2024 the best history books review

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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY

“Full of…lively insights and lucid prose” (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States—from before the arrival of Columbus to the present day—written by one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba.

In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington—Barack Obama’s opening to the island, Donald Trump’s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden—have made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more.

Now, award-winning historian Ada Ferrer delivers an “important” (The Guardian) and moving chronicle that demands a new reckoning with both the island’s past and its relationship with the United States. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba: An American History provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation, with its dramatic record of conquest and colonization, of slavery and freedom, of independence and revolutions made and unmade.

Along the way, Ferrer explores the sometimes surprising, often troubled intimacy between the two countries, documenting not only the influence of the United States on Cuba but also the many ways the island has been a recurring presence in US affairs. This is a story that will give Americans unexpected insights into the history of their own nation and, in so doing, help them imagine a new relationship with Cuba; “readers will close [this] fascinating book with a sense of hope” (The Economist).

Filled with rousing stories and characters, and drawing on more than thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States—as well as the author’s own extensive travel to the island over the same period—this is a stunning and monumental account like no other.

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08LDWX3G3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner (September 7, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 7, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 21253 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 566 pages
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Incredible read!
Review: Easy and informative read. Never dull.

Reviewer: Lucas J
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: delightful to read, and an important history for US citizens to know
Review: If you like survey histories and don't know much about Cuba (and you live in the US), I highly recommend this book. Not only does it cover key events and forces inside and outside Cuba that have shaped it, it's very readable and with on-the-ground anecdotes and quotes, brings to life how events probably felt to the people in or around them.BUT - to take it a level beyond "interesting & readable history book," I think this type of book is *important* to read. Personally, Cuban history was not covered in my public k-12 education in the US, except for the Cuban missile crisis. And due to the embargo, my knowledge of the place and its people has been pretty minimal. (And I think that is probably a very common experience.)Which is unfortunate, because Cuba is one of the US's few direct neighbors. Our histories, like with Mexico or Canada, are very intertwined. Havana has been a cultural hub for the entire hemisphere for the last 500 years, due to where it sat on the gulf stream trade routes between Europe and the Americas, with as much of a musical influence as NYC and New Orleans. Our relationship with Cuba even shapes presidential elections, or led to a nuclear missile crisis... To ignore it is to miss an important part of our own history, and how you treat your neighbors can cause tragic boomerang impacts.To that point, Ferrer frames Cuba's history as an "American" one, that it is hemispheric and intertwined with the US. What she brought to light (for me as a US citizen) was how the US has hungrily viewed Cuba as a place where we can extend our influence & economy. In that self-absorbed mindset, we've missed seeing Cuba's distinct history. We elbowed into their revolution from Spain and claimed them as a de facto vassal via the Platt Amendment. Then an era of progressive and revolutionary Cuban activism during the first half of the 20th century gained political "independence" from the US, at first from the Platt Amendment, then also economically with the nationalization of US-owned holdings under Castro. And thus relations deteriorated completely.Obama's effort to reconnect was a step in a new direction, more as partners and neighbors, but that change is doing some zig zags. Ferrer ends on a hopeful note about we all play a part in shaping the future. So as the book wrapped up, I wondered what a voter in the US might do. Even with a rapprochement, the economic imbalance (small poor country adjacent to a juggernaut) yields these high voltage differences that cause shocks when they connect. US investors eagerly bought up land & plantations a century ago when the revolution had suggested opportunity for all Cubans, then there were flash waves of migrants over the last sixty years. In electric systems you need good transformers that step-down the voltage level, and the question is what could those transformers be between the US and Cuba in the coming decades.No matter what, Cuba is our neighbor. And becoming better neighbors requires getting to know them, empathizing with their perspective, understanding how you're viewed and what your impacts are on them. A book like this is an important part of that journey, and it was great to read.Strongly recommend!

Reviewer: Clare Hansen-Shinnerl
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Long but thorough
Review: If you want to know everything about Cuba, this is your book. It leaves off no detail and is very well written. My complaint is that the print is so tiny that I could barely read the book. First I ordered the paperback and the print was impossibly small that I gave the book away. I then ordered the hard cover and the print was a bit larger but still ridiculously small. Such a shame that print size is the deterrent to reading an accomplished book.

Reviewer: Andrew
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pulitzer Says It All
Review: Wonderfully written, providing a historical perspective that all Americans would do well to understand. Excellent details on each phase of Cuba’s evolution, including Spanish and American colonial conquests, slavery, revolution, Castro, Cold War and Cuba’s political/cultural roots. Well done!

Reviewer: Mohawk49
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent read …
Review: If you’re looking for an in-depth read about Cuba, this is the book. While the author slants the book with a lot of criticism toward the U.S, I think at some points she is correct. However, in the end Cuba got what they accepted…wanted? And Castro took over….its been downhill ever sinceHope for a better future?…..maybe, but first they need to overcome accept major changes to their government

Reviewer: Kathie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: excellent history
Review: A thorough examination of the history of this great island nation. I visited Cuba in 2013 as part of a cultural and educational group. I would like to visit again.The book is honest and fair in its presentation of historical events. An informative and engaging book.

Reviewer: Tony Mirabel
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A parallel history of the United States of America and Cuba
Review: Ferrer primes the reader for what is to come by first dispelling the myth of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the United States of America. In 1492 during Christopher Columbus first voyage, he made landfall on the Bahamian island in the America's called "Guanahani" later named San Salvador for the Spanish Crown. The Taino people were indigenous to most of the islands of the north western hemisphere to include the Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican republic and many others; and had a culture rich with technology, agriculture, religion and the arts, thousands of years before Columbus arrived. The truth is Christopher Columbus never set foot on the soil of the country we today call the United States of America. The education system in the United States of America teaches us that Columbus discovered America soon after we are taught to read. There are also cities in the United States of America named after Columbus and there is even a painting in the rotunda of our nations capital named "The landing of Columbus" . Last but not least, we even have a holiday honoring Columbus' fictional discovery of America. I look at this narrative of history as a convenient way to humanize what would become the unthinkable. Shortly after the Spanish discovered the abundance of natural resources in Cuba, the Taino people were forced into enslavement and lost 85% of its population by 1520, due to inhumane work conditions, European diseases, combat (Fighting the Spaniards) and suicide. By the year 1550 the Taino people were facing extinction and survived only by mixing with Spaniards, Africans and others. The decimation of the labor force, motivated the trans Atlantic human trafficking of African people, better known as the trans Atlantic Slave trade. The trans Atlantic slave trade lasted 400 years in Cuba and caught on with the near by United States of America where it lasted 366 years. The United States and Cuba collaborated in trade and built an infrastructure to facilitate the trafficking and enslavement of African people. During the American Civil War, Cuba even sent soldiers to the United States to assist the Confederate forces in the hope of preserving slavery. America later started the Spanish American war with the intention of full domination of Cuba. Let me take this moment to mention a few Cuban revolutionaries who were instrumental in the National autonomy Cuba has today. There is Afro-Cuban General Antonio Maceo 1845-1896 2nd in command of the Cuban Army, killed in combat in the first Cuban revolution. General Maceo was such a source of Black pride that even in the United States his name could be heard in the music of James Brown (Mazzio) and many African Americans proudly named their sons after the great General. There was also Afro Cuban intellectual, poet, nationalist Jose Marti 1853-1895 (Killed in combat) also died in the first Cuban revolution against Spanish. Marti was revered as a Martyr and today there is a statue in his honor standing tall in old Havana. Later came the revolutionary lawyer/Marxist and leader of the Cuban people Spaniard/Cuban Fidel Castro 1959-2008 . Castro had a strong distaste for the United States of America and even defeated the American Armed forces in the famous "Bay of pigs" using guerilla warfare. Castro infamously befriended the Soviet union in order to help finance Cuba's economy in trade and effectively kept the United States at bay to this day. Castro would not have achieved his goals without the assistance of Argentine Physician, revolutionary/Marxist Che Guavara 1928-1967. Ferrers use of language, metaphors and irrefutable facts (found on the prologue) gave me the experience of time traveling through a history lesson which began before 1492 and continues today. I thank Dr. Ferrer for her scholarship and talent; all contributing to a Pulitzer prize winning book everyone should read.

Reviewer: J. Watson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: American history U.S. schools ignored
Review: Very engaging, well-written history of our largest island neighbor. It is unfortunate that U.S. schools don’t teach this important part of AMERICAN history. It holds a mirror up to the often sanitized, incomplete history we “U.S. Americans” were taught (at least those of us who grew up in the 50s through 80s).

Reviewer: Bookworm
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Extremely well written. Lots of detail. I realized how little I knew about Cuba, the Spanish and US slave trade, and the role of the USA in trying to exert American influence through land and business ownership in Cuba’s early history.I have been to Cuba about eight times as a tourist and am looking forward to my next trip which will include some of the landmarks I have read about in the book.The print is smaller than I prefer and not bold (darker) which added to the need for a well lit area for comfort while reading. Maybe an e-reader version would work better.A great book regardless- would highly recommend.

Reviewer: Valente Souza
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The XVII and XVIII European centuries power was slavery, the came steam...

Reviewer: Andrew Fontenelle
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: "Cuba: An American History" provides quite a detailed history of Cuba from colonial to modern times. The book also focused on its relationship to the US.While I was familiar with figures from Cuban history like Josie Martie, Antonio Maceo, and Fidel Castro and some aspects of the island's fight for independence and the start of US control at the end of the nineteenth century, this book highlights much about the country and its notable figures over the past centuries.Ada Ferrer provided an extensive history of Cuba, over five hundred pages long, with comprehensive notes, references for further reading, and some photographs. Overall, it was a very engaging read for me.

Reviewer: Antonio Verbena
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Un saggio storico che si legge come un romanzo. Un fantastico viaggio lungo la storia di cuba trattata con equilibrio, non di parte, in maniera realistica e veritiera. Lo consiglio a tutti in modo particolare a chi vuole approfondire la storia della colonizzazione del continente americano e quindi le cause che hanno generato gli attuali assetti politici.

Reviewer: Serferper
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Every american (inhabitants of the whole continent) and also spanish should read this book.