Customer Reviews

Mauritius Style

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I bought this book after spotting it mistakenly placed in the travel section of a global bookstore chain. I am of Mauritian descent and a professional engineer and I have not found many English language books that are focussed on key aspects of the island's cultural history - it's built history. The island has a unique history in that it swapped colonial control between the French and British before reaching independence late last century. As a result there is an immense richness of this colonial legacy, mixed with the effects of the important role Mauritius played in trade between Asia and Europe until construction of the Suez Canal.

This book is pictorially beautiful and shows off aspects of the island that the tourism guides don't focus on. The plantation houses are particularly special, and for me it is a tie-in to my family background - my grandfather, father and uncles used to hunt animals in the sugar cane fields. Sugar has been a lifeblood of the Mauritian economy for generations.

While I understand that this is not a pure travel book, I would have loved a more detailed set of directions or location maps to find these built treasures. Overall this book is a great book which showcases Mauritian heritage in a distinct way.