A heartfelt Caribbean journey . . . through the places, literature and music of the region to beautifully illuminate the histories of people and continents . . . Terrific
* Observer *
Delves into the brutal history and unique allure of the Caribbean . . . <i>Island People</i>, written by a careful and compassionate author, is a worthy travel and history book, a fresh study
* Guardian *
A travelogue of love and scholarship . . . does the region splendid justice
* New York Times *
A pleasingly broad study of the Caribbean and its vital, indecipherable blend of peoples
* Financial Times *
Allows the Caribbean to stand on its own and shine . . . A celebration of culture, music and literature . . . shows the magic of the people of the Caribbean . . . infused with passion, love and vibrancy
- Sharmaine Lovegrove, * Monocle Arts Review *
A creative hybrid of travel writing and in-depth reportage . . . Its balance of skepticism and enthusiasm is driven by both wide knowledge and a bracing sympathy for the oppressed . . . He has a journalist's flair for interviews and is as deft with chance encounters as with pop idols. Above all he finds dignity as well as excitement in this beautiful archipelago
- Colin Thubron, * New York Review of Books *
This book illuminates, like no other I've read, the startling history and the complex present of the nations of the Caribbean. Written with passion and joyful music in the prose, <i>Island People</i> will become an indispensable companion for anybody travelling to the Caribbean - or dreaming of doing so
- SUKETU MEHTA,
Many have tried this before - to get hold of, in its entirety, the volatile, beautiful, relentlessly shifting Caribbean. Nobody has succeeded as dazzlingly as Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
- MARLON JAMES,
One of those rare writers who bridges worlds - between deep scholarship and lively and accessible writing, between islands and mainlands, between big ideas and precise details, between history and possibility
- REBECCA SOLNIT,
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro possesses both a humanist's irrepressible empathy and a journalist's necessary skepticism. He reports carefully, researches exhaustively, cares deeply, and writes beautifully
- DAVE EGGERS,
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro's grand book on the Caribbean is so striking in form and vision that it amounts to something new - a constant surprise . . . An important book filled with many truths
- HILTON ALS,
A marvel of a book . . . Joshua Jelly-Schapiro is a superb young writer who brings to this sea of dreams a scholar's authority, a novelist's way with character, and a top reporter's talent for stumbling into exactly that tale, however improbable and fantastic, that most needs telling
- MARK DANNER,
Sensitive to the power of place to anchor or disturb identity, Josh Jelly-Schapiro maps the Caribbean through its myth and its music, its history and its intellectual tradition. Erudite, reflective and savvy, <i>Island People </i>is as much a pleasure to read as it is an education
- GAIUTRA BAHADUR,