Suggested Books
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Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution
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Louis A. Perez
Oxford University Press (2005)
Spanning the history of the island from pre-Columbian times to the present, this highly acclaimed survey examines Cuba's political and economic development within the context of its international relations and continuing struggle for self-determination. The dualism that emerged in Cuban ideology--between liberal constructs of patria and radical formulations of nationality--is fully investigated as a source of both national tension and competing notions of liberty, equality, and justice. Perez integrates local and provincial developments with issues of class, race, and gender to give readers a full and fascinating account of Cuba's history, focusing on its struggle for nationality. The third edition features the latest research on Cuba, including a new chapter on post-Cold War Cuba that covers the years 1995 through 2004. The political chronology has been revised and updated and the extensive bibliography has been both condensed, where necessary, and expanded to highlight the scholarship of the past decade. -
Man's Search for Meaning
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Viktor E. Frankl
Beacon Press (1946)
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of those he treated in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory—known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")—holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. At the time of Frankl's death in 1997, Man's Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey by the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America. Born in Vienna in 1905 Viktor E. Frankl earned an M.D. and a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna. He published more than thirty books on theoretical and clinical psychology and served as a visiting professor and lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, and elsewhere. In 1977 a fellow survivor, Joseph Fabry, founded the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy. Frankl died in 1997. -
Cuban Studies Since the Revolution
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Damian J. Fernandez
University Press of Florida (2005)
For the first time in the past three decades we now have a comprehensive discourse on the epistemology of Cuban studies. This work evaluates the key areas of inquiry and research in the field, documenting the unresolved issues and offering points of departure for future study of Cuba in particular and for social science research in general. Leading Cuban specialists address the disciplines of political science, international relations, economics, literature, history, and sociology. While the authors represent multiple vantage points, they share a sense of the need to reevaluate their approaches to the sociopolitical reality of the island. "Uncertainty in the world necessarily translates into uncertainty for us," Fernández writes. "Long gone are the simple and universalistic explanations for a confused and confusing reality. This book is part of an ongoing revitalization of our area of study. -
The Boys from Dolores: Fidel Castro's Schoolmates from Revolution to Exile
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Patrick Symmes
Vintage (2007)
This is the remarkable tale of a group of boys at the heart of Cuba's political and social history. Chosen in the 1940s from among the most affluent and ambitious families in eastern Cuba, they were groomed at the elite Colegio de Dolores for achievement and leadership. Instead, they were swept into war, revolution, and exile by two of their own number, Fidel and Raúl Castro. Trained by Jesuits for dialectical dexterity and the pursuit of absolutes, Fidel Castro swiftly destroyed the old Cuba they had come from, down to the hallways of Dolores itself. At once sweeping and intimate, this remarkable history by Patrick Symmes is a tour de force investigation of the world that gave birth to Fidel Castro – and the world his Cuban Revolution leaves behind. -
Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond
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Jaime Suchlicki
Potomac Books (2002)
In Jaime Suchlicki’s engaging style, Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond provides a detailed and sophisticated understanding of the Cuba of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In addition to its concise narrative history, CUBA details the current political climate, economy, and the regime’s future. Suchlicki discusses the domestic and international events that have affected this island nation in recent years. This highly readable history is perfect for students, travelers, and anyone else who seeks to understand more about Cuba and its people. -
The Cuban Republic and José Martí: Reception and Use of a National Symbol
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Mauricio A. Font and Alfonso W. Quiroz (Editors)
Lexington Books (2005)
Jose Marti contributed greatly to Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain with words as well as revolutionary action. Although he died before the formation of an independent republic, he has since been hailed as a heroic martyr inspiring Cuban republican traditions. During the twentieth century, traditionally nationalistic literature has reinforced an uncritical idealization of Marti and his influence. However, new approaches have recently explored the formation, reception, uses and abuses of the Marti myth. The essays in this volume analyze the influence of Jose Marti - poet, scholar, and revolutionary - on the formation of often-competing national identities in post-independence Cuba. By exploring the diverse representations and interpretations of Marti, they provide a critical analysis of the ways in which both the left and right have used his political and literary legacies to argue their version of contemporary Cuban "reality." -
A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution
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Brenner Phillip, Marguerite Rose Jimenez, John M. Kirk, and William M. LeoGrande (Editors)
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (2007)
This anthology brings together the best recent scholarship and writing on Cuban politics, economics, foreign relations, society, and culture in the post-Soviet era, which Cubans call the Special Period. Ideally suited for students and general readers seeking to understand contemporary Cuba, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as part introductions and a chronology.
Articles, Opinions and Papers
September 2011
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/2/11 | In Cuba, Women Often Prefer Thumbing A Ride By Nick Miroff, NPR |
August 2011
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/1/11 | United DC-Cancun flight diverted to Cuba by odor By Peter Orsi, Associated Press |
July 2011
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 7/20/11 | Ready to Swim 103 Miles With the Sharks By Lizette Alvarez, The New York Times |
October 2010
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 10/17/10 | Mystery man in terror plots points at Miami exiles Frances Robles, Miami Herald |
August 2010
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/27/10 | Richardson presses Cuba to free American contractor CNN |
February 2010
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2/19/10 | On the eve of meetings in Havana, wife of imprisoned American reaches out |
March 2008
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 3/24/08 | Local houses of worship lending a hand in Cuba |
February 2008
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2/15/08 | Forces from within are demanding changes |
November 2007
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/7/07 | UN praises Cuba's ability to feed people |
July 2007
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 7/2/07 | Spy chief says he acted in defense of Cuba |