History Matters by Bridget Brereton

 

Selected Newspaper Columns, 2011-2021

These newspaper columns, originally published in the T&T Express between 2011 and 2021, all deal with the history of the nation and region in all its different dimensions. They consider how the past can be studied and written, and why history and heritage are important; they document the lives of interesting but now little-known individuals; and they introduce recently published books about the nation’s and region’s past.

Bridget Brereton is Emerita Professor of History at the St Augustine campus of The University of the West Indies. She has researched, written and taught the history of Trinidad & Tobago, and of the Caribbean, for over 50 years.

ISBN: 978-976-8244-47-5
Softcover
252 pages

Available in select bookstores in Trinidad.

Heady Days by Patrick Johnstone

 

"Heady Days - A Memoir of a 70s AdMan in T&T" is a memoir of advertising executive Patrick Johnstone of his career in advertising in Trinidad and Tobago, from his teenage years to the creation of Publicis Caribbean Limited.
 
Johnstone's account of the advertising agency scene in the late 1960s to early 2000s is told with deep insight and a lot of irreverent accounts of the people and situations that he encountered in his profession.
Not sparing tongue-in-cheek commentary and peppered with local aphorisms and typical "Trini" idiom, this entertaining book is geared to amuse and inform not only the "Mad Men" of his generation, but people generally in touch with the Caribbean and its idiosyncrasies.
Award-winning Adman Patrick Johnstone has worked with leading Caribbean and international companies on almost every category of advertising account imaginable, mastering all facets of the branding and creative process as an exceptional all-rounder.
After entering Trinidad's fast-evolving advertising world in 1970 at a small agency, he went on to take the industry by storm with his out-of-the-box style, eventually founding his own agency, Publicis Caribbean Limited, as part of the Publicis Worldwide Agency Network, thirty years later in 2000.
Patrick graduated in General Arts from Centennial College Toronto, Canada, and holds a diploma in Audio Engineering from The Full Sail Recording Institute, Florida. He is a practicing and successful fine artist, and the recipient of numerous advertising awards and accolades for advertising music.
He is the proud father of two daughters, Lisa and Jada and son Scott, and grandfather to two, Amelia and Nicolas.

ISBN 978-976-8244-46-8
Softcover
186 pages, fully illustrated

Buy here at Barnes and Noble or Amazon

Labour Law Publications by Justice Deborah Thomas-Felix

Labour Law And Good Industrial Relations: Progressive Discipline And Maternity Protection In The Workplace

By Deborah Thomas Felix

This book covers the very important topics of Progressive Discipline and Maternity Protection in the Workplace. The Chapters on Progressive Discipline in the Workplace include discussions on Warnings (verbal and written), Suspension from Work, Summary Dismissal, the Right to be heard, the Unilateral Alteration of Terms and Conditions of Employment. There is also a Chapter on Maternity Protection at Work and the rights of working women in regions across the globe namely, Africa, the Americas, the Arab World, Asia and Europe.
There are rules and policies to guide and direct workers , these rules and policies are important and necessary in the workplace, since they assist in the overall management of the business and lends to its smooth and effective operation, however these policies when implemented should be done in a fair and just manner.

Click here to order on Amazon

 

 

Labour Law In The Commonwealth Caribbean : The Practice Of Good Industrial Relations In The 21st Century

By Deborah Thomas Felix

This is a one of a kind Labour and Employment Law textbook which addresses subjects which are inherently germaine to the workplace and industrial relations such as Management Prerogatives, Fixed Term Contracts, Employment Contracts, Layoff, Retrenchment, Dismissal, Labour Only Contracts and Reinstatement. With the use and analysis of 176 cases and legislation from England and countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean such as Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda to explain the intricacies of Labour Law, workplace issues and good industrial relations practices, this book brings under one "umbrella" subjects that are critical for addressing some of the policies affecting the world of work, national development as well as long-term recovery and transformation following crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. An easy to read yet comprehensive guide on the practice of Industrial Relations in the Caribbean. 

Click here to order on Amazon

Jimmy and Doonie

Written by Gary Voss - Illustrations by Shawn Chong-Ashing

Gary Voss wrote the CUTEST book about a little boy, Jimmy, and his dog Doonie, who have a series of exciting adventures in Trinidad and Tobago... Really great writing and wonderful, expressive illustrations that will make reading the book aloud to small children an interactive joy!

Producer Alice Besson handing over the first copy of the book to author Gary Voss.

Finding a New World

A History of Syrian-Lebanese Settlement and Culture in Trinidad and Tobago and in Barbados 1900s–2010s

George Nader traces the growth of Syrian Lebanese settlement in Trinidad from the arrival of a few determined immigrants in the late 1800s to the present day. Using information from multiple sources, he describes its gradual transformation into the vibrant and multifaceted Trinidadian society which exists today.

This seminal study undertaken by Nader in the 1990s and finalized by him and his daughter in the 2000s, examines the data gleaned from population surveys and censuses in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the wider Caribbean which was regularly undertaken by the British Colonial governments of the Caribbean, and, after independence, by the governments of Caribbean nations occasionally from the early 60s to the present. This is the first time that the Syrian Lebanese diaspora in the southern Caribbean has been examined in detail against the backdrop of the indisputable data gleaned from those sources. 

Feeling an obligation to the Syrian Lebanese community to write a history of their society, where they came from, how they came to be in Trinidad and how they became a part of their new home, Nader was able to tell the story of the community as a whole and at the same time provide glimpses into individual experiences. This was an academic pursuit, but also one that aimed to tell the stories of those who settled in Trinidad and those who were born in this new world.

Set against the backdrop of the history of the former Ottoman Empire and that of Trinidad and Tobago, this book gives a fresh and scientific view of why the Syrian-Lebanese had to choose to leave their former home, setting sail with the intention of “Finding a New World”.

Inheritance

by Ian and Robin McDonald

West Indian poet Ian McDonald journeys down the generations of his family, describing with a loving and fascinated eye his ancestors, including warriors, poets, actors, doctors, merchants, sportsmen and civil servants, and concluding with his grand-parents and beloved parents.

“Delve a little deeper get to know the people more, what they did and tried to do, their dreams and desires and hurts and joys, how they lived and loved and worked and fought and played and died, their triumphs and tragedies: that is no foreign country of the heart and soul – that is home to all of us. What one inherits, and what one in turn passes on, is the stuff of life itself and always will be.”

Archie - The Memoir

In this companion volume to “Beloved”, Thelma Seheult’s memoir, we now meet her husband Archie. 

From the origins of the McDonald clan in the misty heights of Scotland, to roaming the hills of Northern Trinidad on horseback to examine cocoa plantations for witches broom, to the matter of how to win Thelma’s heart and hand: Archie’s memoir gives us a glimpse into the life and love of a young man in Trinidad and Antigua in the early decades of the 20th century.