CARIBBEAN.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,wrap-around colour pictorial artwork by Alan Baker,illustrated dw/dj with gilt and b/w lettering to front and spine/backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Both head+ foot of spine/backstrip of dw/dj with ubiquitous but minimal bumping and reciprocal creasing,some minimal,superficial indents - without penetration and without affecting the boards beneath - to both panels of dw/dj.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip,and immaculate colour illustrated regional map (of the Caribbean) endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn, xpp+4-672pp [paginated] includes Fact+fiction page,XVI (16) chapters,further reading; plus [unpaginated] blank,half-title+title pages,a dedication,contents list/ table,title separator page,to the rear - the Setting (Island list with elevant facts - i.e size, population etc.)
The lush islands of the Caribbean have always possessed a special allure - as colonial treasures in days gone by,as a tourist paradise today. Told in James A. Michener's incomparable fashion,here is a magnificent story of the struggle for empire,and of political,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 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 (then 1989).
Through Mr Michener's unequalled gifts of characterisation,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; and an American 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 emigres return to Cuba on a secret mission . . . . 'Caribbean' blends James A, Michener's superb command of history with his outstanding talent for storytelling,as fictional and historic characters come vividly to life in a thrilling novel by a master writing at the peak of his powers. Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight /value of this item for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.
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