-Humanities & Education

When a young Caribbean boy, born into poverty and abandoned by teenage parents, stumbles upon the international bestseller, The Power of Positive Thinking, he vows to make it the bible that would guide his path to a life of prosperity.

Despite devastating academic failures, he predicts before incredulous classmates, a successful career in accountancy, citing the name of his future employer a British telecommunications giant with deep colonial roots. And during moments of repose he d visualize his future bride, a beautiful girl from a different world, totally oblivious of his affection.

Against formidable odds, he sets out on an ill-prepared trip to London to pursue his dreams. But nothing goes according to plan. Meeting his mother and half-siblings for the first time leaves permanent scars. The search for his father proves futile. A bout of blindness all but crashes his dreams.

When he finds himself marooned in the seemingly desolate city in the depth of a bitter English winter, and facing destitution, he d have to summon more than The Power of Positive Thinking to see him through.

How long would it be before he returned to his island home to fulfill his destiny, and claim his heart s desire still oblivious of his affection?

The fateful events of 9/11 stir in him a profound desire to unlock the vaults of history. Private investigators unearth his father living good in London, a successful man with haunting secrets of a past life hidden from his loving family ... pictures buried in an attic ... a grandmother on a nearby island grieving her recently departed husband who d never seen his grandson ...

All the while, his relentless ambition profoundly reshapes his goals, his life, and just might redefine a generation.

Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the critically acclaimed A Caribbean Tale is a compelling non-fiction novel spanning decades, of hope and dreams, triumph and disaster, and the lessons of life and of living.

Highly recommended for those who dare to dream.

Ronald Williams' second novel, A Death in Panama is a worthy follow up to his highly successful first novel, Four Saints and an Angel. It is a book that will delight and mystify those who became instant fans, and for readers new to his work, it will have the impact of a seduction. Set in Panama, Barbados and the U.S., A Death in Panama presents us with the mysterious and frightening world of the Panama of the first decade of the 20th century when the canal was being built and fortunes were being made. Many of those fortunes were made in highly unlawful ways.

A Jamaican Storyteller's Tale A Novel By Lorrimer Burford Underpinned by common Jamaican themes, A Jamaican Storyteller's Tale tells the story of a young man intent on saving an aspect of his heritage that is dying- the storytelling. He is heavily influenced by his father's skill at relating these stories.When his family migrates, he comes face to face with the possibility of losing this part of his heritage-forever. By merging these tales with the story of this young man, Burford skilfully creates a supernatural synthesis which captures and tantalizes the reader. ______________________ Having read Lorrimer Burford's "A Jamaican Storyteller's Tale," I feel proud to be a country bumpkin. I am even more proud because the settings of the tales are all from the parish of my birth. The duppy stories are intricately, yet easily woven and are guaranteed to give even the experienced reader goosebumps. Thank you for causing me to relive my rich cultural heritage. I wish that all who read this magnificent work will want to know more about Jamaican folklore and will tell their own stories to keep our oral traditions alive. OLIVER SAMUELS, Actor, Performer

Now in a new edition, this unique interactive introduction to the study of phonetics shows students how to examine the entire range of human sounds through a series of 124 introspective experiments carried out in their own vocal tracts. It systematically covers all types of speech modification (breath, voice, whisper, creak), articulation (the ways in which the air stream is finally modulated to generate specific types of sound), and prosodic features (stress, syllable, tone, intonation). This text also includes a chapter on sound systems--the ways in which particular languages utilize and systematize the universal sound-producing potential of humans. By actually articulating sounds and attending to the motor sensations they produce, readers acquire a deep, personal awareness of the principles of phonetic analysis and classification.
This second edition of A Practical Introduction to Phonetics features a new format and text design; updated use of phonetic symbols in line with the latest International Phonetic Alphabet Chart (1996); a revised further reading section that includes recent publications; and additional references to several important new publications. Informed throughout by recent research in aerodynamics and acoustics, this highly practical text is ideal for courses in introduction to phonetics and will be of interest to a wide range of students and teachers of languages, linguistics, speech therapy, and anthropology.

On an inward-looking island dominated by the Catholic Church, John Lestrade mourns both the death of friends and the inauthentic, suffocating quality of his own life. When he feels he can no longer find solace in his regular means of escape—a room on a hill—he forsakes his self-imposed exile and finds himself drawn to action and defiance. Opening himself up to change, John discovers hope and gleans the possibility of change and an escape from the inauthentic. Originally published in 1968, this intense and minimalist novel engages philosophical ideas, religious tradition, and colonial consciousness.

Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces you to major film theories as well as film terminology, enabling you to write more thoughtfully and critically. With numerous student and professional examples, this engaging and practical guide progresses from taking notes and writing first drafts to creating polished essays and comprehensive research projects. Moving from movie reviews to theoretical and critical essays, the text demonstrates how an analysis of a film can become more subtle and rigorous as part of a compositional process.

Andreas Prescod is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania following the collapse of his career as a celebrated archaeologist and the locator of two mummies, one in Egypt, and one in Barbados. Unfortunately, his discoveries created a maelstrom of controversy over the origin of these finds, thus destroying his credibility. Quite unexpectedly, the government approaches Andreas for his assistance in a covert operation to obtain information regarding the activities of a company in Antarctica owned by Roger Branniff, his former father-in-law. Andreas s wife was lost on an expedition six years earlier and is presumed dead; however, new information leads him to believe she may still be alive. He embarks on a dangerous journey only to find that neither the past nor the future are what he believed them to be. What he discovers changes everything being taught about the creation of the earth and uncovers a real threat to the survival of its people. Even worse, he realizes he never really knew his wife, Eurydice, who continues to haunt his dreams. A Voice from the Tomb is a thought-provoking work of fiction...or is it reality?

Young people need to cope in a variety of settings, including school, home, peer groups and the workplace, and with a range of life problems such as examinations and parental divorce. This thoroughly revised and updated new edition of Adolescent Coping presents the latest research and applications in the field of coping. It highlights the ways in which coping can be measured and, in particular, details a widely used adolescent coping instrument.

Topics include the different ways in which girls and boys cope, coping in the family, how culture and context determine how young people cope, decisional coping, problem solving and social coping, with a particular emphasis on practice. Each topic is considered in light of past and recent research findings and each chapter includes quotations from young people. While topics such as depression, eating disorders, self-harm and grief and loss are addressed, there is a substantial focus on the positive aspects of coping, including an emphasis on resilience and the achievement of happiness. In addition to the wide-ranging research findings that are reported, many of the chapters consider implications and applications of the relevant findings with suggestions for the development of coping skills and coping skills training.

Adolescent Coping will be of interest to students of psychology, social work, sociology, education and youth and community work as well as to an audience of parents, educators and adolescents.