Cuba: A New History (Yale Nota Bene)

This new look at the history of Cuba illuminates the island’s entire revolutionary past as well as the most recent decades of the Castro regime

Events in Fidel Castro’s island nation often command international attention and just as often inspire controversy. Impassioned debate over situations as diverse as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Elián Gonzáles affair is characteristic not only of modern times but of centuries of Cuban history. In this concise and up-to-date book, British journalist Richard Gott casts a fresh eye on the history of the Caribbean island from its pre-Columbian origins to the present day. He provides a European perspective on a country that is perhaps too frequently seen solely from the American point of view.

The author emphasizes such little-known aspects of Cuba’s history as its tradition of racism and violence, its black rebellions, the survival of its Indian peoples, and the lasting influence of Spain. The book also offers an original look at aspects of the Revolution, including Castro’s relationship with the Soviet Union, military exploits in Africa, and his attempts to promote revolution in Latin America and among American blacks. In a concluding section, Gott tells the extraordinary story of the Revolution’s survival in the post-Soviet years.

• Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History
• Havana Fever (Mario Conde Investigates)
• Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause
• Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Revised Edition)
• Lonely Planet Cuba (Travel Guide)
• Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution
• Dreaming in Cuban
• The Other Side of Paradise: Life in the New Cuba
• The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)
• The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The Latin America Readers)