Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia is required reading for anyone interested in the history of Black radicalism in the United States, particularly the singular role played by people of Caribbean descent. Professor James skillfully examines the history and political economy of race relations in the French and Spanish speaking Caribbean. Here is the background of the African Blood Brotherhood led by Cyril Briggs and the Universal Negro Improvement Association led by Marcus Garvey. Moreover, this is the background of the singular Arthur Schomburg (actually Arturo Schomburg) who founded the pivotal Harlem library and research center. There is an important analysis of Hubert H. Harrison's role in inspiring Harlem's Black radicalism. Furthermore, this is the complex history of Jesus Colon's ideas on race and class. In conclusion, this book is essential to an understanding of 20th Black radicalism, modern Black leadership, and the background to Black Power. While we are waiting for Jeff Perry's biography of Hubert H. Harrison, the Black Socrates of the Harlem Renaissance, this is as good as it gets!

Rane Arroyo has a quality refined by love and talent, which he has released on paper in the form of this collection. His humor, his emotions and his love for words makes him a modern-day legend. I am a fan!

Book was great man! I loved the book so much, I went out and rented the movie! You have to see it to believe it!

Finally, FINALLY, a critical work on what is by far the least appreciated aspect of Borges's art, his humor. When Borges describes, in one of his most famous stories, "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," the intellectuals of Tlon as considering philosophy and theology to be sub-species of fantastic literature, he's not so subtly offering a key to understanding his own fiction, which is, among other things, a very funny, very irreverant send-up of humankind's quest for meaning. Is there a more sublimely ridiculous exercise than to prove, by internal Scriptural evidence, as Borges does in "Three Versions of Judas," that it was Judas, not Jesus, who was the Messiah? (Admittedly, not everyone will find said operation funny, but that's hardly Borges's fault.) These metaphysical jokes are fairly obvious, even if (inexplicably) overlooked by the vast majority of critics. Prof. De Costa, however, goes a step further in his inquiry by, paradoxically, staying on the surface. He pays close attention to the descriptions of spaces Borges creates, such as the bathrooms in "The Library of Babel," which require the user to do everything (EVERYTHING) standing up, or the railings around the bottomless air shafts in the same Library, which are too low to prevent very many fatal accidents. Such an absurd environment, seemingly designed by a fool (or perhaps a Marx brother), allows for plenty of potential slapstick, even if that slapstick's never realized. Borges's worlds are simultaneously zany and dangerous, or, to use De Costa's terms, funny and serious. Additionally, De Costa provides an excellent, exhaustive overview of Borges's scatological humor. (The gentlemanly Borges did, indeed, enjoy a good poop joke.) As an incidental bonus, "Humor in Borges" happens to provide an insightful study of Borges's affinities with Kafka. If you can't laugh at Borges, you can't understand Borges. This slim book is a major contribution to our appreciation of a major writer.

Just completed exploring many references in planning to develop a business in Africa and maybe the Carribean. IBN's International Guide was the most comprehensive and user friendy reference that I found. It was very organized and specific, including the names and telephone numbers of contacts. The author was excellent in his research and breadth of information. It is very much worth the price.

Destination guides are great, but this report really has up to date information. I got this a few weeks before my trip, but I would get it about 5 days before next time. These are updated every week and you would get the latest and greatest. These documents are really useful... don't leave home without it!

This Travel Intelligence Report provides you detailed Travel Intelligencetm that has been updated within the previous week. Travel Intelligence differs from typical destination information in that it is current, independent, unbiased knowledge addressing potential travel concerns. Travel Intelligence helps you to the safest and most enjoyable trip possible.

This report covers travel alerts in effect for Grenada as well as destination intelligence covering 10 categories: entry/exit, health, security, transportation, communications/technology, financial,language, environment, culture and legal.

This up-to-the-minute information and a good destination guide is all you need when you go to Grenada.

Sorry for the essentialism, but originally I was skeptical about what a European academic would say about gay Latin American art. However, the author resisted Eurocentrism here and others have described his previous work as very anti-racist. In this book, Bleys looks at Latin American art from 1810 to the present, with a chapter on art from gay Latinos in the US. Bleys examines Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico under his idea of Latin American. This may frustrate some. (I hear that Argentina has a rich history of both gay expression and repression. It doesn't come up here.) Still, given the geographic, linguistic, political, racial, and historical diversity among these four countries, I think Bleys made a great effort. Too, the discussion on lesbian art may feel scant to some, but I think Bleys tried his best. This book included a huge range of photos that aided the text. Social constructionists will love this book because Bleys emphasizes artists that reject Western ideas about gay identity and artists that problematize the gay/straight binary overall. Under this constructionism, Bleys uses the term "homotextuality" which he never defines well. This book has a terrible intro. Also, Bleys' timeline is shakey. (For example, the chapter on art from 1810 to 1910 discusses much art after 1910. The chapter about 1975 ot the present focuses heavily on works from the past five years.) This book is much more typical of an art text than it is gay studies or Latino studies. Nevertheless, it will make you think deeply about what is homoerotic art, who can be a homoerotic artist, and how race intersects with those questions. This was a veritabe encyclopedia of gay and lesbian Latin American art. I am beyond impressed with this work.

This is a great book about the Haitian Revolution it is different essay about this revolution impact on other nations in the Atlantic World. It not only gives various historians thoughts and ideas but a more rounder view of what this revolution really did for the atlantic world.

While Americans typically recoil at the notion that there exists an American Empire, Morris Morley provides an excellent framework for viewing U.S. actions, particularly towards Cuba. While many readers might challenge Morley's assumptions, it is hard to fight with his logic. Defined as "a state with boundaries for capital accumulation located far beyond its geographic limits" (imperialism and neoimperialism), Morley suggests that the Imperial State depends on an integration of government and business.