10. Ian Thomson, The Dead Yard: The Story of Modern Jamaica (nonfiction)
From the north, Jamaica can look like two places. It is a premium destination of choice for sun and music lovers; it is also ground zero for violence associated with the transamerican drug trade. Ian Thomson, whose previous books include Bonjour Blanc on Haiti, and one on Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi, turns an unsparing eye on Jamaica. Through his interviews and research, he paints a picture of a society for whom liberation did not come after 300 years of British rule.