myhtet96's review
3.0
It’s more of a historical analysis than history. The book gave a pretty balanced and nuanced observation of Cuban revolution, avoiding both overly optimistic dogma and counter-revolutionary propaganda. It covered other important aspects of Cuban society like arts and culture instead of just analyzing politics and economics, which I like, but I felt that some sections are too rushed considering the short length of the book. A good book to read if you want a better understanding of Cuba than a dictatorship hell or a socialist paradise.
aina21's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was consistently engaging and informative, and I felt like it possessed an interesting perspective on Cuba, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the Cuban revolution, its long-term causes, and future effects. As someone who knew very little about the Cuban revolution going into this book, it was still relatively easy to follow and I did not find myself needing to engage in supplementary reading to follow events.
I do feel like this book was too anti US, thus giving a high one-sided perspective. To support its stance it was then forced to justify or downplay some of the more questionable policies and happenings in Castro's authoritarian state. Yet as an American, the author still felt the need to justify that Castro's Cuba is not in fact communist, which is just weird. In my opinion, it focused too much on Cuba-USA and not enough Cold War context and Cuba-USSR relations, and the US seemed to be the driving force in everything. There was also an exclamation mark in this book when discussing statistics, which felt highly unprofessional, as well as biased.
I did really enjoy it but it might be because I like history :)
I do feel like this book was too anti US, thus giving a high one-sided perspective. To support its stance it was then forced to justify or downplay some of the more questionable policies and happenings in Castro's authoritarian state. Yet as an American, the author still felt the need to justify that Castro's Cuba is not in fact communist, which is just weird. In my opinion, it focused too much on Cuba-USA and not enough Cold War context and Cuba-USSR relations, and the US seemed to be the driving force in everything. There was also an exclamation mark in this book when discussing statistics, which felt highly unprofessional, as well as biased.
I did really enjoy it but it might be because I like history :)
abby271's review
4.0
A great overview of the Cuban Revolution. A perfect book for Undergraduate history students like myself. As an American, I was shocked to learn about the ways the United States have treated Cuba in the fight against communism. I found it very interesting to read how Cuba associated capitalism with oppression rather than prosperity.
lstmemery's review
3.0
First, a confession. I picked up this book without reading the description. I expected it to be a military history of the Cuban insurgency in the 1950s. It is actually a primer on postcolonial Cuban history and culture. I found it fair-minded and direct, but also a bit dry. I'd recommend this book as a introductory reference, but not something I'd read again for pleasure.
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