‘As Jamaican as the Blue Mountains’ is an apt description of this iconic region whose natural beauty and unique cultural heritage has earned it the distinction of being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From hiking to birding, to discovering a world of rare butterflies and endemic plants, to experience the awe and majesty of the mist covered mountains and their cascading waterfalls; to see, smell, and taste the best coffee in the world and to savour the cuisine of talented mountain cooks, this book beckons the reader to ‘go otherwise you will never know.’

Lynda Lee Burks’s vivid descriptions, written in a relaxed and easy going style,  seamlessly blend the cultural and historical record of the indigenous Tainos, Maroons, and iterant visitors from the  days of old with the everyday lives and struggles of today’s small farmers, artists, artisans, and entrepreneurs in an engaging narrative.

The book is copiously illustrated with stunning photographs of misty mountain vistas, peaceful streams, waterfalls, and quaint dwellings, supplemented by sketches of rare birds and butterflies not easily caught by the camera’s eye.

This is a gem of a book, one to be visited and read repeatedly and kept both as a memento and  as a constant companion on return visits to Jamaica’s Misty Blue Mountains.