Cuba: An American History

This is a wonderful book about an island whose history is not well known. Ada Ferrer writes very fluently about the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish (and briefly British). My only complaint is that the print in the paperback version is too small--the size most books use for footnotes. After buying the paperback I bought it again on Kindle so I could read it. But the content is very informative.

As usual, a book dedicated to one country fills in many gaps in my knowledge of history.If you want to learn how Castro came to power, this is the book.

A sweeping work of history, with heart wrenching stories of the people who lived it. The details are often incredibly moving and difficult to read but are an important reminder of how hard life was and is for the people of Cuba whose resilience and strength will leave you with nothing but love and respect for them and a deep desire to visit such a wonderful country. Highly recommend

If you like survey histories and don't know much about Cuba (and you live in the US), I highly recommend this book. Not only does it cover key events and forces inside and outside Cuba that have shaped it, it's very readable and with on-the-ground anecdotes and quotes, brings to life how events probably felt to the people in or around them.BUT - to take it a level beyond "interesting & readable history book," I think this type of book is *important* to read. Personally, Cuban history was not covered in my public k-12 education in the US, except for the Cuban missile crisis. And due to the embargo, my knowledge of the place and its people has been pretty minimal. (And I think that is probably a very common experience.)Which is unfortunate, because Cuba is one of the US's few direct neighbors. Our histories, like with Mexico or Canada, are very intertwined. Havana has been a cultural hub for the entire hemisphere for the last 500 years, due to where it sat on the gulf stream trade routes between Europe and the Americas, with as much of a musical influence as NYC and New Orleans. Our relationship with Cuba even shapes presidential elections, or led to a nuclear missile crisis... To ignore it is to miss an important part of our own history, and how you treat your neighbors can cause tragic boomerang impacts.To that point, Ferrer frames Cuba's history as an "American" one, that it is hemispheric and intertwined with the US. What she brought to light (for me as a US citizen) was how the US has hungrily viewed Cuba as a place where we can extend our influence & economy. In that self-absorbed mindset, we've missed seeing Cuba's distinct history. We elbowed into their revolution from Spain and claimed them as a de facto vassal via the Platt Amendment. Then an era of progressive and revolutionary Cuban activism during the first half of the 20th century gained political "independence" from the US, at first from the Platt Amendment, then also economically with the nationalization of US-owned holdings under Castro. And thus relations deteriorated completely.Obama's effort to reconnect was a step in a new direction, more as partners and neighbors, but that change is doing some zig zags. Ferrer ends on a hopeful note about we all play a part in shaping the future. So as the book wrapped up, I wondered what a voter in the US might do. Even with a rapprochement, the economic imbalance (small poor country adjacent to a juggernaut) yields these high voltage differences that cause shocks when they connect. US investors eagerly bought up land & plantations a century ago when the revolution had suggested opportunity for all Cubans, then there were flash waves of migrants over the last sixty years. In electric systems you need good transformers that step-down the voltage level, and the question is what could those transformers be between the US and Cuba in the coming decades.No matter what, Cuba is our neighbor. And becoming better neighbors requires getting to know them, empathizing with their perspective, understanding how you're viewed and what your impacts are on them. A book like this is an important part of that journey, and it was great to read.Strongly recommend!

Most Americans have only a passing knowledge of Cuba’s history, and even fewer understand the long relationship between that nation and the United States. Ada Ferrer, a Professor of History and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University, wrote a lengthy textbook-like history of that relationship. “Cuba: An American History” explores her theory that the US and other western governments have repressed and taken advantage of Cuba for centuries. The book is fascinating, but amidst the facts there is the author’s strong point of view. Still, we learn much about the nation’s history, culture, people, and economy.For example, If you go back far enough, you’ll find a close relationship between the US and Cuba. During the American Revolution, Cuba raised funds to support General Washington’s army, and Cuban soldiers fought against the British in North America and the Caribbean. In 1898, the US intervened in Cuba and declared war on Spain, and American involvement turned the move for Cuban independence into the Spanish-American war.Following the war, America began having a more significant influence on Cuban life. One area of this influence was education. Ferrer writes, “New US-designed schools would help “Americanize” the Cuban population by indirect, unobjectionable means. They would function, in other words, as an instrument of soft American power.”. In addition to history, the author offers her evidence that the US was not in the relationship just to be a good neighbor.The US even wanted to buy Cuba. In 1898, the Maine exploded in the Havana harbor, killing 260 US sailors. To this day, the author writes, “Spaniards and Cubans believe that the United States planned the explosion themselves as a pretext for declaring war on Spain and making themselves masters of Cuba.”But the good relations continued to sour. The author says that in 1961 a failed invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles had been funded by the US government. The two nations closed their embassies, and Cuban shifted its loyalty to the Soviet Union, which led to a 1962 standoff in which the mainland United States faced nuclear warheads pointed in its direction within striking distance. Battle lines had not only been drawn but also barricaded and mined.“Cuba: An American History” is very detailed, but because of Ferrer’s beliefs, the reader should be prepared for glowing descriptions about Cuban leaders Fidel Castro and Che Guevara while ignoring how their people were exploited by the Cuban government, which forced many to try to leave Cuba because of poverty and work living conditions.

Read this book before my trip to Cuba. It paints a very interesting picture of Cuba’s relationship with the world around it.Would recommend to anyone looking to understand more about this fascinating country.

Despite some other reader's reviews that disparage the alleged political spin, I found this to be a compelling read and battled through the TINY font to finish it quickly - which IMHO makes it a very good book. I read it during our one week vacation at an all-inclusive Cuban resort which made it all the more thought provoking. (in the context of the present state product shortages and general unhappiness of many Cubans). It's kind of sad to reflect on 500+ years (and ongoing) of exploitation and hope and pray for some kind of resurgence. My only criticism might be that this book hammered along like a freight train until the end and seemingly implied that the Biden administration might bring some changes. Perhaps the reality is that sleepy Joe holds the key to economic recovery for Cuba. I can only wish that's not the case and the people do find some other way to prosper.

Cuba has always captured the attention, and the imagination, of so many everywhere on earth. Throughout it’s history, from jewel of the Spanish colonies to perceived champion of the third world, from the brutality of slavery to that of its regime of the last six decades, its has mobilised support and antagonism in a scale hardly commensurate with the size of the Caribbean island. its vicissitudes have been inevitably intertwined through the centuries with the superpower ninety miles away, the US and Cuba being two sides of a dysfunctional and painful relationship. Covering a vast swathe of time and seminal events, Ferrer gives us a human-centered very readable history book. I would argue though, that her greatest merit is achieving the most improbable feat for a historian of Cuba: she is both deeply personally involved and yet remarkably objective. Bravo.

For a lover of history this has the added benefit of being beautifully written and the story unfolds in the most engrossing way. The coverage is without a particular axe to grind and it is apparent that the author is both a proud American and Cuban. It does not gloss over the vices and the virtues, the wrongs and the rights, of the parties but presents the facts in a credible way. One of the best histories that I have ever read and a must for those who care about the Americas.

Extremely well written. Lots of detail. I realized how little I knew about Cuba, the Spanish and US slave trade, and the role of the USA in trying to exert American influence through land and business ownership in Cuba’s early history.I have been to Cuba about eight times as a tourist and am looking forward to my next trip which will include some of the landmarks I have read about in the book.The print is smaller than I prefer and not bold (darker) which added to the need for a well lit area for comfort while reading. Maybe an e-reader version would work better.A great book regardless- would highly recommend.