Pocket Shop

Julia Alvarez has been called “a one-woman cultural collision” by the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and that has never been truer than in this story about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. A teenager when Julia and her husband, Bill, first met him in 2001, Piti crossed the border into the Dominican Republic to find work. Julia, impressed by his courage, charmed by his smile, has over the years come to think of him as a son, even promising to be at his wedding someday. When Piti calls in 2009, Julia’s promise is tested.

To Alvarez, much admired for her ability to lead readers deep inside her native Dominican culture, “Haiti is like a sister I’ve never gotten to know.” And so we follow her across the border into what was once the richest of all the French colonies and now teeters on the edge of the abyss—first for the celebration of a wedding and a year later to find Piti’s loved ones in the devastation of the earthquake. As in all of Alvarez’s books, a strong message is packed inside an intimate, beguiling story, this time about the nature of poverty and of wealth, of human love and of human frailty, of history and of the way we live now.

Welcome to Puerto Rico: endless sand, swashbuckling history lessons and wildly diverse tropical terrain. The sun-washed backyard of the United States is a place locals fittingly call the Island of Enchantment. Nate Cavalieri, Lonely Planet Writer
Our Promise
You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.
Inside This Book
2 expert authors
84 days (and nights) of research
110 stunning beaches explored
53 legendary surf breaks
Inspirational photos
Clear, easy-to-use maps
Pull-out city map
Puerto Rico Outdoors feature
Comprehensive planning tools
Easy-to-read layout

In January 1952, two young men from Buenos Aires set out to explore South America on an ancient Norton motorbike. The journey lasted six months and took them thousands of miles, all the way from Argentina to Venezuela. En route, there was disasters and discoveries, high drama, low comedy, fights, parties and a lot of serious drinking. They met an extraordinary range of people: native indians and copper miners, lepers, police, wanderers and tourists. They became stowaways, firemen and football coaches, and joined in a strike. They sometimes fell in love, and frequently fell off the motorbike. Both of them kept diaries. One of them was a tall and good-looking medical student called Ernest Guevara de la Serna. Using the standard Argentinean nickname, others would sometimes refer to the two companions as Big Che and Little Che. In Ernesto's case, the nickname stuck. Within a decade the whole world would know Che Guevara. This is the story of that remarkable journey, eight years before the Cuban Revolution, in Che's own words, and illustrated with contemporary photographs. For Che, it was a formative experience, and amidst the humour and pathos of the tale, there are examples of his idealism and his solidarity with the poor and the oppressed. But it is far from being the diary of a militant, and sometimes very far from being "political correct", which may be the reason that the manuscript has only been made available now, a quarter century after Che's death in the Bolivian jungle. Instead, it is a record kept by an exuberant, intelligent and observant 23-year-old, describing what might have been the adventure of a lifetime - had his lifetime not turned into a much greater adventure.

Cruise Ship Confidential is a two part book. Part one is a fun read about a cruise aboard the Carnival Destiny Cruise Ship that took us to Key West and the Bahamas with the motto "Cruising on Island Time". No cares no worries.
Part two contains tips to make your cruise the best it can be.

Sample from part one:

As the day progressed, Tracy started to talk about it a little bit. The conversation went something like this.
"I thought you'd be excited."
"I need to lose weight."
"You look great!"
"I need to save money."
"I've got the cruise covered. It includes our food and onboard activities, all we have to do is pay for our drinks and shore excursions."
"We drink a lot."
"I guess I need to save some money too."
She made a good point but how expensive could alcohol be?

Sample from part two:

SECRET DOORS
Here I have listed some tips for finding “Secret Doors.” Although they really aren’t secret, they are not well-known. In most instances, these doors will lead to a forward-facing balcony just below the bridge and is the furthest forward you can go on the ship as a passenger. Not many people know of this balcony so it is a great place to get away from the crowds. If you don’t see your ship listed here, it doesn’t hurt to look.


The book is approximately 23,000 words or roughly 120 pages making it a quick fun read with pictures from our cruise as well as links to cruising websites.

Voodoo Punks
When your own men want you dead, it is time to get out of town. Way out of town, where they will never find you, or will they ?

Come join this fast paced adventure of Time Travel, Hit Men and Forbidden Love. You will not be disappointed.

Just Right for a Flight Books are made to be read on a plane, easy on your eyes and entertaining to your brain.

Have a nice flight.

At an astonishingly young age, Edwidge Danticat has become one of our most celebrated new novelists, a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti--and the enduring strength of Haiti's women--with a vibrant imagery and narrative grace that bear witness to her people's suffering and courage.  

At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti--to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people.

Squawk 7700, an aviation autobiography by Peter M. Buffington, tells of his personal adventure into the world of aviation to achieve a professional airline pilot career. He provides riveting details of daily operations within the aviation industry, and the struggles flight crew members face to maintain their lifestyles.

Buckle your seatbelt and prepare for an eye-opening, turbulent ride into the world of aviation from the pilot's seat. From student pilot at age 15, to flight instructor, to nighttime cargo pilot, and finally to first officer aboard the ATR 42 and ATR 72 turboprop airliners, island hopping across the Caribbean, Buffington relates his personal experiences. He explains why recent accidents, like Colgan Air Flight 3407, in Buffalo, NY, and Comair Flight 5191, in Lexington, KY, can occur.

My personal experiences as an airline pilot and as acting first officer aboard US Airways Flight 1549 that ditched into the Hudson River, I recommend Squawk 7700 for anyone interested in an aviation career, and mandatory reading for those who fly on our national airline system.

- Jeff Skiles, First Officer US Airways Flight 1549


A few more reviews...

An honest, inside look at the aviation industry from someone who lived it.
- A.S., Former regional airline captain

I finished your book a few weeks ago...I could not put it down. It was like I was living it all right beside you. I ached in agony while reading about some of your experiences, and then thinking about how you are probably the most naturally blessed pilot with great flying abilities that I ever flew with.
- K.S., American Airlines First Officer

I have just finished reading your book. I read it cover to cover in two days! Thanks for an exciting and informative story! I am impressed by the openness with which you describe your personal story....anyway, thanks again for "the book that was missing" and the best of luck to you. I will spread the word of your book among my aviation friends."
-Tom P., Commercial Pilot, Danderyd, Sweden

The industry has changed much since I flew in the hay day of the airline boom. 1963 -> 1993 - retired TWA, 30 years. This young lad has written a solid tale about how things have changed in today's airline career. Outstanding book about an often overlooked niche of the aviation industry - The 1st 10 years. Sacrifices abound and soul searching within, I look back at my own sacrifice, for each of us was created to die, and within, Peter is a lad of integrity, nicely done.
- TARPA

Although two decades separate his trials and tribulations from mine to obtain federal licensing permitting us to fly commercially in an effort to build the experience necessary become employed by a major airline, the insufferable challenges remain unchanged. Peter’s descriptions of the existence of dangerously poor maintenance and unscrupulous pressure to ignore Federal Aviation Regulations at entry level air freight and air taxi charter operations were chillingly reminiscent of my experiences in the 1970s. The actions, or perhaps more accurately reactions, taken by Congress to supplant the “invisible hand” with a “visible hammer” only validate the voracity of Peter’s accounts of his experiences while attempting to pursue a career as a professional pilot. Television shows such as the PBS series Flying Cheap very adroitly lift Peter’s words from the pages of his book, and provide audio visual validation to his experiences. Squawk 7700 provides the reader with an excellent insight as to the coming shortage of qualified pilots this country will experience during the second decade of the 21st century. This book should be mandatory reading at the first year level for any student at any professional pilot training institution.
- Capt W. Mann, US Airways, Boeing 737, 30 years

Cuba is a continuing education. Just when you think you ve figured it out, it confounds you with another brow-beating riddle. That essentially is its underlying attraction. Brendan Sainsbury, Lonely Planet Writer
Our Promise
You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.
Inside This Book
2 authors
15 weeks of research
300+ beaches
35,000 pre-1959 American cars
Inspirational photos
In-depth background
Havana pull-out map
At-a-glance practical info
Comprehensive planning tools
Easy-to-read layout