This is an up-to-date and serviceable introduction to developments in politics, culture and social issues faced by this region with particular emphasis on the period from 1945. In order to understand the Caribbean experience it is important to look at its history prior to this last half-century to understand how Europe and the U.S. 'discovered', exploited, and imposed their values on its peoples. No new ground is broken in this area, but it is all good information - the original native tribes, the importance of the sugar trade, the use of slave labor from Africa, the use of indentured workers from Asia when slavery ended, the resulting multi-ethnic character of the population, the growing sensitivity of the U.S. to foreign influence in the region, U.S. willingness to strategically intervene, the Cuban issue, etc.
It is difficult to find current commentary on the Caribbean for the non-academic or for the tourist who wants to go beyond the best cruise line deals and the best reefs to snorkel. This short book does a good job on recent developments in politics, economics, literature, music, even sports (especially cricket). Occasionally the author's prose is flat (e.g. p.114 on Bob Marley's achievements or the closing sentences of the book, p. 136), but this is a minor editing matter. Mention is made of the growing interest of China in the region, especially with the U.S. distracted by engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, but clearly Latin America's rich resource base will be their focus not the Caribbean. Tourism has become a powerful dynamic for the region and this book identifies some of the issues worth further discussion by future writers. While acknowledging Cuba's disdain for essential freedoms (viz. press, assembly, speech), Blouet believes that U.S. attempts to isolate Cuba "punishes" the entire region, because Cuba's population and natural resources make it a natural hub of economic activity for all of the islands. Without Cuba's participation economic development will continue to be reliant on U.S. and European economies. We can speculate that an opportunity for greater regional commerce and development will arise with the eventual change of leadership in both countries.
