Were there specific plants sought by European scientists and, if so, which ones and why? These are only a couple of the many questions the author seeks to answer in this book. According to Schiebinger, to find the answers to these vexing questions involves studying the state of botanical study in the 17th and 18th centuries, the role women played in collecting plants and using the medicine distilled from them, the personalities behind the cataloguing of plants, and the various methods used to disseminate knowledge about the medicinal uses of the plants in question. The book explains that the European nation states considered plants a valuable commodity, so much so that kings and princes underwrote the creation of special botanical gardens employing scientists and dozens of men willing to go out into the field to collect specimens. Plants could provide cures for various afflictions or dyes for clothing that could translate into millions in profit for a particular nation. Moreover, the acquisition of material meant fame and fortune for the botanists involved in their collection. Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern scientific classification, pops up in these pages more than once. So do a few women who went out into the field--primarily a man's domain--to write their own treatises on native flora and fauna.
Schiebinger mentions many useful plants, but focuses on one in particular to show how empire building and imperialism manifested itself in such an innocuous activity as botany. The Peacock flower, which grew widely in the Caribbean and was used by local women as a way to end unwanted pregnancies, caught the eye of European collectors quite early. These men even knew what the plant's function was. So were does empire enter the picture? First, Schiebinger argues that doctors and botanists attempted to hide the true use of the plant back home--a process of purposefully obscuring scientific data the author calls agnotology--so that European women would not use the plant to terminate pregnancies. At the same time, doctors and researchers never hesitated to use this plant and other abortifacients in experiments on slaves in the New World. Thus knowledge, or the control of knowledge by male scientists, was used to regulate female reproduction and assert a form of dominance over the native populations in the Caribbean. Moreover, Schiebinger asserts that slaves and conquered populations used the Peacock flower because they didn't want their children to live in bondage. Pretty heavy stuff, wouldn't you say?
The research in the book is impeccable. The author consulted medical books, botanical collections, memoirs, pharmaceutical pamphlets and catalogues, letters, and other pertinent materials to construct a detailed examination of the importance of botany in European expansion and conquest. "Plants and Empire" is at its strongest when arguing that herbal medicines were enormously important to European economic trade, more important than we would think. The book is at its weakest when trying to convince the reader that scientists tried to hide the knowledge of abortifacients from European females. Yes, it does appear that the particular trait of the Peacock flower didn't pop up all over the place, but it did appear in a few journals and reports. Besides, the Europeans had access to a large number of effective abortifacients that worked just as well, if not better, than the Peacock flower. Some of these medicines were still available well into the 20th century. Moreover, the argument that the disappearance of midwives, with their vast knowledge of such "immoral" materials, would result in a loss of this knowledge amongst the general populace seems unlikely. Knowledge, especially "forbidden" knowledge, is surprisingly resistant to any attempts at restriction.
I enjoyed reading Schiebinger's book despite these problems. She's quite a proficient writer, capable of guiding the reader through the often daunting numbers of Latin plant names with the greatest of ease. Too--and I probably shouldn't say this about an academic whose specialty includes gender studies--she's quite attractive if the photograph on the flap is any indication. I could easily see myself sitting in the front row of her class with endearing messages written on my eyelids. Seriously, students of Atlantic history and others who love metahistory would do well to check out this book. It is a fine contribution to the field.
Book Description
A tantalizing Caribbean memoir--part cookbook, part family history--by "one of the more talented novelists at work in the English language today" (Norman Mailer). Reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate, Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit blends lyrical, evocative writing with engaging descriptions of how to cook the dishes of Austin Clarke's native Barbados. Winner of the 1999 Martin Luther King, Jr., Achievement Award and author of eight highly praised novels and five short-story collections, Clarke is considered one of the preeminent Caribbean writers of our time. Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit describes the way he learned traditional Bajan recipes--food that has its origins in the days of slavery, hardship, and economic grief--by listening to his mother, aunts, and cousins talk about food while they cooked it. From Oxtails with Mushrooms, Smoked Ham Hocks with Lima Beans, and Breadfruit Cou-Cou with Braising Beef, to Clarke's renowned Chicken Austintacious, each dish evokes the vibrant, sun-drenched island of his childhood and is accompanied by stories about the rituals of food and family. The result is not only succulent food, but a unique portrait of growing up in Barbados in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Customer Reviews:
Bajans Shouldn't Read this Book in Public.......2003-09-06
The more acquainted you are with the food rituals of West Indians (and Bajans in particular), the more you should restrain yourself from reading this book in public. You will grin, chuckle and gafaw, and people will stare at you.
Visit beautiful Barbados...........2000-05-10
This delightful book evokes the language and spirit of Barbados. The author weaves in tales of growing up in Barbados with memories of the food, 'hot cuisine', that fashioned his childhood. For anyone who has visited the island, this will surely bring back fond and enticing memories. Read the book, visit Barbados!
Descriptions of preparing dishes, lovingly detailed........2000-04-06
This culinary memoir of the author's childhood in Barbados describes his early introduction to cooking, his involvement with native dishes, and his progress in becoming a cook. Don't look for recipes here; it's more a memoir and biography of Barbados cooking, though descriptions of preparing dishes are lovingly detailed and rival James Beard's American presentations.
Book Description
Kidnapped from Galway, Ireland, as a young girl, shipped to Barbados, and forced to work the land alongside African slaves, Cot Daley's life has been shaped by injustice. In this stunning debut novel, Kate McCafferty re-creates, through Cot's story, the history of the more than fifty thousand Irish who were sold as indentured servants to Caribbean plantation owners during the seventeenth century. As Cot tells her story-the brutal journey to Barbados, the harrowing years of fieldwork on the sugarcane plantations, her marriage to an African slave and rebel leader, and the fate of her children--her testimony reveals an exceptional woman's astonishing life.
Customer Reviews:
Be Aware of Trojan Horses of Arabic Origins.......2007-06-08
As an American of Gaelic descent (Irish/Scots/Welsh), a friend recommended this book to me, and it is from that vantage point that the author ostensibly wrote this novel. The testimony of Cot Daley is a thoroughgoing and riveting story -- a travesty of how the British Empire enslaved untold numbers of Irish and Scotch-Irish during their colonisation of the Americas.
However, when we get towards the end of the story, McCafferty, er, hijacks a peaceful tale to turn it into this pamphlet on how Cot and her black slave husband Quashey start a slave uprising. Fine and well, it reads great and I'd have no problem with it, save this: It is not *just* a slave uprising, but a Jihad (Quashey is Moslem) that McCafferty uses to describe the inspiration of the slaves to revolt.
Something is rotten in Denmark here (aside from riots over cartoons of Mohammed), and it stinks to high heaven. Let's read further: In the afterword to the book, McCafferty waxes eloquent about her dignified treatment she was given during the years she spent in Saudi Arabia, of all places. Hello? Am I missing something here? Women are treated lower than doggy doo there, worse than blacks in the American South during Jim Crow and certainly as bad as Cot Daley was treated in the West Indies during her forced captivity.
Even more: As recommended reading, Marxist nutjob Frantz Fanon is listed.
This is a pro-Jihadist screed posturing as a novel about the plight of Celts centuries ago, pure and simple. It was written to *soften* the reader's assessment of Moslem Jihad and bootleg respectability for violent Jihad into the reader's mind by using a wholly justifiable situation of Irish and African slaves revolting.
How dare Ms. McCafferty use my people's heritage as a cat's paw for an ugly message which ultimately only benefits violent radical terrorists! Shame on her!
Relevant to Today - Profound & Thought Provoking.......2006-04-10
After having conquered Ireland and carried out many massacres, atrocities (also carried out by Catholics on the local Protestant communities) and burning or torturing bishops and priests to death, Oliver Cromwell nominated his fourth son (Henry) as Lieutenant and Govenor General of Ireland.
Between 1652 and 1659 records show between 50 to 80,000 Irish men, women and children were transported to Virginia and Louisina(USA), Barbados, Monserat, Trinidad-Tobagos, Jamaica etc, in the Ethnic Cleansing of the Irish. The real figures were much higher.
These 'God Fearing Christians' could only enslave other 'pagan' humans and hence used the term 'indentured servants' (for mainly Irish, Scots and poor English) all that was available before an adequate supply of African slaves could be found at a later stage. After too many revolts, the Irish sent were mostly women and were coupled with Africans to increase their master's stock of slaves. In the beginning of the 1700's there hundreds of thousands of Afro-Celts ('Black' and 'Redshank/Redleg') who's main language was Gaelic (reared from the breast of their mothers) in many of the West Indies.
This book relates the Story of 'Cait' or Kate Daley kidnapped from Co. Galway at the age of 10 in 1651. Cait (who is no saint in the book) was married to an African rebel leader, Quashey ('Quaco'- a Moslem Coromantee).
Written, as if an eye has been kept for a Movie/TV series (which should be done), in the beginning includes too much detail and doesn't get started until page 60.
The detail was very relevant in the second part of the book (page 60+) and shows the benefit of good research. Through her storey we begin to understand the nature and glimpse the actual conditions for the slaves. You also gain some limited insight into the noble mind of Quashey and other Africans.
Although not a 'page turner' until the second part of the book, I found it very provocative and insightful of the human condition in these circumstances and the general working relationships between humans and between the different races/tribes.
The grinding system, that treated humans as animals or utilitarian livestock - is one that exists in the world to this day. A shame no mention was made to the 'Levellers', although there is a passing reference to that noble community, the 'Quakers'.
Back in Ireland the oppression continued and although people were not allowed wealth they did have a rich inheritance to pass on, one that was not then known to their 'masters' and never conquered.
Every clann had it's traditions and every Irish child had a 'right' to request from a parent or an aunt/uncle to teach them the skills in storey telling, writing, poetry, music, dance, politics and religion. Thus the Irish kitchen became the theatre, auditorium, ballroom, school room and library. Despite over 800 years of harsh rule, and thanks to the strong role of Celtic women in Ireland, even managed, in some places, to keep the language (Gaelic) intact to this day. As the saying in Gaelic goes, 'a Country without a language is a country without a soul'.
It was the theft of her inheritance, fear(as represented by the fear to play tin whistle her mother gave her) and being 'orphaned' that impoverished Cait and made her vulnerable.
In the narrative, Cait's testament (now old and brown but giving her story) is passed onto her 'orphaned' slave daughter (Betty) by somebody else's mixed race offspring. Whatever happened to her other daughter (Moya)?
This book itself acts as a 'testament' to the Afro-Celt/Afro-Irish diaspora who should 'RECLAIM' THEIR INHERITANCE (African & Celt) of their valiant ancestors, to pass onto their children. So that they can make their 'Tin Whistle' play music again. Not to be afraid, else like Cait will only be a beast of burden swallowed up in this life, deprived a direct connection to their children, with only a few material possessions to show. Like Cait, Confused-Isolated-Angry, and end up doing too little too late.
For those looking for some initial historical research see 'To Hell or Barbados-the Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland' by Sean O'Callaghan [Brandon]ISBN:0863222870 'To Hell or Connaught' by P. Ellis ISBN:0856404047, 'Whence the Black Irish of Jamaica' by Joseph Williams [LMac Veagh, Dial Press-1932]ASIN:B0006ALQP2, 'The World Upside Down' by Christopher Hill ISBN:0140137327, 'Quakers in the Cromwellian Army in Ireland' by Kenneth Carmel 1978, 'The English Levellers' by Andrew Sharp[Cambridge University Press]0521625114, 'White Servitude and Black Slavery in Barbados' by Beakles[Knoxville 1989].
Also the famous musician Antoni O'Breskey has produced a CD 'The New Orleans Jig' on this Afro-Celt mix[Ethnic Piano series]. In memory of Kelso Cochrane - Notting Hill, London
[...]
A Masterpiece of Literature Linking Ireland and Barbados.......2005-06-15
Born in London and being of Irish decent myself; also having suffered living in Barbados for almost 10 years, I found this book very readable indeed. I'd truly love to meet the lady that wrote this masterpiece. I don't have any fancy words to add here - just my sincere thanks... thanks very much Kate McCafferty for turning me onto a whole aspect of my heritage I knew nothing about. After this I read "To Hell or Barbados" by Sean O'Callaghan and it's a historical account (not a novel) of the "ethnic cleansing of Ireland" and truly a shocking read. Thank you.
splendid historical fiction.......2005-05-15
I ask three things of historical fiction: an authentic, memorable voice, a vivid sense of place, and a story so well told that I want to learn more about the historical events on which it is based. Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl delivers admirably on all three counts. Cot Quashey's voice and her description of Barbados is so well written that it seemed as if I were sweating in that stifling room with her and Peter Coote, the character who records her spellbinding narrative. And before the day is over, I hope to own a copy of To Hell and Barbados by Sean O'Callaghan, a nonfiction work about Irish slavery in Barbados.
The pace of Testimony reminds me of Cold Mountain, in which the reader walks every step with a soldier painfully making his way back home. Like Inman, Cot Quashey takes the reader on a journey through time and misery at a pace that perfectly matches the geographic setting of her tale. When Coote grows impatient with the ramblings of a dying woman--indeed, is annoyed by the putrefication of her rotting flesh--readers are reminded that stories of slavery are always discomfiting. We wish they had never happened; we long for them to end. But Cot has her way. Coote, and the reader, must hear every beautifully-phrased, horrific word.
I particularly like the deposition device that the author employs. She stretches it to suit her purpose--this is fiction, after all--but it's historically accurate and calls to mind Thomas Gray's actual interview of the enslaved Nat Turner while he was waiting in his cell to be hanged. I also liked the cultural commonalities that the Irish Cot and her African husband discover between them. Quashey is distressed because his enslavement means that "ancestors could no longer guide" him and his people. Cot remembers that she said "many holy charms and tales; but the heart has gone away from them. My saints can no longer find me." Kate McCafferty bravely and imaginatively addresses a subject often ignored by historians who focus solely on the tragedy of Irish-Black relations: as much united these oppressed peoples as separated them.
In "A Conversation with Kate McCafferty" at the end of the book, the author notes, "There's been a recent trend against histories in the genre of a novel. I think it's a kind of postmodern stance . . . " I agree. Shame on postmodern academics who sniff at McCafferty's book while using it in a classroom setting. They would be better off sticking to the dry, lifeless prose written by their colleagues. A writer of historical fiction does not spend years researching and crafting a story so that teachers incapable of writing such a work can then turn it into instructional material. At its best, literature can motivate, inspire, entertain, and change the heart of a reader. Its potential should never be destroyed by using it as a textbook or comparing it to one.
3 Stars For a Great Effort.......2004-06-07
I'm sorry but I couldn't finish this book. I tried really hard but I couldn't keep my eyes open while reading it. I usually like books like this but this one put me to sleep. The topic of this book is a really great idea and if it was written a little differently it could make a fantastic book. Cot seemed like a really strong character that went through a lot of horrible things during her life. I know I'd be upset if I was kidnapped and sold into slavery against my own will! It was a great attempt that didn't quite make it for me personally.
Books:
- The Secret Art of Boabom: Awakening Inner Power Through Defense-Meditation from Ancient Tibet
- The Secret of Overcoming Verbal Abuse: Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster and Regaining Control of Your Life
- The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2007 (Unofficial Guides)
- The Unofficial Guide to London (Unofficial Guides)
- Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone (Top Trails)
- Trail Atlas of Michigan: Nature, Mountain Biking, Hiking Cross Country Skiing (Maps & Atlases)
- Villa Decor: Decidedly French and Italian Style
- Walt Disney World and Orlando for Dummies (For Dummies Series)
- What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It
- When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity during the Last Days of Rome
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First
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- Blood Brothers, exp. ed.
- Brother Odd
- Financial Independence the Smart Way: Investing for Growth, Income, and Retirement
- 360 Degree Feedback : The Powerful New Model for Employee Assessment & Performance Improvement
- All The Stars Came Out That Night
Barbados (Footprint Barbados Pocket Guides)
Berlitz Pocket Guide Barbados (Berlitz Pocket Guides)
Explore Barbados
AAA Essential Guide: Barbados, 3rd Edition (Aaa Essential Barbados)
Insight Map Barbados: Fleximap Plus Travel Information
