The Caribbean is the embodiment of paradise - crystal blue waters, magical coral reefs and lush tropical forests. Yet behind its tranquil beauty, the Caribbean conceals many dark and mysterious secrets. This work includes photographs of these islands.

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area in prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.

General Adult. Prolific nature writer Bright (1001 Natural Wonders; The Private Life of Sharks ) has done it again with a beautiful photograph-laden book displaying the natural highlights of the Caribbean, including reefs, underground caverns, waterfalls, volcanoes, rain forests, and more. Surveying each of the islands, he eloquently describes their awe-inspiring beauty and unique wildlife; each profile includes a color photograph, which evokes the feeling of being on site. The Latin nomenclature may bewilder some readers, but the common name of the plant or animal is also given. A gazetteer details places to visit and the best time of year for travel. As this book will accompany a four-part television series to air this fall on the Travel Channel, there is sure to be demand. Highly recommended for all public library natural history and travel collections.Joyce Tallman, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Cleveland [Page 161].

In Nature's Wild, Andil Gosine engages with questions of humanism, queer theory, and animality to examine and revise understandings of queer desire in the Caribbean. Surveying colonial law, visual art practices, and contemporary activism, Gosine shows how the very concept of homosexuality in the Caribbean (and in the Americas more broadly) has been overdetermined by a colonially influenced human/animal divide. Gosine refutes this presupposed binary and embraces animality through a series of case studies: a homoerotic game called puhngah, the institution of gender-based dress codes in Guyana, and efforts toward the decriminalization of sodomy in Trinidad and Tobago—including the work of famed activist Colin Robinson, paintings of human animality by Guadeloupean artist Kelly Sinnapah Mary, and Gosine's own artistic practice. In so doing, he troubles the ways in which individual and collective anxieties about “wild natures” have shaped the existence of Caribbean people while calling for a reassessment of what political liberation might look like. Duke University Press Scholars of Color First Book Award recipient

Rock Art of the Caribbean focuses on the nature of Caribbean rock art or rock graphics and makes clear the region's substantial and distinctive rock art tradition.

A shocking murder. A deadly secret. A dark side of paradise.Returning to the Florida Keys, former spy, Tyson Wild, takes up residence on a friend's boat. He desperately seeks to put his violent past in the rearview mirror. But trouble has a way of finding him, and redemption proves to be more elusive than he thought.It's not all fun in the sun as Tyson quickly finds himself knee-deep in murder, mystery, and mayhem. With the help of his retired Navy buddy, Tyson attempts to navigate the mysterious waters of his new life. But as the body count rises, the threat to Tyson becomes personal. He might just have to revert to his old ways to bring the killer lurking in the tropical paradise to justice."If you like books by Wayne Stinnett, Cap Daniels, Clive Cussler, and tropical adventures, you'll love Tyson Wild."Scroll up and grab your copy of Wild Ocean today!