The Peoples of the Caribbean

Since the advent of jet travel and the rise of the cruise ship industry, millions have seen a sanitized version of the Caribbean: Carnival revelry, steel-drum beats, and white sand beaches. In this encyclopedia, Saunders (anthropology, University College, London) attempts to get beneath the veneer to show this modern African-based culture's origin in slavery, from the seven-millennium pre-Columbus history through the brief, cataclysmic destruction of the indigenous people, to the present realities of these tropical islands. Includes extensive reference list. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nicholas J. Saunders is lecturer in material culture and British Academy Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at University College London, London, England.