Brand Jamaica is an empirical look at the postindependence national image and branding project of Jamaica within the context of nation-branding practices at large. Although a tiny Caribbean island inhabited by only 2.8 million people, Jamaica commands a remarkably large presence on the world stage. Formerly a colony of Britain and shaped by centuries of slavery, violence, and plunder, today Jamaica owes its popular global standing to a massively successful troika of brands: music, sports, and destination tourism. At the same time, extensive media attention focused on its internal political civil war, mushrooming violent crime, inflation, unemployment, poverty, and abuse of human rights have led to perceptions of the country as unsafe. Brand Jamaica explores the current practices of branding Jamaica, particularly within the context of postcoloniality, reconciles the lived realities of Jamaicans with the contemporary image of Jamaica projected to the world, and deconstructs the current tourism model of sun, sand, and sea. Hume Johnson and Kamille Gentles-Peart bring together multidisciplinary perspectives that interrogate various aspects of Jamaican national identity and the dominant paradigm by which it has been shaped.

Brand Jamaica is an empirical look at the postindependence national image and branding project of Jamaica within the context of nation-branding practices at large. Although a tiny Caribbean island inhabited by only 2.8 million people, Jamaica commands a remarkably large presence on the world stage. Formerly a colony of Britain and shaped by centuries of slavery, violence, and plunder, today Jamaica owes its popular global standing to a massively successful troika of brands: music, sports, and destination tourism. At the same time, extensive media attention focused on its internal political civil war, mushrooming violent crime, inflation, unemployment, poverty, and abuse of human rights have led to perceptions of the country as unsafe. Brand Jamaica explores the current practices of branding Jamaica, particularly within the context of postcoloniality, reconciles the lived realities of Jamaicans with the contemporary image of Jamaica projected to the world, and deconstructs the current tourism model of sun, sand, and sea. Hume Johnson and Kamille Gentles-Peart bring together multidisciplinary perspectives that interrogate various aspects of Jamaican national identity and the dominant paradigm by which it has been shaped.

The Real Taste of Jamaica takes food lovers and cooks the world over into Jamaican homes, kitchen and restaurants to sample the full range of native cuisine prepared by local housewives, cooks, restaurateurs and roadside 'jerkies'. Enid Donaldson presents her dishes with flair and imagination, delicately spiced and flavoured with curry, scotch bonnet peppers, jerk sauce, pimento, nutmeg, rum and a dash of typical Jamaican humour. 'Stamp and Go', 'Dip and Fall Back', 'Mannish Water' and 'Matrimony' conjure up images that do not disappoint when tasted. Traditional recipes are included for those who would like to recapture childhood memories. The section, 'Ole Time Someting', contributed by noted journalist and talk-show host Barbara Gloudon, captures the memories and magic of Jamaica kitchens and homes of yesteryear. 'Out of Many, One Pot' aptly describes Jamaica's culinary motto, capturing the rich and exciting blend of Native Indian, Spanish, British, African, East Indian, Chinese, Jewish and Lebanese cuisines.

In Jamaica, Clarks are loved like no other brand. They are the island's ruling name in footwear -- the "champion shoes" -- and it has been that way for as long as anybody can remember. This book celebrates the rich history of Clarks in Jamaica, with a focus on the Jamaican reggae and dancehall musicians who have worn and sung about Clarks shoes through the years. Documenting the origins of the Clarks brand in 1825 through to the introduction of their shoes into Jamaica in the 1920s and the impact of styles such as the Desert Boot, Wallabee and Desert Trek on the island, Clarks in Jamaica explores how footwear made by a Quaker firm in the quiet English village of Street, Somerset became the "baddest" shoes in Jamaica and an essential part of the island's culture. Building on the success of the first release in 2011, this updated second edition includes new interviews, previously unseen photographs, insights into Jamaica's favourite styles of Clarks from former company employees, and an expanded chapter on Jamaican fashion detailing the histories of island fashion staples such as the mesh marina (string vest), Arrow shirt, knits ganzie and beaver hat. Beautifully presented and thoroughly researched, Clarks in Jamaica is a wonderful document of Clarks' deep roots in Jamaican culture, a fitting tribute to the rich cultural exchange that has taken place between Jamaica and the UK that will appeal as much to Jamaicaphiles and lovers of Clarks shoes as to musicologists, fashion stylists and cultural historians.