Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo [Paperback]

Peter Schwab (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2000

Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo details and analyzes the effects of the U.S. embargo on Cuban society and the response of Cuba and its population to overcoming its consequences. Although the embargo disrupts and harms almost all aspects of life, the book focuses on those sectors most affected. It is framed by the issue of human rights--from both the Cuban and the U.S. perspective--an ideological gulf which underpins the political differences that exist between the two countries and which raises the question of how extensively the implementation of the embargo violates the human rights of Cuba and its citizens. The political dynamic among Cuba, Europe and the U.S. is observed within the context of the embargo cum blockade along with the political outcome each struggled to reach.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Soviet Union is history, but Castro still reigns, cigar intact, in Cuba. Schwab, a professor of political science at SUNY-Purchase, eloquently delineates the human toll of an American policy that?however one feels about Castro?most would call a failure. If Schwab seems a little anachronistic and credulous in his acceptance of Castro's justification for his dictatorship (weren't similar defenses mustered on behalf of the "People's Democracies" of Eastern Europe?), his book is a smoothly written account of the effects of the U.S. embargo. He reviews the history of U.S. hegemony over the Caribbean and recaps the Cuban revolution (its achievements, shortcomings and American efforts to topple it), and he assesses prospects for Cuba after Castro. Despite its manifest failure to bring an end to the Castro regime, the embargo, first imposed in 1960, remains in place, its impact augmented by the collapse of the Cuban economy following the dissolution of the Eastern bloc. Interestingly, one of the ways Castro dealt with his country's economic anxiety in the 1990s was to relax restrictions on religion and allow a papal visit in 1998. Schwab focuses on the devastating effects of the embargo on Cubans' health care and nutrition and forcefully condemns the U.S. for claiming to uphold human rights while sponsoring a policy that "imposes starvation on an entire people." His distinction between the Western notion of human rights?civil and political rights?and what he calls the socialist or Third World concept of economic and social rights is a clear expression of an old and durable argument that, as Schwab asserts, seems likely to outlive its Cold War origins.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

'The strength of Schwab's work, however, lies in illustrating how the embargo has affected the lives of ordinary Cuban citizens in the areas of public health, food, religion, and political dissent. Schwab combines political analysis and personal insight to show how the embargo has permeated all facets of daily life in Cuba.' - NACLA Report on the Americas '[S]hed[s] light on the ordinary lives of Cubans and provid[es] interesting insights into Cuba's relations with the international community.' - Booklist '[E]loquently delineates the human toll of an American policy that-however one feels about Castro-most would call a failure... [H]is book is a smoothly written account of the effects of the U.S. embargo.' - Publishers Weekly 'This is a useful scholarly work, with journalistic overtones, that nicely complements the already rich shelf of political and economic studies on Castro's Cuba.' - Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (April 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312229658
• ISBN-13: 978-0312229658
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,223,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gives a whole new perspective on the US embargo, July 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo (Hardcover)

Peter Schwab has done an excellent job of giving us the other side of the US embargo. "Confronting the US Embargo" tells the citizens of the United States what the direct effects of the embargo are on the average Cuban citizen and explains how they continue to survive. In the United State we hear about the alleged human rights abuses in Cuba, but Schwab portrays the US embargo as a human rights abuse in and of itself. This is a must read for those interested in or studying US foreign policy and its effects.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is our policy toward Cuba working?, September 29, 2002

By 

Margaret Shaw (Nassau Community College, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo (Hardcover)

It is one thing to say that a nation will do whatever is in its own interest, but quite another to persist in carrying out a foreign policy that has not done anything positive for the United States and has only made the Cuban people miserable. Peter Schwab's book provides detailed evidence of this fact in a variety of contexts. Dr. Schwab describes his experiences during his research in Cuba against the backdrop of a well-documented historical, political, sociological and cultural perspectives. In reality, his position is quite moderate, but may not seem so to those who are unable to see the reality of cause and effect through the blurred window of simplistic "good vs, evil" ideology. Read this book with an open mind and you will see that the embargo is counterproductive in every sense of the word. You will also get a more balanced view of the changes that have happened in both Cuba and to Castro himself over the past 43 years.

This book is well-organized, often conceptual rather than linear, which may require an slight adjustment for some readers. By addressing the diverse aspects of the U.S. embargo against Cuba in different contexts, Dr. Schwab is able to give us much more than the usual two-dimensional view we are usually offered regarding this topic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book gave me hope., February 27, 2007

By 

Harmonious "angelapi" (San Juan, PR Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo (Hardcover)

Peter Schwab raises above partisanship to write an excellent account of the consequences of the US embargo (blockade) on Cuba. The author is very impartial and evenhanded throughout the book. Upon reading this book you will learn information that the media in the US does not care to offer to its public. You will learn about the criminal nature of a senseless blockade that amounts to an act of war. You will also learn about the ordeals this embargo has caused to the Cuban citizens for almost 50 years. I feel indebted to Mr. Schwab after reading his lively written book.