Best of the Best Book Club: "Island on Fire" by Tom Zoellner

Join Coronado Public Library's newest book club, the Best of the Best! We meet regularly on the 4th Tuesday of each month to discuss books that have won major awards. Receive reminder emails about our meeting by registering below. Registration is not required. 

In April we will discuss the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, Island on Fire by Tom Zoellner, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

For five horrific weeks in 1831-1832, Jamaica was shaken by an uprising of its enslaved people. What started as a peaceful labor strike quickly turned into a full-blown revolt, leaving hundreds of plantations in smoking ruins. By the time British put down the rebels, more than a thousand Jamaicans lay dead from on-the-spot executions and extrajudicial murder.

While the rebels lost their military gamble, their sacrifice accelerated the larger struggle for freedom in the British Empire. The daring and suffering of the Jamaicans galvanized public opinion, resulting in the decisive turn against slavery. For centuries, cruel bondage had fed Britain’s lust for sugar. Within two years of the rebellion, slavery was abolished.

Island on Fire is the dramatic day-by-day account of this transformative uprising. A skillful storyteller, Tom Zoellner goes back to primary sources to tell the story of the men and women who tasted liberty for a few brief weeks. He memorably evokes the sights and sounds of the Caribbean in the 1830s, provides the first full portrait of its enigmatic leader Samuel Sharpe, and gives us a poignant glimpse of the dreams of the Jamaicans who died for liberty.

Place the book on hold on the Coronado Public Library catalog by clicking here or check out the e-book or audiobook on the Libby or Cloud Library apps.