Customer Reviews

Belize : Land of the Free by the Carib Sea

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

BELIZE: LAND OF THE FREE BY THE CARIB SEA by Thor Janson is without question one of the most beautiful photographic books I own. I have not visited Belize yet but as I look at the stunning images in Janson's book It has me dreaming of a mid-winter get away to this little country flanked by the Caribbean Sea. The book includes an excellent introductory text which takes the reader all the way from pre-historic times up to the present day and describes in detail all the different cultural groups which make up the rich fabric of contemporary Belezian society. The bulk of the book is comprised of photo layouts including extraordinary shots of wild animals such as jaguars and manatees, ancient Mayan ruins, cultural events (such as the wild Belize City carnaval), peaceful rural scenes, beautiful children, rainforests, savannahs, and pine forests, and plenty of charming, happy, smiling faces giving the impression that Belize must be a very warm, inviting place to visit, indeed. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and this excellent book by Thor Janson contains more than 150 extraordinary photos which combined give the reader a real "feel" of what life is like in the diminutive, peaceful nation of Belize.

A few months ago I visited Belize with my mom and we had a super great time. It is the most beautiful rainforest and the ocean reef is one of the biggest in the world. The book Belize shows all the natural beauty of the country as well as the many cultural groups including Mayan Indians, Creole, and Garifuna people which is a new culture formed of the mixture of African and American Indian people. The book Belize is full of beautiful color photographs and really gives you a good idea of what the country is like.

Book was receive in expected condition as agreed upon. Made a good gift! All is good. :-)

Belize is a beautiful country whose beauty shines forth in the photos in this book. The photos in the book are beautiful and many. There are an average of about 4 photos per page, with some half-page and full-page photos. In this book there are photos especially of:

People in festivals, playing music, and in various cultural dress
Fruits and flowers
Insects and birds
Houses and Churches
Beaches and Cities
Mayan ruins

I took a youth mission team to Belize twice, and the culture of the country comes through in these pages. We went to serve at Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, which has the second largest barrier reef, making it a big attraction for divers. These photos remind me of a lot of the things we saw there. Belize in general and San Pedro in particular are studies in contrasts, not just between the different cultures but also in terms of rich and poor. Close together in San Pedro we saw very poor people in shacks and rich foreigners in condos.

One of the poorest neighborhoods in the world is San Mateo in San Pedro, where the people build their houses over sewage water, have boards for highways, and have no running water or electricity. The houses on pages 64 and 65 (and other pages) look just like a lot of the poor houses we saw. Pages 92 and 93 show some pictures of San Pedro and are somewhat representative but don't quite capture all that they might have.

One of the local characters I met at the outdoor bar of The Tides Hotel was a man who called himself "Lyrical King." He was a Garifuna (descendents of the Carib and West Indians, some of whom are Rastafarians) who wore dreadlocks. He came riding up to the bar on his motorcycle with his beat up guitar, and I got to spend about half an hour talking to him. You can see a picture of him on page 73.

I love the pictures in the book but would have liked to seen photos of representative foods and photos of the Belizean people at work. Also, I wish there were more text (which is very minimal in the book) to provide greater background to the nation of Belize and her cultures.

I bought it for my boyfriend who is from Belize and he loved it. Beautiful pictures.