Breve historia de Cuba. (Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond)

By staff -- Críticas, 12/15/2006

In this first translation of a work already in its fifth edition, Suchlicki—who heads the Cuban and Cuban American Institute at Miami University—offers a comprehensive study of key historical events in the development of Cuba. Suchlicki explores three periods: the colony under Spanish power through the Spanish American War of 1898, the post-independence era until the revolution in 1959, and today’s revolutionary government. Beginning with the European discovery of the island , Suchlicki traces its slow emergence as an important site of Spanish power in the Caribbean as an important worldwide sugar producer in the 19th century, to the radical political and socioeconomic changes that created an ideological platform for Castro’s revolution. The book’s most speculative section, in view of Castro’s recent failing health, is the chapter titled “After the Castros,” a reference to the future of the centralized control by Fidel and Raúl, his brother and second in command. Factors such as the unknown power of the revolutionary army and the strength of its leaders’ allegiance to keeping the current system, or even the impact of the U.S. policy on a smooth political and economic transition, make predictions almost impossible. Free of political jargon, this book is an excellent introduction to Cuban history and contains a detailed chronology from 1492 to 2005. The translation reads well. Highly recommended for collections of Cuban or Latin American history.—Rafael Ocasio, Agnes Scott Coll., Decatur, GA