Caribbean

Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.

To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, “Haiti is like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss—first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti’s loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake. As in all of Alvarez’s books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

THE TALES

The stories in THE AMERICAN STORYBAG are a fleeting yet incisive look at American life, primarily on the road, but sometimes on or in the water, and have been collected by Gerald Hausman since 1965. Some of the tales are very brief and may be called "sudden stories". Many of them deal with human survival - an autistic boy lost in a trackless swamp; a young woman who falls in love with a supernatural creature; a young man who finds himself by finding his horse. Some of the tales are mere messages left on a cell phone. Others, like the story "Bimini Blue" tell about a Navajo healing ceremony given to a famous author who committed suicide. There are stories of ghosts, demons, fearsome predators, and wise old men who take the innocent in hand and lead them on the road to wisdom. These are tales of innocence and anguish, fantasy and fable, humor and heart. In them we hear the voices of a lost America - an America of folk heroes fading fast from view and crying out to be heard.


SOME OF THE TALES

A Real Life Goliath…The Horse of the Navajo…Lady Bug Blues…Big Fat Harry Toe…A Tree Frog Named Houdini…Just Like Geronimo…The Ancient Itch…Man Taken Aboard UFO…Pirate Breath…Snail…Rattlesnake Pete, Goiter Healer…Of Lions and Men.


THE REVIEWS

"Not since Mark Twain has a writer presented classic American storytelling so honestly. Hausman is at his best with this collection, truly entertaining."

- Hilary Hemingway, author of "Hemingway in Cuba", on THE AMERICAN STORYBAG


"...it [Tunkashila] is like the wind one hears on the plains, steady, running, full of music."

- N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "House Made of Dawn"


"...an eloquent tribute to the first great storytellers of America."

- The New York Times Book Review on "Tunkashila"


THE AUTHOR

Gerald Hausman, author of over 70 books, has traveled widely in America as a professional storyteller and public speaker. His work in Native American studies has been aired on radio coast-to-coast and cited in The New York Times and many other national and international publications. Mr. Hausman has received 35 awards and honors from the American Folklore Society; Bank Street College; New York Public Library; National Council of Social Studies; Parents Choice; Children's Book Council; Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his books, some of which have been adapted for film, many of which have been used in classrooms around the world. His collection of Native American origin stories, "How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet" has reached over one million readers and his numerous books about Bob Marley, co-authored by Cedella Marley, have been reprinted each year since the 1990s. Mr. Hausman has been called "a native of the world" by teachers and educators in all walks of life.

Welcome to Puerto Rico: endless sand, swashbuckling history lessons and wildly diverse tropical terrain. The sun-washed backyard of the United States is a place locals fittingly call the Island of Enchantment. Nate Cavalieri, Lonely Planet Writer
Our Promise
You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.
Inside This Book
2 expert authors
84 days (and nights) of research
110 stunning beaches explored
53 legendary surf breaks
Inspirational photos
Clear, easy-to-use maps
Pull-out city map
Puerto Rico Outdoors feature
Comprehensive planning tools
Easy-to-read layout

In January 1952, two young men from Buenos Aires set out to explore South America on an ancient Norton motorbike. The journey lasted six months and took them thousands of miles, all the way from Argentina to Venezuela. En route, there was disasters and discoveries, high drama, low comedy, fights, parties and a lot of serious drinking. They met an extraordinary range of people: native indians and copper miners, lepers, police, wanderers and tourists. They became stowaways, firemen and football coaches, and joined in a strike. They sometimes fell in love, and frequently fell off the motorbike. Both of them kept diaries. One of them was a tall and good-looking medical student called Ernest Guevara de la Serna. Using the standard Argentinean nickname, others would sometimes refer to the two companions as Big Che and Little Che. In Ernesto's case, the nickname stuck. Within a decade the whole world would know Che Guevara. This is the story of that remarkable journey, eight years before the Cuban Revolution, in Che's own words, and illustrated with contemporary photographs. For Che, it was a formative experience, and amidst the humour and pathos of the tale, there are examples of his idealism and his solidarity with the poor and the oppressed. But it is far from being the diary of a militant, and sometimes very far from being "political correct", which may be the reason that the manuscript has only been made available now, a quarter century after Che's death in the Bolivian jungle. Instead, it is a record kept by an exuberant, intelligent and observant 23-year-old, describing what might have been the adventure of a lifetime - had his lifetime not turned into a much greater adventure.

Cuba is a continuing education. Just when you think you ve figured it out, it confounds you with another brow-beating riddle. That essentially is its underlying attraction. Brendan Sainsbury, Lonely Planet Writer
Our Promise
You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.
Inside This Book
2 authors
15 weeks of research
300+ beaches
35,000 pre-1959 American cars
Inspirational photos
In-depth background
Havana pull-out map
At-a-glance practical info
Comprehensive planning tools
Easy-to-read layout

In this often hilarious, sometimes shocking, and always insightful book, seasoned travel and guidebook writer Joshua Kinser provides a behind-the-scenes exposé into what it is really like to work as a cruise ship crew member. The perfect book to read on your next cruise, Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Crew Member, goes below the waterline to explore the cramped, dirty and dimly lit crew areas on a revealing tour of the ships underworld. Go where no passenger has gone before and learn what the crew eats, where they sleep, how they party, and finally understand why all of the officers on a cruise ship are Italian. Climb aboard an adventure on the high seas and witness the wonderful side of ship life where crew members have whirlwind escapades while traveling the world aboard a massive sailing city. Drawing from his experiences working as a musician onboard cruise ships for more than five years, Joshua tells the laugh-out-loud funny and also beautifully poignant story of what cruise ship crew members experience from the minute they first step onto a ship to the day they walk down that gangway for the last time.
Joshua Kinser is a writer and musician based in Chimney Rock, North Carolina. His addiction and passion for travel has led him to work at some of the coolest jobs in the world, which apart from working on cruise ships as a drummer include writing guidebooks, exploring National Parks as a backcountry wildlife biology tech, and working as a travel writer for magazines and newspapers.
Joshua is the author of Moon Handbook's guide to the Florida Gulf Coast, 3rd Edition, published in June 2011, and several hiking guidebooks to the southeast including Five Star Trails: Charlotte, NC, Menasha Ridge 2012. He has published over 200 articles online for websites such as Trails.com, Ehow, and USA Today Travel. He has worked as a staff writer for Gannet with the Pensacola News Journal, and has contributed to publications that include Sail Magazine, Bonito and Estero Magazine, and Times of the Islands.
As a backcountry biology tech he has worked in Florida, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Glacier National Park in Montana, and in the National Forest lands surrounding Yosemite National Park in California. He also works as a professional drummer performing with wedding bands and original acts around the southeast United States. Working as a musician aboard cruise ships, and as a travel writer have taken him all over the world including the Caribbean, Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand.

Leaving her native Haiti, young Sophie journeys to New York, where she grows up and marries, always tormented by her Haitian past and other problems, problems that lead her to a Santeria exorcism. A first novel.

Cruise Ship Confidential is a two part book. Part one is a fun read about a cruise aboard the Carnival Destiny Cruise Ship that took us to Key West and the Bahamas with the motto "Cruising on Island Time". No cares no worries.
Part two contains tips to make your cruise the best it can be.

Sample from part one:

As the day progressed, Tracy started to talk about it a little bit. The conversation went something like this.
"I thought you'd be excited."
"I need to lose weight."
"You look great!"
"I need to save money."
"I've got the cruise covered. It includes our food and onboard activities, all we have to do is pay for our drinks and shore excursions."
"We drink a lot."
"I guess I need to save some money too."
She made a good point but how expensive could alcohol be?

Sample from part two:

SECRET DOORS
Here I have listed some tips for finding “Secret Doors.” Although they really aren’t secret, they are not well-known. In most instances, these doors will lead to a forward-facing balcony just below the bridge and is the furthest forward you can go on the ship as a passenger. Not many people know of this balcony so it is a great place to get away from the crowds. If you don’t see your ship listed here, it doesn’t hurt to look.


The book is approximately 23,000 words or roughly 120 pages making it a quick fun read with pictures from our cruise as well as links to cruising websites.