Caribbean

Fülszöveg

The lush islands of the Caribbean have
always possessed a special allure—as colo-
nial treasures in days gone by, as vacation
retreats today. Told in James A. Michener's
incomparable fashion, here is a magnificent
story of the struggle for empire, and of politi-
cal, economic and racial currents in one of
the most beautiful and hotly contested
regions of the globe.
Beginning with tribal conflicts on the
island of Dominica, Caribbean sweeps on
to tell of the arrival of Columbus and the
establishment of Spanish control and of the
English campaign to wrest power away.
Then on to the great days of the buccaneers,
the rise of the Jamaican sugar plantations,
the bloody slave revolt of 1800 on Haiti, the
eventual freedom from slavery throughout
the islands, and moving up to the problems
of the present day.
Through Mr. Michener's unequaled gifts
of characterization, great historical events
are portrayed with stirring human drama: a
Spanish grandee and the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

The lush islands of the Caribbean have
always possessed a special allure—as colo-
nial treasures in days gone by, as vacation
retreats today. Told in James A. Michener's
incomparable fashion, here is a magnificent
story of the struggle for empire, and of politi-
cal, economic and racial currents in one of
the most beautiful and hotly contested
regions of the globe.
Beginning with tribal conflicts on the
island of Dominica, Caribbean sweeps on
to tell of the arrival of Columbus and the
establishment of Spanish control and of the
English campaign to wrest power away.
Then on to the great days of the buccaneers,
the rise of the Jamaican sugar plantations,
the bloody slave revolt of 1800 on Haiti, the
eventual freedom from slavery throughout
the islands, and moving up to the problems
of the present day.
Through Mr. Michener's unequaled gifts
of characterization, great historical events
are portrayed with stirring human drama: a
Spanish grandee and the indefatigable
English sea dog Sir Francis Drake battle
for decades for the treasures of the New
World; landowners on Barbados are driven
apart by the execution, half a world away, of
King Charles I; the guillotine's long shadow
falls on aristocratic lovers on Guadeloupe; a
Detroit journalist becomes involved in the
crosscurrents of intrigue in the pre-World
War II Caribbean; a British civil servant and
a Rastafarian vie for the heart and mind of a
beautiful islander; a contemporary black
academic, exploring her Haitian roots, steps
into an ancient world where zombies walk;
prominent Miami émigrés return to Cuba on
a secret mission which could destroy them.
Caribbean blends James A. Michener's
superb command of history with his out-
standing talent for storytelling, as fictional
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(continued from front flap)
and historic characters come vividly to life
in a thrilling novel by a master writing at the
peak of his powers.
Universally revered novelist James A.
Michener was forty before he decided on
writing as a career. Prior to that, he had
been an outstanding academic, an editor
and a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander in
the Pacific theater during World War II. His
first book, Tales of the South Pacific, not
only garnered a Pulitzer Prize but also
became the basis of the award-winning
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South
Pacific. In the course of the next forty years
Mr. Michener wrote such monumental
international bestsellers as Sayonara, The
Bridges at Toko-Ri, Hawaii, The Source,
Iberia, The Covenant, Centennial, Chesa-
peake, Space, Texas, Alaska and Journey.
Decorated with America's highest civil-
ian award, the Presidential Medal of Free-
dom, Mr. Michener has served on the
Advisory Council to NASA, holds honorary
doctorates in five fields from thirty leading
universities, and has received an award from
the President's Committee on the Arts and
Humanities for his continuing commitment
to art in America. James A. Michener and
his wife, Mari, divide their time between
Coral Gables, Florida, and Austin, Texas. Vissza