Caribbean Style

Part photo essay, part design survey, Caribbean Style offers cover-to-cover color photos (more than 600 in all) of the landscapes, facades, and interiors of the alluring Antilles, a region "at once showy and down-to-earth." Visit the regal plantation manors, the elegant town houses, the nicely appointed vacation homes, the proudly painted homes of the populace, and the omnipresent gardens of nine beautiful Caribbean islands. The very notion of a unified Caribbean style would seem to be impossible in this realm of separate island worlds, yet the diversity is rooted in a common Creole heritage, resulting in a fascinating vernacular architecture that tells the story of life--both past and present--in the West Indies. --Amy Handy