Cuba Reader

Cuba is often perceived in starkly black and white terms - either as the site of one of Latin Americas most successful revolutions or as the repressive regime that is the worlds last bastion of communism. The Cuba Reader" multiplies perspectives on the nation many times over presenting more than one hundred selections about Cubas history culture and politics. Beginning with the first written account of the island penned by Christopher Columbus in 1492 the selections assembled here track Cuban history from the colonial period through the ascendancy of Fidel Castro to the present. "The Cuba Reader" combines songs paintings photographs poems short stories speeches cartoons government reports and proclamations and pieces by historians journalists and others. Most of these are by
Cubans both on and off the island and many appear for the first time in English. The writings and speeches of Jose Marti Fernando Ortiz Fidel Castro Alejo Carpentier Gabriel Garcia Marquez Che Guevera and Reinaldo Arenas appear alongside the testimonies of slaves prostitutes doctors travelers and activists. Some selections examine health education Catholicism and santeria; others celebrate Cubas vibrant dance music film and literary cultures. The pieces are grouped into chronological sections. Each section and individual selection is preceded by a brief introduction by the editors. The volume presents a number of pieces about twentieth-century Cuba including the events leading up to and following Castros January 1959 announcement of revolution. It provides a look at Cuba in relation to the
rest of the world: the effect of its revolution on Latin America and the Caribbean its alliance with the Soviet Union from the 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989 and its tumultuous relationship with the United States. "The Cuba Reader" also describes life in the period especially following the cutoff of Soviet aid and the tightening of the U.S. embargo. For students travelers and all those who want to know more about the island nation just ninety miles south of Miami "The Cuba Reader" is an invaluable introduction."