Cuban Revolution Reader

A timely new publication assessing 50 years of the Cuban revolution. The Cuban revolution was one of the defining moments of the 20th century, its influence reaching far beyond the shores of the tiny Caribbean island. As Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of the 1959 overthrow of the Batista dictatorship, this book documents the turbulent history of Fidel Castro’s revolution, from the euphoria of the early years to near economic collapse in the 1990s and finally the Cuban leader’s decision to step down in 2008. The editor offers a critical examination of Cuba’s decades-long relationship with the Soviet Union and the epilogue considers the prospects for the revolution without Fidel Castro. Including a comprehensive chronology and index, this is an essential resource for scholars and others. Julio García-Luis (editor) is one of Cuba’s most prominent writers and historians. Formerly president of the Cuban Journalists Union, he is currently Dean of the School of Social Communications at the University of Havana. “Cuba has the same effect on US administrations as the full moon has on wolves: it’s an obsession.”—Wayne Smith, former US diplomat in Havana "Cuba has lived a dramatic life with successes as well as failures. Alone and abandoned by all after the Soviet Union disappeared, it had to resist heroically in some very hard years during which the United States intensified its economic and political aggresssion. Today Cuba forges a path to craft its own unique socialist system, rooted in its own historical experience and with the active participation of its people." —Ricardo Alarcon “This book is every bit a celebration of the achievements of the revolution, and will prove a useful resource for students seeking to understand how the revolution will now move forward.” —NACLA magazine