When Banana Was King: The Life and Times of Jamaican "Banana King" Alfred Constantine Goffe [Paperback]

 

 

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When Banana Was King is a wonderful and informative book! It explores race, class, and sex in Jamaica, the Caribbean, the United States, and the UK through the story of the banana trade industry and AC Goffe and his family. This book is not just written wonderfully with many details, but there are other parts of it that enhance it greatly. It is quite a creative work as shown through the titles of the chapters and the quotes beneath each title. It was an entertaining and informative read! The first chapter titled "King Banana" emphasizes the grandness of the "Jamaican Banana King in Jim Crow America". Also, the quote underneath the title, "He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf", fits well with AC Goffe as he was not a righteous man and so he did not flourish like a plant. Although he had many successes in his life, eventually his success ran out and he died `heartbroken'. Goffe, a corrupt man, trusted in his riches and wealth which led to his demise.
Quotes from the Daily Gleaner show just how grand AC Goffe was. Even though Goffe was a corrupt and unkind man, one cannot ignore his accomplishments and those of his family. Furthermore, Goffe's mother was a slave he was "one of the largest exporters of bananas from Jamaica to the US..." The fact that not long after slavery Goffe and his family were able to accomplish great things is extraordinary and Goffe should be remembered today which this book, When Banana Was King will help to do.
From the first chapter the reader is met with extraordinary detail that transports the reader to the time that is written about. Quotes from newspapers such as the Daily Gleaner help to accomplish this. There are actual excerpts from the Lanasa and Goffe Steamship and Importing Company's incorporation papers from 1906. The reader can already sense the enormity of what Goffe achieved, working as a partner with an Italian man in the severely racist American south where black men were hanged for simply looking at a white woman.
The exact time and date of Lanasa and Goffe's meeting at Baltimore's City Hall further shows the detail of the research and work put into this book. It also conjures up an image in the reader's head of this odd couple in the racist south.
In the chapter titled "Dagoes and Niggers", the mention of Harry Belafonte ties Jamaican history to a popular American song. This is an intriguing connection. Important parts of Baltimore's history are also incorporated into this story. The great fire, even though it was a disaster, probably helped it more than hurt it. Many buildings, roads, and other things had to be rebuilt with stronger and better material.
The wonderful writing, detail, intrigue continues throughout the book, from beginning to end!!

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