I just finished reading Don Noel's "To a Far Sea" and Glasceta Honeyghan's "Father Sleeps with the Mudpies," the first a breezy memoir with lots of Treasure Beach recollections, and the second a daunting tale of poverty and distress only slightly redeemed by the ending. I've always had great Respect for Jamaica and its people, given the struggles for independence, eradicating the detritus of colonialism, and the ongoing struggles against first-world neo-colonialism. If you add to both books ongoing reading of "TB Runnings," you get, particularly for tourists like me, a greater understanding of the complexities of this vibrant, growing, welcoming, and thoroughly enjoyable community.

Try reading any Anthony C Winkler books too to get a feel for the island and it's people. The Lunatic. The Painted Canoe,et al. A great JA author.

I enjoyed many of Winklers's book (The Lunatic, The Duppy, The Great Yacht Race, and The Painted Canoe).

One of the best book I've read is "True History of Paradise" by Margaret Cezair-Thompson (Jamaican author). It is a novel wrapped around historical events in Jamaica).

Another great read by a Jamaican author is Grenwich Town (hope I spelled that right) by Joyce Palmer. (hope I got her name right)

Thank you, Van -- but make that NEAR a Far Sea. Read the first chapter at www.nearafarsea.com