Jamaica: travel books to read before you go

Sep 28, 2010 8:26:19 AM

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This excerpt from Lonely Planet’s Jamaica guide provides a selection of literature to get you in the mood for your trip.

There are numerous excellent books about Jamaica’s eminently rich cultural, historical and natural landscape. Several memoirs and novels by foreigners seek to capture the essence of life on the island.

Swashbuckling Hollywood hero Errol Flynn, who lived in Jamaica for many years, recalls his colorful experiences in his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

Anthony Winckler’s Going Home to Teach tells of the novelist’s time in Jamaica as a teacher during an epoch of anti-white sentiment in the tension-filled late 1970s.

Russell Banks’ The Book of Jamaica tells the story of an American expatriate college professor who delves into Jamaica and Maroon culture of Cockpit Country with unexpected results.