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During thirteen tense days in October 1962, and only ninety miles from the coast of Florida, the Soviet Union constructed nuclear missile silos and shipped nuclear warheads to Communist Cuba bringing both superpowers to the brink of a nuclear war. This volume examines the missile crisis from the perspective of U.S. citizens, includes articles that highlight the public response, and provides primary documents such as speeches and communiques to which the public had access through news media during the crisis period. ... Read more

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The United States and Cuba share a complex, fractious, interconnected history. Before 1959, the United States was the island nation's largest trading partner. But in swift reaction to Cuba's communist revolution, the United States severed all economic ties between the two nations, initiating the longest trade embargo in modern history, one that continues to the present day. The Cuban Embargo examines the changing politics of U.S. policy toward Cuba over the more than four decades since the revolution.

While the U.S. embargo policy itself has remained relatively stable since its origins during the heart of the Cold War, the dynamics that produce and govern that policy have changed dramatically. Although originally dominated by the executive branch, the president's tight grip over policy has gradually ceded to the influence of interest groups, members of Congress, and specific electoral campaigns and goals. Haney and Vanderbush track the emergence of the powerful Cuban American National Foundation as an ally of the Reagan administration, and they explore the more recent development of an anti-embargo coalition within both civil society and Congress, even as the Helms-Burton Act and the George W. Bush administration have further tightened the embargo. Ultimately they demonstrate how the battles over Cuba policy, as with much U.S. foreign policy, have as much to do with who controls the policy as with the shape of that policy itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well researched history of Cuban Embargo
This is a well-researched account of the Cuban Embargo.In detail through the 45+ years of the embargo, the authors review each presidential adminstration, and the ebb and flow of the embargo.They illustrate how the embargo has moved from being mostly influenced by the president to how currently Congress and political interest groups rule the day.
They can be somewhat repetitious in making their points, but all in all I found it to be highly informative.The the same time the message of the book is frustrating to see just how little influence average American voices have on the continuing foreign policy against our neighbor, Cuba. ... Read more

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Soviet-Cuban Relations 1985 to 1991 is a comprehensive and critical resource for the study of Soviet foreign policy. It analyzes the dynamic relationship between the Soviet Union and Cuba during the Gorbachev era. ... Read more

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How has Cuba, a small, developing country, achieved its stunning medical breakthroughs? Hampered by scarce resources and a long-standing U.S. embargo, Cuba nevertheless has managed to provide universal access to health care, comprehensive health education, and advanced technology, even amid desperate economic conditions. Moreover, Cuba has sent disaster relief, donations of medical supplies and technology, and cadres of volunteer doctors throughout the world, emerging, in Castro's phrase, as a "world medical power."
In her significant and timely study, Julie Feinsilver explores the Cuban medical phenomenon, examining how a governmental obsession with health has reaped medical and political benefits at home and abroad. As a result of Cuba's forward strides in health care, infant mortality rates are low even by First World standards. Cuba has successfully dealt with the AIDS epidemic in a manner that has aroused controversy and that some claim has infringed on individual liberties--issues that Feinsilver succinctly evaluates.
Feinsilver's research and travel in Cuba over many years give her a unique perspective on the challenges Cuba faces in this time of unprecedented economic and political uncertainty. Her book is a must-read for everyone concerned with health policy, international relations, and Third World societies. ... Read more

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"I never really felt Cuban until I learned to read and write." Juan Martínez, newly literate campesino, 1961.This new book presents a graphic record of the Cuban literacy campaign, undertaken in the first years of the revolution. In 1961, hundreds of thousands of Cubans together confronted a social problem that still plagues much of the world today - illiteracy. Through mass mobilizations, the country's students, teachers, workers and peasants achieved in one year what was apparently impossible: the goal of basic literacy for almost Cuba's entire population. In this way, the Cuban people overcame four centuries of ignorance. Forty years later, this book rediscovers the energy, dedication and youthful spirit of those who participated in this brilliant literacy campaign in Cuba. English and Spanish text. Large format, black and white photos. ... Read more

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The phenomenon of Fidel Castro's rise to power, his impact on the world stage as a revolutionary leader, and, thirty years later, the collapse of what he sought to achieve, is an extraordinary story.Cuba now stands at the edge of history; it would be hard to find a more vibrant record of Cuba's position than the voices of Cubans themselves.During four years in Havana and in the U.S., Lynn Geldof conducted thirty-two conversations with Cubans who stayed, those who fled, and experts on Cuban policy.

A work of incisive journalism, Cubans presents a unique range of views.A chronology of major events in Cuban history and a list of further reading add to its value as a truly history document.
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Closes thing to objective writting I have read on Cuba.
The book does an amazing job of supplying both sides of the story for this generation of Cubans. It offers strong opinions for and against the Revolutionary state of Cuba. Each chapter is a seperate interview with someone who has a relation to the argument. It begins with Cuban citizens, and then moves on to those that are state side and even some second generation Cuban Americans. The book has the depth of peoples lives as they unfold before you. From the stories of the day of the revolution to stories of revoltion, it brings home points you won't have thought of. ... Read more

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Why would Cuba, an isolated and impoverished country, be trying to develop a nuclear energy capability and why would it attempt to expand its energy generation capability when it can barely feed its population? This book seeks to clarify the risks and opportunities associated with the development and expansion of the Cuban energy sector. Once reliant on imported fossil fuels as well as Russia1s willingness to underwrite its energy development schemes, post-Cold War Cuba is now confronted with the daunting tasks of expanding its energy capabilities while simultaneously replacing its energy infrastructure.Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Cuba, this book looks in depth at the economic, social, and political implications of what is rapidly becoming one of the next century1s most important public policy issues in Cuba. ... Read more

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Analyzing the political and social agendas of contemporary Cuba, Cuban scholars address several controversial themes, including the relation between democracy and socialism, strategies for economic development and patterns of social change. Taking into account the difficulties Cuba faces as it confronts changing international trade relations and diminishing aid from Moscow, contributors examine specific economic problems such as the large external debt and shortages of material goods, and explore various aspects of domestic life in Cuba. Finally, they offer a retrospective view of the revolution - its origins and accomplishments and the obstacles to achieving ideological objectives. ... Read more

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An outline of Cuban strategies for social development since 1960. ... Read more

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This is the report of the "Independent Task Force on US-Cuban Relations in the 21st Century". It recommends a variety of policy changes on the part of the American government: a reduction of the restrictions on Cuban-Americans visiting Cuba, and legal remittances to family members there; allowing tax exemptions for Cuban-Americans with Cuban dependents; the lifting of restrictions on food and medicine sales and assistance for humanitarian organizations' Cuban relief efforts; allowing increased personal and recreational travel to Cuba for Americans and travel to the US for Cuban academics, artists, athletes and officials; and the establishment of limited American commercial activity in Cuba. The task force was co-chaired by Bernard W. Aronson and William D. Rogers. ... Read more