The Life Story of a Caribbean Pearl and Her Journey to America


Book Description

A child is born in the West Indies. She is sweet, inquisitive, bright, sensitive and caring all qualities that she will maintain for many, many years to come. The sister islands of Trinidad and Tobago are among her earliest homes. She lives and learns in the most beautiful and popular areas of all the Caribbean, where rich legacies and history precede her: Once ruled by both Spain and Britain, today Trinidad and Tobago are governed by their own proud people, whove kept the traditions and culture of their ancestors since long before the islands found independence in 1962. Located just off the coast of South America, these small territories have developed an identity throughout the years that is completely their own. Dr. Eric Williams, the legendary Caribbean scholar, became the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, which is one of the most diversely populated ethnic regions in the world. People of African, Native West Indian, Asian, and European descent live, love and mingle together on these lovely islands in the sunshine. English is mainly spoken among residents, but one will often hear traces of Creole, African and other language dialects in the colorful words and rhythmic accents of those who reside there. And when it comes to rhythm its hard to mention the islands without mentioning the lively calypso sounds that have entertained countless music lovers throughout the western world. Hearing them, the child one day becomes a woman who is told she naturally walks to a calypso beat. As far back as 1498, explorer Christopher Columbus named Trinidad in honor of the Holy Trinity, and it remains a place where worshipers, many of whom are Catholic, give praise and thanks to the Creator. With more than one million people on both islands, the majority of inhabitants live in Trinidad, while about four percent of the population calls Tobago home. Trinidads major event is the Carnival, a week-long festival of live music, costumes and parades through the street. The event attracts people from throughout the world. In fact, both islands are visited by travelers from around the globe, who enjoy pleasant weather, beaches more beautiful than postcards, tropical trees and delicious home-grown fruits. With generations of people tracing roots to the area, Trinidad and Tobago have become not only a visitors destination, but a cradle to which great scholars, entertainers and athletes in America and elsewhere often return. This cradle in the Caribbean has given birth to the Gittens family. It has provided the earliest sights, sounds and sensibilities that influenced that special little child born into the family, a daughter who will become known as Black Pearl.




Mystery of the Caribbean Pearls


Book Description

Set in the early 1960s, The Mystery of the Caribbean Pearls follows young Biff Brewster as he visits his Uncle Charlie to discover priceless pearls in Martinique. Even worse, his uncle's friend has gone missing, leaving behind an anxious yet determined son. It is up to Biff Brewster and his new friend Derek to adventure through the Caribbean, dodging nefarious looters and kidnappers to find the hidden treasure and rescue Derek's father.




The Dance Claimed Me


Book Description

Pearl Primus (1919-1994) blazed onto the dance scene in 1943 with stunning works that incorporated social and racial protest into their dance aesthetic. In "The Dance Claimed Me," Peggy and Murray Schwartz, friends and colleagues of Primus, offer an intimate perspective on her life and explore her influences on American culture, dance, and education. They trace Primus's path from her childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, through her rise as an influential international dancer, an early member of the New Dance Group (whose motto was "Dance is a weapon"), and a pioneer in dance anthropology. Primus traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Israel, the Caribbean, and Africa, and she played an important role in presenting authentic African dance to American audiences. She engendered controversy in both her private and professional lives, marrying a white Jewish man during a time of segregation and challenging black intellectuals who opposed the "primitive" in her choreography. Her political protests and mixed-race tours in the South triggered an FBI investigation, even as she was celebrated by dance critics and by contemporaries like Langston Hughes. For "The Dance Claimed Me," the Schwartzes interviewed more than a hundred of Primus's family members, friends, and fellow artists, as well as other individuals to create a vivid portrayal of a life filled with passion, drama, determination, fearlessness, and brilliance.




Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom


Book Description

Twenty-five-year-old Jack Sparrow is a clean-cut merchant seaman pursuing a legitimate career as a first mate for the East India Trading Company. He sometimes thinks back to his boyhood pirating days, but he doesn't miss Teague's scrutiny or the constant threat of the noose. Besides, he doesn't have much choice—he broke the Code when he freed a friend who had been accused of rogue piracy, and he can no longer show his face in Shipwreck Cove. When Jack's ship is attacked by pirates and his captain dies in the altercation, he suddenly finds himself in command.




Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization


Book Description

A novelization of the upcoming Walt Disney Studios film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, starring Johnny Depp as the unforgettable Captain Jack Sparrow! The newest film in the box-office smashing franchise Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales features the return of fan-favorites Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa, alongside franchise newcomers Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), and Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent).




Bolivar


Book Description

An authoritative portrait of the Latin-American warrior-statesman examines his life against a backdrop of the tensions of nineteenth-century South America, covering his achievements as a strategist, abolitionist, and diplomat.




Latin American Dictators of the 20th Century


Book Description

Throughout the 20th century, the emergence of authoritarian dictatorships in Latin America coincided with periods of social convulsion and economic uncertainty. This book covers 15 dictators representing every decade of the century and geographically from the Caribbean and North and Central and South America. Each chapter covers their personal information (childhood, education, marriage, family...), assumption of power, relationship with the United States, oppression of civilians, and collapse of their regimes. The book also investigates inherent contradictions in U.S. foreign policy: promoting democracy abroad while supporting brutal dictatorships in Latin America. Such analysis requires multiple perspectives and this work embraces an evaluation of the influence of military dictatorships on cultural elements such as art, literature, journalism, music and cinema, while drawing on data from documentary archives, court case files, investigative reports, international treaties, witness testimonies, and personal letters from survivors. The dramatic experiences of courageous individuals who challenged these 15 oppressors are also recounted.




Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships


Book Description

An alphabetical arrangement of the ships of the continental and United States Navies, with a historical sketch of each one.







American Film History


Book Description

This authoritative collection of introductory and specialized readings explores the rich and innovative history of this period in American cinema. Spanning an essential range of subjects from the early 1900s Nickelodeon to the decline of the studio system in the 1960s, it combines a broad historical context with careful readings of individual films. Charts the rise of film in early twentieth-century America from its origins to 1960, exploring mainstream trends and developments, along with topics often relegated to the margins of standard film histories Covers diverse issues ranging from silent film and its iconic figures such as Charlie Chaplin, to the coming of sound and the rise of film genres, studio moguls, and, later, the Production Code and Cold War Blacklist Designed with both students and scholars in mind: each section opens with an historical overview and includes chapters that provide close, careful readings of individual films clustered around specific topics Accessibly structured by historical period, offering valuable cultural, social, and political contexts Contains careful, close analysis of key filmmakers and films from the era including D.W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Erich von Stroheim, Cecil B. DeMille, Don Juan, The Jazz Singer, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Scarface, Red Dust, Glorifying the American Girl, Meet Me in St. Louis, Citizen Kane, Bambi, Frank Capra's Why We Fightseries, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Rebel Without a Cause, Force of Evil, and selected American avant-garde and underground films, among many others. Additional online resources such as sample syllabi, which include suggested readings and filmographies for both general specialized courses, will be available online. May be used alongside American Film History: Selected Readings, 1960 to the Present, to provide an authoritative study of American cinema through the new millennium




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