For more than half a century, C. L. R. James (1901-1989)-"the Black Plato," as coined by the London Times-has been an internationally renowned revolutionary thinker, writer, and activist. Born in Trinidad, his lifelong work was devoted to understanding and transforming race and class exploitation in his native West Indies, as well as in Britain and the United States. In C. L. R. James's Caribbean, noted scholars examine the roots of both James's life and oeuvre in connection with the economic, social, and political environment of the West Indies. Drawing upon James's observations of his own life as revealed to interviewers and close friends, this volume provides an examination of James's childhood and early years as colonial literatteur and his massive contribution to West Indian political-cultural understanding. Moving beyond previous biographical interpretations, the contributors here take up the problem of reading James's texts in light of poststructuralist criticism, the implications of his texts for Marxist discourse, and for problems of Caribbean development.

"These penetrating studies throw much-needed light both on C. L. R. James and the Caribbean worlds about which he cared so much... Required reading for all who would like to understand James's varied work."--David Barry Gaspar, author of Bondmen and Rebels "This volume is a provocative and powerful introduction to the political and literary writings of C. L. R. James, one of the twentieth century's greatest intellectuals of the left. This creative collection explores new dimensions of James's thought and is essential reading for those interested in the black intellectual tradition of the Caribbean in literature, politics, and history."-Manning Marable, University of Colorado at Boulder

Paget Henry, a native of Antigua, is Associate Professor of Sociology and Afro-American Studies at Brown University. His books include Peripheral Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Antigua. Paul Buhle is the author of C. L. R. James: His Life and Work.