This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since Christopher Columbus's first arrival in 1492. With decades of experience studying and reporting on the island, Philip Brenner and Peter Eisner provide an incisive overview for all readers seeking to go beyond stereotypes in their exploration of Cuba's politics, economy, and culture. As Cuba and the United States open their doors to each other, Cuba Libre gives travelers, policy makers, businesspeople, students, and those with an interest in world affairs an opportunity to understand Cuba from a Cuban perspective; to appreciate how Cubans' quest for independence and sovereignty animates their spirit and shapes their worldview and even their identity. In a world ever more closely linked, Cuba Libre provides a compelling model for US citizens and policy makers to empathize with viewpoints far from their own experiences.

In October 1962 school children huddled under their desks and diplomats feverishly negotiated as the world sat on the brink of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the most dangerous moment in modern history and resulted in a changed worldview for the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. In tracing the developments of the missile crisis and beyond, Sad and Luminous Days presents and interprets a heretofore unavailable (and largely unknown) secret speech that Castro delivered to the Cuban leadership in 1968. In it, Castro reflects on the crisis and reveals the distrust and bitterness that characterized Cuban-Soviet relations in 1968. Blight and Brenner frame the annotated speech with an examination of the missile crisis itself, and an analysis of Cuban-Soviet relations between 1962-1968, ending with an epilogue that highlights the lessons the missile crisis offers us in the current search for security and a stable world order. Sad and Luminous Days sheds new light on Cuban-Soviet relations and should be required reading not only for Cold-War scholars and historians, but also for anyone intrigued by the drama of the thirteen momentous days in October 1962.

This completely revised and updated edition of Contemporary Cuba focuses on Cuba since Raúl Castro stepped down as president in 2018. The book offers a comprehensive description and analysis of contemporary Cuban politics, economy, international relations, and society. All but two of the twenty-seven articles were written expressly for this volume, in a style accessible for a broad audience. Ideally suited for students and general readers seeking to understand this small yet still influential country, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as introductions to each topical section and a chronology of events since 2014. Contributions by: Fulton T. Armstrong, Mervyn J. Bain, Michael J. Bustamante, Susan Eckstein, H. Michael Erisman, Julio Antonio Fernández Estrada, Julio César Guanche, Katrin Hansing, Vilma Hidalgo López-Chávez, Bert Hoffmann, Arturo Lopez-Levy, Armando Nova González, Leonardo Padura Fuentes, Louis A. Pérez, Jr., Kirenia Pérez Criado, C. Maelia Esther Pérez Silveira, Jorge R. Piñón, Magela Romero Almodovar, Antonio F. Romero Gómez, Ricardo Torres Pérez, Ailynn Torres Santana, C. Juan Triana Cordoví, Dachelys Valdés Moreno, Helen Yaffe, María del Carmen Zabala Arguelles

This book provides an overview of U.S.-Cuban relations since 1898, with an emphasis on the past ten years. It highlights assumptions, goals, and continuities in U.S. policy and outlines an alternative U.S. policy toward Cuba that could move the two countries from confrontation to negotiation.

Nearly thirty years have passed since the United States first attempted to overthrow the fledgling Castro government. Despite enormous changes in the hemisphere, significant developments in the nature of Cuba's international relations, and an end to the cold war consensus in the United States that quietly sanctioned interference in and obstruction of Third World politics, U.S. policy toward Cuba has changed very little: It still embodies the failed dream of isolating Cuba and destroying the Cuban revolution. In From Confrontation to Negotiation: U.S. Relations with Cuba, Philip Brenner provides a thoughtful overview of U.S.-Cuban relations since 1898, with an emphasis on the past ten years. Assumptions, goals, and continuities in U.S. policy are highlighted. He then offers a clear picture of the issues that divide the two countries and around which any discussions for a normalization of relations would likely turn. Could discussions occur? Is a call for a less hostile relationship between the United States and Cuba politically feasible? What are the chances that Cuba and the United States can actually work out an accommodation? Dr. Brenner analyzes the domestic political factors in each country that shape policy and that might present possibilities for serious discussion. He then proposes a workable alternative Cuban policy for the United States that takes into account the fundamental concerns of both countries. The policy proposal is related to the framework adopted by Policy Alternatives for the Caribbean and Central America (PACCA).

Cuba has undergone dramatic changes since the collapse of European communism. The loss of economic aid and preferential trade with the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries forced the Cuban government to search out new ways of organizing the domestic economy and new commercial relations in an international system dominated by market economies. The resulting economic reforms have reverberated through Cuban society and politics, recreating social inequalities unknown since the 1950s and confronting the political system with unprecedented new challenges. The resulting ferment is increasingly evident in Cuban cultural expression, and the responses to adversity and scarcity have reshaped Cuban social relations. Cuba today faces new challenges with the transition to a new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and renewed hostility from the Trump administration. This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba today. This concise overview focuses on Cuba since Raul Castro stepped down as president, bringing together leading scholars to analyze politics, economics, foreign policy, and society in present-day Cuba. Ideally suited for students and seeking to understand this still contentious and controversial island, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as a chronology and primary source documents.

Cuba has undergone dramatic changes since the collapse of European communism. The loss of economic aid and preferential trade with the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries forced the Cuban government to search out new ways of organizing the domestic economy and new commercial relations in an international system dominated by market economies. The resulting economic reforms have reverberated through Cuban society and politics, recreating social inequalities unknown since the 1950s and confronting the political system with unprecedented new challenges. The resulting ferment is increasingly evident in Cuban cultural expression, and the responses to adversity and scarcity have reshaped Cuban social relations. Cuba today faces new challenges with the transition to a new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and renewed hostility from the Trump administration. This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba today. This concise overview focuses on Cuba since Raul Castro stepped down as president, bringing together leading scholars to analyze politics, economics, foreign policy, and society in present-day Cuba. Ideally suited for students and seeking to understand this still contentious and controversial island, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as a chronology and primary source documents.

This completely revised and updated edition of Contemporary Cuba focuses on Cuba since Raúl Castro stepped down as president in 2018. The book offers a comprehensive description and analysis of contemporary Cuban politics, economy, international relations, and society. All but two of the twenty-seven articles were written expressly for this volume, in a style accessible for a broad audience. Ideally suited for students and general readers seeking to understand this small yet still influential country, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as introductions to each topical section and a chronology of events since 2014. Contributions by: Fulton T. Armstrong, Mervyn J. Bain, Michael J. Bustamante, Susan Eckstein, H. Michael Erisman, Julio Antonio Fernández Estrada, Julio César Guanche, Katrin Hansing, Vilma Hidalgo López-Chávez, Bert Hoffmann, Arturo Lopez-Levy, Armando Nova González, Leonardo Padura Fuentes, Louis A. Pérez, Jr., Kirenia Pérez Criado, C. Maelia Esther Pérez Silveira, Jorge R. Piñón, Magela Romero Almodovar, Antonio F. Romero Gómez, Ricardo Torres Pérez, Ailynn Torres Santana, C. Juan Triana Cordoví, Dachelys Valdés Moreno, Helen Yaffe, María del Carmen Zabala Arguelles

This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since Christopher Columbus's first arrival in 1492. With decades of experience studying and reporting on the island, Philip Brenner and Peter Eisner provide an incisive overview for all readers seeking to go beyond stereotypes in their exploration of Cuba's politics, economy, and culture. As Cuba and the United States open their doors to each other, Cuba Libre gives travelers, policy makers, businesspeople, students, and those with an interest in world affairs an opportunity to understand Cuba from a Cuban perspective; to appreciate how Cubans' quest for independence and sovereignty animates their spirit and shapes their worldview and even their identity. In a world ever more closely linked, Cuba Libre provides a compelling model for US citizens and policy makers to empathize with viewpoints far from their own experiences.