Concise History of the Caribbean (11) by Higman, B W [Paperback (2010)]

Cambridge Concise Histories

by Higman

A Concise History of the Caribbean by Higman, B. W. [Cambridge University Pre...

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Latin American History

Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[Bart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was unfortunately a mandatory book for one of my classes and that became quite obvious fast. It of course suffers from the usual problems mandatory quick overview books have, it is to broad, both in timespan and countries covert. Most countries don’t get an mention at all or a very shallow look at, only Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican republic get any real attention in this book. It tries way to hard and fails to deliver on almost everything. The most imported chapter of this book, number 4 the plantation people is one of the shortest, while you get 70 pages of non-scene about clothes and badly explained cultural practices. Dates and numbers are thrown around everywhere in non-sequence which makes the book rather hard to follow. Chapter 5, rebels and revolutionaries is hardly about rebels and revolutionaries because it follows mostly loyal colonies. Again chapter 6 seems to be also miss named because again it follow mostly colonies so there are hardly any democrats of dictators. This book tries to be a lot, both economic and social history, both micro and mega history and both war and political history. In trying this all it falls on all accounts, it gives a lot of different numbers about production, however because these are stand-alone numbers they don’t really mean anything.
Personally I won’t recommend this book to people who know there history, however it is quite adequate in telling history to people who know nothing about it.

[UpdatedSpring · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this is a brief and general overview of the Caribbean. It can feel too brief: for example, the revolutions of Cuba and Haiti are both condensed to only 7 pages. Though short, it leaves you with a good understanding of these events while also promoting further reading. Basically, you get a great foundation before diving into particular periods and revolutions that might have piqued your interest while learning about the Caribbean, from its beginnings to the present. This book did what it set out to do and did it wonderfully.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was used as a textbook for a Caribbean History class. The book is certainly concise in its condensing of hundreds of years of history into only 332 pages, but there are definitely some aspects that could have used some further description, such as the Haitian Revolution. Similarly, there were other aspects that I fee could have been paid a bit less attention (hairstyles of the 1960s? Interesting, but does not need multiple pages).

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, accessible survey history of the Caribbean region. Lots of information in here about economics, social history, and governance in the region. Does a good job of situating the region within history and the world more broadly.

[K. G. Whitehurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a textbook. Readable, but the macro-view of the Caribbean.

[Barbara Barrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to prepare for a unit I'm teaching on nineteenth-century poetry in the West Indies. Clear, accessible, informative, with helpful maps and illustrations.

[Joey Mazz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a concise history of the Caribbean, then this is good book to read. Also, FUCK CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS!

[Karen Noiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book to put my visit to Aruba into historical context. I thought that it was a very nice and thorough view of the history of this region. The author had excellent synthesis of environmental, historical, geographical, political, and cultural threads that wove this region's history together from events in other regions of the world. I got about halfway through this book before the density of political events in the 19th century started to be a little overwhelming for the casual history reader (i.e. myself), but I will definitely return to this book if ever I find myself interested in the more recent/modern history of the Caribbean.

[Junko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterful telling of a collection of very diverse islands and cultures in the region. Higman delves into the details on the geological and geographical landscape, agriculture and plantation economy, migration flows and colonization patterns of destruction and redesign of the Caribbean with a bold and erudite voice. I do wish that the chapters following independence were not so concise to give us a clearer picture of the islands today.

[Mike Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in preparation to teach a course about oceanic history. It proved to have just the right level of information concerning the eras that most interest me, from prehistory through the 17th century. Moreover, it was nicely written and not overly “academic.”

[Shirl Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was interested in learning more about this part of the world. This appears to have been written (updated...second edition) as a college-level textbook. It was very readable and fascinating. Highly recommended if you've ever wanted to learn more about the history of these islands.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

higman takes an anthro approach, and has some gaps and a clear agenda, but not a bad little book. not sure if i'll assign it next time i teach it or go to another one.

[Randy Stauffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good introduction to the region. Chapter 4 could have been eliminated.

[Benjamin Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the texts assigned in a course I'm taking on the history of the Caribbean. Higman has a decent narrative style that moves the reader along while staying relevant and interesting.

[Peter Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, though with a bit much emphasis on statistics rather than story. He seeks to describe and explain 'the Caribbean' as we now know it and succeeds pretty well.