Gad Heuman's short study of Caribbean history and culture from the Columbian conquest to the present day is easily the best brief introduction to this fascinating region. This new second edition is most welcome. It adds significant new sections on indigenous Caribbean societies and on culture and politics in the modern Caribbean as well as astute updates on traditional topics like plantation, slavery and decolonization. Highly recommended. -- Trevor Burnard, Professor of History and Head of School, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, Australia
Gad Heuman has managed to compress the varied and often tortured history of the Caribbean into a taut and engaging single volume. It is a story which confidently ranges from indigenous settlement, through slavery and colonial independence, to the present-day cultures of the region. The Caribbean is a major achievement: a book which has grand narrative sweep, mastery of complex evidence and offers a bold confrontation with painful human evidence. Any reader keen to know about the historical- and contemporary Caribbean, should start with this important book. -- James Walvin, Professor of History Emeritus, University of York, UK
A clearly written introduction to the study of Caribbean history that updates and incorporates judicious revisions to the 2006 edition. This eminently accessible new volume will replicate and build on the previous edition's success with students like mine, ensuring adoption as required reading for relevant courses. -- Roderick A. McDonald, Professor of History, Rider University, USA
Such an historical synthesis would be an intimidating enough task for many a historian. For it to be accomplished in a mere 200 pages, with a literary as much as analytical verve that makes for a compelling read, is testament to Gad Heuman's skills of historical interpretation and explanation. -- Daniel Whittall * Latin American Review of Books *
