Breathtaking photographs capture the history and unique design of the English island great houses, detailing the hardwood furniture, terraced gardens, walled courtyards, and interiors. Perhaps the most admired and influential of tropical styles, the English island style transformed residences into private paradises. British West Indies Style is a lavish account of the interiors, architecture, and lifestyle of the English colonial great houses and historic town houses in the Caribbean—from Antigua, Jamaica, Nevis, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts, Mustique to the less-traveled islands of Bequia and Dominica. Close to fifty private homes are featured, with unique collections of antique, indigenous, and colonial furniture: a southern plantation style scaled and refreshingly adapted to the airy, sunny climate of the Windward and Leeward Islands. Presenting a world rarely seen by visitors—the homes of the islands’ affluent planters, both historical and contemporary—the English island styles are elegant yet practical and accessible, giving ideas for the use of local materials, painting and stenciling techniques, environment-enhancing design, and indoor/outdoor living—all of which are ubiquitous in contemporary interior design.Michael Connors, an expert in West Indies antiques, is a contributor to numerous publications, including Art & Antiques, Antiques and Fine Art, and The Magazine Antiques. He has written many books, including Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture (Rizzoli, 2009).

Robert L. Stone follows the sound of steel guitar into the music-driven Pentecostal worship of two related churches: the House of God and the Church of the Living God. Sacred Steel (University of Illinois, $28.75) traces the tradition through four generations of musicians and in some two hundred churches extending across the country from Florida to California, Michigan to Alabama. A rare outsider who has gained the trust of members and musicians inside the church, Stone uses nearly two decades of research, interviews, and fieldwork to tell the story of a vibrant musical tradition that straddles sacred and secular contexts. Presenting detailed portraits of musical pioneers such as brothers Troman and Willie Eason and contemporary masters such as Chuck Campbell, Glenn Lee, and Robert Randolph, Stone expertly outlines the fundamental tensions between sacred steel musicians and church hierarchy. 8pm