Additional Reading & Viewing
Looking to delve further into the islands of The Bahamas? Here’s a few links to our favorite books and movies.
History & Memoir
Buccaneer: The Provocative Odyssey of Jack Reed, Adventurer, Drug Smuggler and Pilot Extraordinaire, by MayCay Beeler
Buccaneer is the stimulating true account of the life and times of Jack Reed, an All-American boy turned drug smuggler; turned Robinson Crusoe, then prison inmate. For the first time, Jack Reed discloses his extraordinary, tabooed journey as a high flying international cocaine smuggler and personal pilot for Carlos Lehder, partner to Pablo Escobar of the Medellin Cartel. Reed flew drug runs for Lehder who handled transportation, while Colombian drug lord Escobar handled production and supply. Lehder’s cocaine transport empire was based at Norman’s Cay, an out island in the Bahamas.
***Top Pick***
The Real McCoy, by Frederic F Van de Water
A biography of the rum running era during the American prohibition. Bill McCoy was and American pioneering the rum running based in Nassau. He was known not to dilute his moonshine whisky, which a lot of rum runners did. Because he was known for his good quality whisky, the phrase The Real McCoy was coined, meaning “the real thing.”
***Top Pick***
Wind from the Carolinas, by Robert Wilder
Probably one of the most widely read historical accounts of The Bahamas, in the form of a story that spans multiple generations from the original Loyalists settlers in the Carolinas, and their adventures in establishing plantations in The Exumas.
***Top Pick***
Life on a Rock, by K.A. Albury
A memoir of five years spent managing the island of Highbourne Cay in the Northern Exumas. Kate Albury discusses the challenges and at times life-threatening circumstances. From an armed robbery, drug traders and illegal immigrants, to medical mishaps and disasters at sea, this book is fairly heavy reading, but gives the reader an unbiased view of the hardships of remote island living.
Homeward Bound: A history of the Bahama Islands to 1850 with a Definitive Study of Abaco in the American Loyalist Plantation Period, by Sanda Riley
Interesting read relating to family genealogy relevant to the islands of The Abacos
Turning the Tide, One Man Against the Medellin Cartel, by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick
Richard Novak, an American professor, was invited by Carlos Lehder to Norman’s Cay to study the hammerhead shark population. Novak was quickly immersed in the Medellin Cartel’s successful drug running operation at the time. An entertaining read but not considered a fully factual account of events.
***Top Pick***
Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine, by John McCaslin
The memoir of Bahamian Jimmy Moree who got involved in the weed running era of the 1970’s from Nassau to Florida. Working with The Chief, he was one of the most successful weed runners of the time.
***Top Pick***
The Harbour Island Story, by A&J Lawlor
A fantastic and in-depth history of the original European settlers in North Eleuthera, starting with the Eleuthera Adventurers. The book gives detailed accounts of settlers and families, and economic cycles in Harbour Island. More of a history book type read opposed to a story.
***Top Pick***
Out Island Doctor, by Evans W. Cottman
A biography of a middle-aged man who left a small Midwest town who moved to The Bahamas to start a new life in the 1940’s. The story is based in The Abacos and depicts the oftentimes humorous accounts of island life with an inside perspective on the culture and language of islanders.
Bahama Saga: The Epic Story of The Bahama Islands, by Peter Barratt
Stories and adventures of the three distinct races of people that have called the Bahama islands home in the past several hundred years. This includes the native people of the islands, the original European settlers and their African slaves. New historical findings make this book fairly dated, with older ideas not currently relevant.
Fiction
A Salty Piece of Land, by Jimmy Buffett
Following the adventures of Tully Mars and his horse, he makes his way from the snowy mountains of Wyoming to a fictional island in Central America. He meets a pirate lady who is intent on finding a replacement Fresnel lens for her red and white striped lighthouse. It is thought that the lighthouse is based on the Elbow Reef Lighthouse in Hope Town, and gives readers a bit of background on the importance and rarity of these particular lenses.
***Top Pick***
Bad Monkey, by Carl Hiaasen
A cop and detective fiction novel with plenty of humor, action and adventure. The story takes place between Florida and The Bahamas.
Suggested Viewing
Return to Norman’s Cay, produced by MayCay Beeler, directed by RJ Gritter
A documentary depicting stories of the colorful history of one of the most notorious drug-running base of operations in the world, the Medellin Cartel.
Thunderball, by Elon Productions
A 1965 James Bond spy film featuring Sean Connery, adapted from the Ian Flemming novel. Bond is tasked with finding stolen atomic bombs which leads him to the islands of The Bahamas. Scenes filmed in Nassau and at Thunderball Grotto near Staniel Cay, Exumas.
Blow, by New Line Cinema
Johnny Depp stars in the story about George Jung and his involvement with the Medellin Cartel and cocaine smuggling from Columbia to the US in the 1970’s. The Bahamas was used as a stopping point and Norman’s Cay has an appearance in the movie. Although it wasn’t actually filmed in The Bahamas, Johnny Depp DOES own an island a little bit further south in the Exumas.
***Top Pick***
Black Sails, by Platinum Dunes
A historical adventure TV series that takes place in New Providence and Harbour Island in the early 1700’s. It focuses on the new Loyalist settlers and the pirates that used Nassau Harbour as their home port and their threat to maritime trade.
***Top Pick***
Flipper, by The Bubble Factory
Starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood, the movie was filmed at Stuart Cove’s dive center in Nassau and utilized many local residents for all aspects of production. The story is about a boy who becomes friends with a dolphin.