If you guys read ONE book this year regarding Jamaica, make it The Dead Yard by Ian Thomson. Just finished it last night and I really enjoyed it. It's truthful, interesting, historical and a bit sad. It is a bit gloomy and I asked myself after reading if there was anything the author liked about Jamaica. It gives the reader and/or average tourist a glimpse at what's behind the curtain (or resort wall).
What I found a bit interesting was the author had only been to Jamaica 3 times. He stayed all over the island, met people from all different walks of life and covered dang near every topic. He met with some of the poorest people and some of the richest. After the author wrote about his meeting with people, he would talk about the history of Jamaica and how it pertained to that encounter or place he visited. He went into great detail about the history of events and places. Stories I had heard or places I've been and thought I knew about, I still learned more when reading this book.
I got this book from my library but I am going to order it for my collection. It's that good. I also want to make notes and visit some of the places the author talks about. When I was reading this book I kept thinking "why do we go back?" The author really doesn't point out too much beauty or kindness of the people of Jamaica. He really is a negative Nelly or just brutaly truthful. The sour subjects he reports on are things we all know or hear about, he just goes into greater detail. If you read this book and have never been to Jamaica, it might scare you away, but please don't let it.