Published On:Tuesday, December 01, 2009

IT IS NOT OFTEN -- if ever-- that we have recommended a Christmas gift in this column. However, Christmas is near and a book has just arrived on our desk that we would highly recommend for Santa's stocking.

It is the beautifully printed and designed fiftieth anniversary edition of Bahamas Handbook.

One hundred of its 736 pages includes highlights of the last five decades of the Bahamian story in words and in pictures.

Started 50 years ago by Etienne Dupuch, Jr, and his late wife, Sylvia Perfetti Dupuch of Connecticut, the book -- always a must on the reading list of any official being transferred to the Bahamas -- has grown and changed in many ways.

As the books says, the young publishers, then in their twenties "wanted to produce a first class publication of interest to anyone who lives, works, does business, invests, vacations or retires in the Bahamas. It is designed as well to support the twin pillars of the Bahamian economy: tourism and financial services. But beyond that the Dupuches wanted to help Bahamians and non-Bahamians alike appreciate the rich tapestry of the islands' culture and its tumultuous 500-year history. It's a fascinating story: the creation of a vibrant and independent nation from a string of low-lying islands scattered across the turquoise waters of the Great Bahama Bank."

Of course, the book has its usual and useful detailed information section on almost any topic that one would want to know about the Bahamas, whether it be a tourist looking for accommodation or an investor wanting to know more about the island's investment policy, how to form a company, or enter property transactions -- in other words good solid advice from health to settling down in the Bahamas. It is also an excellent information guide for Bahamians on almost anything one would want to know -- 189 pages of information devoted to New Providence and the Out Islands, and another 59 pages exclusively on Freeport and Lucaya.

There's an article on the unforgettable 1960s when the Bahamas enjoyed a golden age of tourism and witnessed 10 years of political turmoil. It was in 1962 that US President John F Kennedy, Britain's Harold Macmillan and Canada's John Diefenbaker of Canada held their summit meeting at Lyford Cay in what became known as the Nassau Talks.

The 1970s was the decade of independence, followed by the '80s referred to as the "best and worst of times" -- it was a period when an economic recovery was overshadowed by a drug scandal and political turmoil.

And then comes the 1990s, described as the decade of high-tech progress. Also it marked the end of the 25-year reign of the PLP under the late Sir Lynden Pindling and the ushering in of the Ingraham era and the FNM.

There are many feature stories interspersed with interesting vignettes of people and events throughout Bahamian history.

It is not generally known that Woodes Rogers, the Bahamas' first Royal governor, who was noted for suppressing the pirates -- conducting a public hanging to press his point -- was himself foisted high by an angry governor's wife who grabbed him by his coat lapels and lifted him from the floor.

According to late historian, Dr Paul Albury -- "The Story of the Bahamas" -- Governor George Phenney's wife was a millstone around his neck. Dr Albury describes her as a "hard-mouthed, ambitious woman, who dominated and abused everyone she encountered. She monopolized both the export trade, charging the inhabitants exorbitant prices for what she sold and often neglecting to pay for what she bought."

The Handbook takes the Phenney story of the 1700s a step further. Describing the madam as a "holy terror", it tells the story of when Rogers returned to the Bahamas for a second tour of duty to replace Phenney, the latter pleaded with him to detain his wife so that he could escape to England and without her knowledge start divorce proceedings. When she found out, she confronted Rogers at Government House. As he descended the stairs, Rogers "found Mrs Phenney's distorted face suddenly inches from his own as she seized the lapels of his coat and screamed her frenzied wrath at him. 'You gaol bird! I swear to you Rogers, if you dare to order my arrest I'll have you hauled back to England to face another term in prison' ...She gave the governor's shoulders a powerful push so that Rogers had to grasp the bannister to prevent himself from falling."

This edition has something for everyone -- all in all it is interesting reading.