Customer Reviews

Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People

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I have been visiting the Cayman Islands regularly for over 25 years. I have read every one of the very few books I could find on the history of the Islands and when I heard that this book was coming out I was very eager to read it. It did not disappoint. It is exhaustively informative, yet entertaining to read. The illustrations, maps and photos are excellent and truly add to the experience. While at first glance one might mistake it for a textbook, it does not read like one. If you want to know and understand the events, influences, and people of these Islands, or are interested in the unbelievable transformation that these Islands have undergone, I assure you that there is no other book out there that covers these topics as well as this book does.

great in depth history of cayman. wonderful gift for those who vacation / live there

This is a VERY detailed account of the history of the Cayman Islands, which helps explain many of the locations, customs, and names on the islands. It is fascinating if you've been to, or are going to, the Caymans. It helps put what you experience into context.

Just finished the book, after visiting Grand Cayman in January for a company meeting I wanted to find out more about the history of this remote island. I think the author did a wonderful job explaining the history in detail. That is one problem that made me uncomfortable when reading, for someone from the islands this book would be a wonderful read mentioning all past persons that were apart of the history, but from my perspective there were just too many names, dates and detail. The maps and pictures were wonderful! But I miss having modern maps of the area so I can relate to where things are. Where is the Miskito Coast and how far is Nicaragua? Tables with graphs would have been a lot easier to understand when discussing migration patterns, not sure if numbers discussed related to other numbers.

Would like to have seen more discussion on the weather and how buildings had changed with hurricane threats. Do they have safe places to go when the alarm sounds? Only a small picture of Hell and no discussion of the place.

So I felt I learned a lot about the islands and their peoples, but from a California perspective (never being in the Caribbean before) I was really lost as to where things are located in respect to each other.

This book is a great reference (badly needed) with a discussion of slavery and emancipation in the Caribbean.