Blog

This is Cuba, by David Ariosto - This photo-journalist looks at Cuba from the inside-out over the course of nine years, endeavoring to expose clues for what's in store for the island as it undergoes its biggest change in more than half a century. Great insights as to what life is like for Cubans today.

Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause by Tom Gjelten - In this widely hailed book, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten fuses the story of the Bacardi family and their famous rum business with Cuba's tumultuous experience over the last 150 years to produce a deeply entertaining and informative historical narrative.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton – historical fiction

Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, by Carlos Eire - This is the story of two young boys growing up in Havana in the 50’s until their lives are changed forever when Fidel takes control. It is a eulogy for a native land and a loving testament to the collective spirit of Cubans everywhere.

Cuba: A History, by Hugh Thomas - A bit dated, (2010) but acknowledged to be the most comprehensive and even-handed work on the subject, by a highly respected and celebrated historian.

Cuba: Beyond the Beach: Stories of Life in Havana, by Karen Dubinsky - The author, a professor at Queens University, has been visiting by herself and with groups of students since the 1980s. A celebration of the city's people and the place's rich culture and heritage. Also captures some of the challenges facing the locals with empathy and admiration, especially the women and girls she lives with and encounters, which makes it (albeit, obliquely) critical of the regime.

The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five, by Fernando Morais - Interesting read, especially regarding the interpersonal dynamics and tensions within and surrounding the anti-Castro groups who were/are part of the diaspora in Miami. And the men and women who were part of the "Wasp" network.

Havana Without Makeup: Inside the Soul of the City by Herman Portocarero is a unique account of Havana’s history, its present, and what its future may hold at the time of reconciliation with the U.S.

"Cuba: A New History" by Richard Gott (2004). This is a very well-reviewed book that provides plenty of details in as neutral a way as possible about Cuban history from the moment of first contact with Europeans, with a particularly informative account of the Cuban Revolution.

"The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States and the Next Revolution" by Daniel Erikson (2009). This is an account of the past and current political sparring between Cuba and the US and the challenges to the relationship between them.

"Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba" by Chrisopher Baker (2002). This is a fascinating and personal account of the people, problems and landscapes Baker encountered while researching his excellent and detailed 1997 "Cuba Handbook" for Moon Travel.

"Cuba: Grace Under Pressure" by Rosemary Sullivan (2003). This is a big book of photographs with a series of very interesting short articles on different aspects of Cuban life, including the story of a woman from Newfoundland who married a Cuban and lived in Cuba from the 1920's until her death and who saw it all.

"Havana: A Subtropical Delirium" by Mark Kurlansky (2017). This is an extremely well-written description of the different physical, social and cultural aspects of Havana with frequent references to what Cuban authors have themselves written.

"Cuba: A New History '' by Richard Gott. A well researched history of Cuba going back to the original tribes and their pecking order in aboriginal society of Cuba. When you get to the second half , it is mostly the 27th. of July movement revolution but keep going through it. The book loses steam in the second half but I still rate as the best history of Cuba I have read to date. The print is very small and I used a magnifying lens to read it.