Among the Children of the Sun: Travels In the Family Islands of the Bahamas

Marvin Hunt’s remarkable Among the Children of the Sun takes readers to an island nation that millions of people visit yearly, but few actually know much about. Bypassing the well-known resorts of Nassau and Freeport, he concentrates on life in the other islands of the Bahamas—the Family Islands. Hunt explores the geology of these islands; the racial, social and political history of the nation; its storied history as an eighteenth-century haven for pirates; its customs, its food and music; its religious traditions; and the challenges it faces as an emerging nation, in a lively narrative, reminiscent of Paul Theroux, that spans fifteen years of travel.

Richly detailed, full of lively encounters with people and places, Among the Children of the Sun does what no other book about the Bahamas has done: take readers beyond the name tags and smiling faces of those who service the tourist industry, into their real lives, conveying the triumphs and tragedies of ordinary people living in an extraordinary landscape. It is a work of self-discovery, too, as the author comes to terms with his own evolving life.