Contemporary Cuba Reader - 2nd Edition by Philip Brenner & Marguerite Rose Jiménez & John M Kirk (Hardcover)

About the Book

This completely revised and updated edition focuses on Cuba since Raúl Castro took over the country's leadership in 2006. A Contemporary Cuba Reader brings together the best recent scholarship and writing on Cuban politics, economics, foreign relations, society, and culture in...

Book Synopsis

This completely revised and updated edition focuses on Cuba since Raúl Castro took over the country's leadership in 2006. A Contemporary Cuba Reader brings together the best recent scholarship and writing on Cuban politics, economics, foreign relations, society, and culture in present-day Cuba. Ideally suited for students and general readers seeking to understand this still-contentious and controversial island, the book includes a substantive introduction setting the historical context, as well as part introductions and a chronology. Supplementary resources for students and professors are available on the R&L website.

Review Quotes

[An] excellent anthology. . . . These articles by various scholars examine the role of the Communist Party and the armed forces, agricultural transformation, the emergence of class divisions in the 'dollar economy, ' cultural changes and various aspects of Cuban foreign policy. For readers who hope to understand contemporary Cuba and our relationship with her government and people, these essays will be highly informative.

The 49 contributions to this outstanding anthology trace continuity and change during Cuba's 'special period.'

This amalgamation of Cuban politics, economics, foreign policy, social issues and culture leaves even the experienced cubanologist feeling that she or he has been on an essential crash course to understand contemporary Cuba. . . . I congratulate the editors and contributors for producing an informative, well-organized and timely book.

This book is outstanding in both the breadth and depth of its coverage of Cuba today. The forty-nine contributions span the gamut of Cuban politics, economics, foreign policy, social transformation, and culture. The coeditors are to be applauded for an engaging volume that will stand the test of time.

This comprehensive and impressive anthology traces the extraordinary transition process that took place during what Fidel Castro dubbed Cuba's 'Special Period.' . . . The stated goal of the editors is to provide undergraduates with a resource that brings together the best of Cuban scholarship, and they have certainly done that. . . . There remains so much in this book that is relevant, worthwhile, and informative that it may be recommended to all students of contemporary Cuba and as an excellent core reader for any course on the same topic.

This is a wonderful resource for the study, discussion, and understanding of the contemporary history of Cuba. Delving into often-ignored areas of daily and institutional experience, and opening with an admirably lucid introduction, this text will become an indispensable tool for the teaching of contemporary Cuba in the English-speaking world.

With chapters written by an international who's who of specialists in contemporary Cuban politics, international relations, economics, culture, and society--all framed by an uncommonly useful introduction--A Contemporary Cuba Reader is among those few edited volumes that should be on every Latin Americanist's bookshelf. Highly recommended.

About the Author

Philip Brenner is professor of international relations at American University. Marguerite Rose Jiménez is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Public Affairs at American University. John M. Kirk is professor of Latin American studies at Dalhousie University. William M. LeoGrande is professor of government at American University.