Inside Cuba: The History, Culture, and Politics of an Outlaw Nation

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Through film, books, music, and—before the Revolution—travel, Cuba has long attracted and fascinated Americans. In the last few years, as travel to Fidel Castro's Cuba has once again become more feasible for U.S. citizens, thousands are visiting to see life there firsthand, before it disappears into the post-Castro era. Now Inside Cuba provides an accessible, all-in-one introduction to the island at what is recognized as a hinge moment in its history, as it begins to consider what life might look like after Castro. Organized into three sections—history, culture, and conflict—Inside Cuba presents Cuba in a variety of lights—from Che Guevara to jazz, the Cuban Missile Crisis to cigars, and Elian Gonzalez to baseball. Whether read from cover to cover or selectively by chapter, Inside Cuba—like its predecessors in the "Inside" series—will educate and entertain readers about this singular country. Such contributors as Cristina Garcia, Wendy Gimbel, Flor Fernandez Barrios, Susan Orlean, Ann Louise Bardach, Paco Ignacio Taibo, and Christopher Hitchens add to this stellar gathering of the most compelling writing about this passionate and mystifying land.