In so may "developing" nations, the women are strong and keep things together. Guyana seems to be no exception. I believe it to be a rather sad book, with Kwaku being tossed around, not knowing why and having no grip on his destiny. Without Miss Gwendoline he would not have made it to the end of the book. But the description of his adventures are absolutely perfect and pantagruelish.

This is not the typical modern full-color-field-guide, buth rather a more traditional guide book. In 83 entries (describing one species each, but totalling 115 spp according to the publisher) it gives per entry: a page of text (name, common name, selected references, vernacular names, botanical description, field characteristics, ecology and distribution, notes); a page with a b&w line-drawing (giving excellent details, but overall not of the stunning quality found in, say, Voorhoeve's "Liberian high forest trees"); and in back of the book a color photograph (of very good quality, 5.7x9.1cm) each of the bark and of the slash. All in all a pretty good book, although notably the typography could be a lot better...

The book by Roy Heath set in the British Guyana in the early 20th century called the Shadow Bride is a fiction story depicting the life of immigrant Indians in a multiracial and multicultural society. It was interesting to read the cultural and traditional struggles of immigrants from India in a different country. The story line revolves around a rich widow Mrs. Singh, who undergoes a metamorphosis after her husband's death. She emerges from his shadow as a whole new person with rebelliousness towards her previous image, by changing her dressing style, associations and relationships with people in order to gain power and control of a household. She cannot let go of her son Betta, a doctor, in pursuit of his goal to work as a medical officer amongst poor sugar plantation workers. The mother is suffering from an empty- nest syndrome and tries to fill her house with workers, their families and others to ward off her loneliness, which slowly engulfs her completely. The son, after breaking off his ties to the house and his mother gives up a life of comfort and security to work for poor and needy. He in turn has to struggle a great deal. He is a good doctor, but fails to see the mental suffering and loneliness of his mother, who always felt in exile in Guyana. A delicate web of interrelationships of various characters is woven with each other and with the society portraying how imminent and dependent they all are on each other for their very survival. The different cultures, languages, religions create an identity crisis amongst some of the Guyanaese Indians. The end leaves a powerful impression in the mind that haunts you for a long time after finishing the book. I found it impressive that the writer maintained my interest till the very last page, which I felt, was the climax of the story. Roy Heath has used a lyrical prose, nature pigdin English to make it sound very real. Despite its simple language, the writing is powerful, bold , vivid and mentally stimulating

I just finished reading Buxton Spice. Initially it was difficult for me to become invoved in the book because I am such a critical reader and I found myself a bit turned off at her style, which to me seemed forced, almost as though she was trying to write in a unique way, as opposed to a Jamaica Kincaid whose style is unique, albeit very flat and nonchalant, but never forced. But as I read on I became more accustomed to it and even appreciated it for its lyrical tone. The sad thing is that there is really no story line here at all. If someone asked me to tell them what the book was about, I would have to broadly state that it was about a girl's coming of age in Guyana, but I would not be able to decribe the story with any specificity and that is what is missing. But I do admire Ms. Kempadoo for her ability to publish. Shoot I have been writing the same novel for the past ten years and Im probably on page five. I would read a second novel of hers, because I think she has the potential to create something really good. But I wouldnt really recommend this one to anyone.

Buxton Spice was about everything and nothing. The book touched on various subject without fully delving into any of them. I found it to be boring at times and mildly entertaining at others. The tempo would pick up for about a page or so and then fall back into mediocrity. There were a lot of unnecessary characters who cluttered the story. Buxton Spice had the potential to be an entertaining novel but it fell short of that becuase of it's repetition of scenes in which the reader is teased with the possibility of a juicy story, only to have it forgotton (and never reclaimed). I gave it a marginal three stars.

Kempadoo is a true poet, and although BUXTON SPICE is billed as a novel, it is really more a collection of dances in which the poetics of language play a great part. With more and more literature appearing that does not follow the tight storylines of old, perhaps it is time for us to come up with another word to describe books such as Kempadoo's that are not-quite-novel, not-quite poetry, and not-quite-short-stories. Never mind that we don't have an official category for Kempadoo's fiction. It is strong enough and musical enough to dance on its own power. A series of short collage pieces show us a series of small moments that become suddenly huge in the life of a girl child in Guyana in the 70s. It is about early and uncomfortable awareness of race, sex, age, disability, and of the unpredictibility of politics. Kempadoo writes beautifully and naturally of sex. This is a strong point of hers, and it serves her well. The sex actually creates a sort of tension on which all of her stories ride. Oonya Kempadoo is young and she's talented. What she has done in BUXTON SPICE with language can most certainly be done again with a different theme. One can only wonder what Kempadoo will write about next. Will it be Guyana or England or . . .something entirely from her imagination? This is an author to watch. And, in the meantime, to read.

The book serves as a good reference to the general reader as is intended. However, I found it very confusing to read at times, and its purpose does not preclude it from this. 1) It is not chronological- jumps around/back/forth. 2)Use of misnomer is irritating- eg. And so on May, 1838 the Whitby and Hesperus landed in Guyana with a cargo of 396 Indians...(pg.22) Guyana in 1838? One does not have to be "academic" to find this jolting. 3) It completely omitts discussion of the contribution of Indians to sports although they attained international renown, figures such as Kanhi & Kalicharran, for example. say, what gives?
Nevertheless, very informative and worth the price.

Dr. Mangru has prepared a most interesting and concise document explaining how and why the Indians arrived in Guyana and the many roles they played in the development of the country. This book, presumably written to supplement the multicultural studies classes in the New York City metropolitan area secondary schools, it is one that should be read by all.

Dr. Mangru further explains the whys and hows of the Indian-Guyanese migration to New York City. He honestly discusses inter as well as intra segregation among all Guyanese.

This book is concise and worthy of inclusion in the book collection of anyone who is interested in learning more about this rapidly growing group of people.

I did not like this book. First of all Mrs. Perez never defines what a socalled "spiritual mystic" is, even though she insists that she is one. 2.She brags about her spriritual achievemnts and drops many names, which makes that I seriously question her spirituality. 3.The experiences she relates become very repetitive and uninteresting after a while. 4.The language is not very strong.

While the book might not convince anyone hasn't met Maya that she was a credible mystic, no one who knew Maya well would bother arguing the point. I am as skeptical as they come and I suspect everyone is trying to con me - everyone but Maya. She was accurate in more than a clairvoyant sense; Maya was accurate when it came to reading a person's soul and spiritual destiny.
A 'spiritual mystic,' incidentally, means that the medium, as it were, concerns herself with a person's spiritual well being. While money and romance are the metier of so-called psychics, these elements were irrelevant to Maya. Her readings were first and last related to how a person might live a more fulfilling life - meaning solving their psychological and spiritual problems.
Notwithstanding the purity of Maya Perez's soul, mission, and life, I must also admit that if you didn't know her, this book would mean very little to you. At best, it's a guide to the life and experiences of an astonishingly gifted woman, whose written words, sadly, portray more of the sensational side of her experiences than the spiritual.
And yet, if one can read between the lines of artifice, a woman of profound sensitivity and awareness might still be revealed to the reader.

In general I concur with the previous reviewer (staceybr)comments. But the writing style took the edge of it (in my humble opinion). This was in stark contrast to a book of the same Genre - Where Heavens Meet - by the female author k.t. Frankovich

A quick-turnaround mass-market paperback on the Jim Jones cult that committed spectacular suicide in South America in November 1978. Hundreds of U.S. ex-patriots drank cyanide-laced Kool-Aid at the group's jungle compound in French Guyana. Told by Washington Post staff, including the reporter who was with Congressman Ryan at the time of his assassination -- the event which triggered the mass suicide.

This book was a total waste of time. Full of high-blown, flowery prose, lofty hypotheses, and absolute nonsense. Sometimes a Ph.D thesis--which this apparently was before the University of Chicago Press was convinced to publish it--ought to remain a Ph.D. thesis. A waste of trees, a waste of ink, and a waste of time. Save your money and read the yellow pages--you will enjoy it more than Masters of All They Surveyed

An interesting, well researched book about Robert Schomburgk's attempts to obtain a place for himself in history within the context of setting forth British Guiana's borders using the science and land surveying techniques available to him in the 19th century. The prose of book, however, is what native Guyanese would call 'high falautin' and, toward the end, I disagree with a few of his political theories on modern Guyanese politics; moreover, significantly, there is some repetition. In the end, Graham adds a human and scientific aspect to the discourse concerning the disputed boundaries. The editors should have allowed for a rewrite and/or the author should not have rushed to market or allowed for more maturity. I would recommend the paperback.

As an aficionado of the history of the British Empire, I found this book to be very informative and readable. Knowing nothing of the subject beforehand, being easy to read is important. The erudition of the author's style may intimidate some, but, in the end, it is precisely the element of the book which carries the reader beyond a mere chronology of events and through synthesis and interpretation gives perspective and colour to what comes out as an adventuresome story, well told, about, of all things, surveying. The experts in the field will probably have their nits to pick, just as Schomburgk had to deal with the RGS and Harrison had to suffer the nabobs of longitude, and the bridge-builder at Szavo had to contend with the lions, but the story will remain alive long after the lions are stuffed and relegated to museums.

Roy Heath is a nice writer. He probably made so much unexpected money on "Kwaku" that he thought:"What the heck, let's continue this". Washed out and no good.

Harris has an interesting story to tell, 'exotic' but also a bit tiresome as far as its characters. This reads like a poor man's Durrell; Harris's prose style is simply bad, as if he were writing quickly but in retrospect. Neither novel is in any real sense distinguished by literary merit, but those who enjoy historical journeying romance might get a kick out of them.