Virgin Capital examines the cultural impact and historical significance of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) in the United States Virgin Islands. A tax holiday program, the EDC encourages financial services companies to relocate to these American-owned islands in exchange for an exemption from 90% of income taxes, and to stimulate the economy by hiring local workers and donating to local charitable causes. As a result of this program, the largest and poorest of these islands—St. Croix—has played host to primarily US financial firms and their white managers, leading to reinvigorated anxieties around the costs of racial capitalism and a feared return to the racial and gender order that ruled the islands during slavery. Drawing on fieldwork conducted during the boom years leading up to the 2008–2009 financial crisis, Virgin Capital provides ethnographic insight into the continuing relations of coloniality at work in the quintessentially "modern" industry of financial services and neoliberal "development" regimes, with their grounding in hierarchies of race, gender, class, and geopolitical positioning.

Recipient of the 2014 American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Foundation Award A major debut from an award-winning writer—an epic family saga set against the magic and the rhythms of the Virgin Islands. In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them. Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author’s own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.

Completely updated with the latest information on resorts, restaurants, and shopping, this new second edition covers St. Thomas as well as the nearby island of St. John. From intimate inns to beachside bars, breathtaking scenery, and exhilarating boat and snorkel trips; from elegant outdoor dining to nighttime jazz clubs; from French, Greek, and Italian cuisine to ice cream stands, this book covers the best of the islands. Also included is practical information for getting around the islands in ease, shopping tips, and the special "gems" of the island that might otherwise be missed.

This second edition of America's Virgin Islands by William W. Boyer is the only history of the United States' territory covering the period from 1492 to 2010. Especially emphasized is the period since 1917 when the U.S. acquired the Islands from Denmark. Constituting three small Caribbean islands--St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John--each is unique, but together they are widely known as a favorite tourist destination featuring sun, sand and surf. In many respects, the territory is a microcosm of the human family. The diversity of its physical environment is matched by the diversity of its people. The focal point of the book is a record of the struggle of the Islanders' greater number as slaves, then serfs, and lastly as citizens to gain control of their own destiny. Broadly conceived, this is a history of human rights and human wrongs. The author does not merely portray the history of the Islands and their people; he also shows how the Islanders share the same aspirations as other colonial subjects. In so doing he taps previously unused sources. The relationship between the USA and the Virgin Islands has been marked by indifference and vacillation on the part of American officials. Moreover, the thousands of tourists who flock to the territory annually are unaware of the Islands' checkered and rich history. For many, the Islands are simply a tropical paradise. America's Virgin Islands is a fascinating, extensively documented, and detailed source of information, valuable to those interested in a political and cultural perspective, to those interested in African American or Caribbean history, and likewise to those who live in or visit the Islands.

It's everyone's dream: to leave behind the rat-race of the working world and start life all over again amidst the cool breezes, sun-drenched colours, and rum-laced drinks of a tropical paradise. This is the story of Norman Paperman, a New York City press agent who, facing the onset of middle age, runs away to a Caribbean island to reinvent himself as a hotel keeper. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk, who himself lived on an island in the sun for seven years, draws on his own experiences to tell a story at once brilliantly comic and deeply moving about a man's search for happiness, and for himself.

This full-color guidebook includes vibrant photos and easy-to-use maps to help with trip planning. Virgin Islands resident Susanna Henighan Potter offers firsthand knowledge of everything this paradise has to offer, from St. Croix to St. Thomas and Tortola. Potter guides readers to the most thrilling hikes in St. John's Virgin Islands National Park, the best snorkeling spots in Cruz Bay, and the most exciting carnivals and festivals on Virgin Gorda. Including unique trip strategies such as "Family Fun on St. John," "Sunken Ships and Plantations Past," and "Caribbean Life: Authentic St. Croix," Moon U.S. & British Virgin Islands gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.