My Political Journey: Jamaica’s Sixth Prime Minister is an “Award-Winning Finalist in the Autobiography/Memoir category of the 2019 International Book Awards”. Over 2,000 entries were submitted and My Political Journey: Jamaica’s Sixth Prime Minister was one of the 400 winners and finalists announced in over 90 categories.
My Political Journey: Jamaica’s Sixth Prime Minister is P.J. Patterson’s account of his time as an active and successful participant in the political and social development of Jamaica and the Caribbean from the mid-1950s well into the early 2000s. He was widely regarded as a master political strategist and universally acknowledged as an astute negotiator. Jamaica is an enigma: its global impact belies its population and geographical size. This story of one of its most exceptional citizens is an enlightening revelation of the island’s political and cultural narrative. Patterson was born in 1935,the dawn of a new era in the development of Jamaica and the Caribbean. A previously disenfranchised population would gain a voice through universal adult suffrage and have a say in the direction of the nation’s affairs. Within a few decades, an independent nation would emerge to make a significant impact on the global landscape. Patterson is both a product of this new Jamaica and one of its architects, and his is a compelling and intimate account of a dramatic era for the young nation. P.J. Patterson led his country with distinction, implementing policies and programmes to foster social renewal and the development of a modern Jamaica that was prepared to face the challenges of the new millennium. Throughout his career in the People’s National Party, he gained international respect through the pivotal roles he played in the advancement of the causes of the developing countries of the world. My Political Journey recounts his performance at the national,regional and global levels and is a fascinating record of a nation’s postcolonial growth.
Selected Previews
By: Hon. R. Danny Williams OJ, CD. JP. Hon LLD (UTech), Hon LLD (UWI)
J. Patterson’s memoirs present the exciting saga of an idealistic, hard working rural youth who rose to contribute distinguished national and international service. “My Political Journey” highlights a lifetime of dedicated work, at great sacrifice to his legal career. An outstanding organizer and strategist, skillful debater and parliamentarian, Patterson’s story reveals not only a man of integrity, but a true democrat, committed to respect across party lines and to promoting consensus. With decades of service as both minister and shadow minister across a wide range of sectors, a record of outstanding leadership among non-aligned countries and CARIFTA nations, the author is one of the most experienced and skilled politicians produced by this country. As Jamaica’s sixth Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson guided Jamaica through its worst economic crisis, while promoting some of our most significant infrastructural developments of modern times, not least of which were those which laid the foundations for Jamaica’s entry into the era of digital technology. This book also chronicles the unique and colourful story of the Jamaican political system as it developed over the past 60 odd years. Written with humour as well as candour, it is a must read for all Jamaicans, but especially those youngsters who have little understanding of the country’s modern history and of those who sacrificed to build the freedoms and other benefits we now take for granted.
By: Ms. Jacqueline Cummings, President of the Jamaican Bar Association
I wish to congratulate the Most Honourable P. J. Patterson on the publication of his memoirs. As a member of our noble profession, I applaud his commitment to “always strive to secure the justice which our people seek”. It is a pity that politics took him away from his successful exploits as a Barrister in our courtroom, as politics deprived a generation of my colleagues from the opportunity to witness and experience his brilliant legal mind in full flight. I extol one of his parliamentary speeches where he stated that “no party, no leader, no minister, no member of Parliament, should ever forget that the duty to serve comes first. It must at all times, take precedence over the quest and ambition for power.” I recommend persons to read this book as it outlines his many achievements, his challenges and illuminates his selfless service to our nation.
By: Dr. The Hon Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister St. Vincent and the Grenadines
PJ Patterson’s My Political Journey is simply one of the most incisive and elegantly written autobiographies by any political personality from the Americas and the Caribbean.
Patterson, the longest serving and distinguished Prime Minister of Jamaica, traces his early beginnings, his political development and his service at the highest levels in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the developing South. In the process, Patterson offers us facts, wisdom and understanding on comprehensive bundles of issues over the past 50 years, which have defined Jamaica, our Caribbean, and their relationships with the rest of the world. In his autobiography, Patterson’s erudition, caring philosophy, humanity and strength of character shine through. My Political Journey is a magnificent testament to the life and work of a Caribbean man of the highest quality.
It is a “must read” for all persons interested in politics and public policy in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and beyond.
By: President Ricardo Lagos
A fascinating memoir. Prime Minister Patterson, as a real Statesman, shows how the English Speaking Caribbean countries became a unique player at the regional arena, enlarging their influence in the Latin American Region, and at the world level.
By: Sir Shridath Ramphal
Were My Political Journey not memoirs obedient to modesty, an apt title of these pages might have been ‘The Best of the Caribbean’. For that is what ‘PJ’ has been; such is the West Indian whose political life story is narrated here. And because of the values, the dreams, the efforts that guided that life – and blessedly still does – this candid account of them will influence generations of West Indians beyond the present to know that the best is attainable still. Jamaica has enhanced our civilization in many ways. The political journey of P.J. Patterson is one of them. It is told here in two splendid volumes. The best tribute we can pay as a Caribbean Region is to enable a volume 3 with the title A Legacy of Fulfilment.
By: Verene A. Shepherd, Professor of Social History, The UWI
P.J. Patterson’s book is an account of his intellectual and political journey from the [Hanover Hills] to the [Jamaica] House and the ideologies that shaped his actions on the local, regional and international stages. On a broader level, it is a history of Jamaica from the turbulent 1930s to the post-independence struggle for rights, respect and a black identity. It is an account of the role of every influential person in the author’s life, from family to friends to teachers to political colleagues and adversaries; of the movers and shakers of Jamaica’s development who rubbed shoulders with the author over this long political journey.
The author of My Political Journey was born at a time when the church, the school and the extended family were all seeking to rid Jamaican society of the brutality and oppression of the past and build instead respect for the dignity of the human condition. Not surprisingly, the book outlines the journey taken by Jamaica as it attempted to become its best self and distance itself from the obscenities of British colonialism.
The story of the Jamaican people is one of triumph over adversity; of making good out of small beginnings; of using the revolutionary potential of education, family support and opportunities that come one’s way to “step up inna life”. Within the pages of this 2 volume, 40-chapter book one is introduced to a man from humble beginnings, who stepped up but tried to leave the ladder in place and pass the baton to others when time come!
Located as it is at the cross roads of History, Law, Sociology, Political Science and International Relations and within the tradition of the indigenous knowledge production, it is a reminder of the African proverb that “until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” This Lion has written and spoken! More of us should follow his example.
By: George Alleyne, Chancellor Emeritus, University of the West Indies
Mr Patterson’s book is a scintillating account of the growth and development of a Caribbean icon who has devoted his life to public service. In delightfully readable prose, he describes a career watered initially by regionalism that flowed from the fledgling University College of the West Indies at Mona, matured in the hurly burly of national politics and coming to full bloom as a successful politician/Prime Minister who used his formidable talents for the benefit of his country and the region as a whole. This book is essential reading especially for those, wherever they may be who call the Caribbean space their own.
By: Keith Ellis
In this book P.J. Patterson’s writing itself is another dimension of his respectful adherence to the Jamaican people. He is attractive and not intimidating in his expressiveness, always making the language appropriate and contributory to the mood of his narrative. There is the crystal clarity with which he clings to the identities of his childhood friends and neighbours and recalls the tiny but potent districts of his western Jamaica; the lyricism with which he sings the natural beauty of the Mona campus, where he found the love of his life and learned the beauty of academic rigour; the unimpeachably humane logic that informs the positions he takes as he ascends with integrity the tiers of responsibility.
By: Most Hon. Prof. Sir Kenneth Hall, Former Governor General of Jamaica
Two themes have dominated post – independence Caribbean experience: the pursuit of a viable mechanism for integration and the efforts to have a Caribbean voice on the international stage. There is consensus at the national, regional and international levels that P.J. Patterson is one of the principal architects of the conceptualisation and fashioning of instruments to accommodate the creation and maintenance of a regional system capable of participating at the global level. His memoirs document the monumental challenges facing Jamaica and the Caribbean and his own involvement at the leadership level. Yet, this is more than an autobiography as it provides invaluable insights and information, and more importantly the context of the issues that have consumed the attention of Caribbean leaders for the last fifty years. It pinpoints solutions that were successfully implemented as well as the disappointments experienced. It provides a first- hand account of one of the key players of the decisions taken as well as the relationships between national, regional and global leaders. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this memoir is P.J.’s keen sense of the changes that were occurring and the need for new strategies for successful governance and leadership in the age of globalisation.
This memoir, so expertly articulated by P.J. Patterson should be required reading for all contemporary and future leaders who are called upon to fashion new programmes to inspire and uplift the people of the Caribbean.
By: Rachel Manley
Two themes have dominated post – independence Caribbean experience: the pursuit of a viable mechanism for integration and the efforts to have a Caribbean voice on the international stage. There is consensus at the national, regional and international levels that P.J. Patterson is one of the principal architects of the conceptualisation and fashioning of instruments to accommodate the creation and maintenance of a regional system capable of participating at the global level. His memoirs document the monumental challenges facing Jamaica and the Caribbean and his own involvement at the leadership level. Yet, this is more than an autobiography as it provides invaluable insights and information, and more importantly the context of the issues that have consumed the attention of Caribbean leaders for the last fifty years. It pinpoints solutions that were successfully implemented as well as the disappointments experienced. It provides a first- hand account of one of the key players of the decisions taken as well as the relationships between national, regional and global leaders. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this memoir is P.J.’s keen sense of the changes that were occurring and the need for new strategies for successful governance and leadership in the age of globalisation.
This memoir, so expertly articulated by P.J. Patterson should be required reading for all contemporary and future leaders who are called upon to fashion new programmes to inspire and uplift the people of the Caribbean.
By: Alister McIntyre
The volume covers the reflections and experiences of the Most Honourable P..J. Patterson, as they pertain to the regional and international issues to which he devoted a very substantial part of his career.
They describe his exceptional mastery of the problems with which the CARICOM countries have had to contend, and his own contributions in both the regional and international fora which are a matter of record.
It is no exaggeration to say that the depth and quality of his involvement with these issues are probably without precedent among the leadership in the CARICOM countries since political independence.
Policy makers and scholars will find that the text of the book contains material that could be brought to bear on their consideration of present problems, as well as being an invaluable reference to those fields where the author provided exemplary leadership.