Customer Reviews

Cuba: Confronting the U.S. Embargo

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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.

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.

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.

What I appreciated most about this book is the author personalizes the impact of the embargo on Cuba. As Americans we go by with our daily lives giving little or no notice to the implications of U.S. Foreign Policy on the day to day lives of the citizens of countries that have fallen out of favor with the U.S.
The author paints a portrait of the archaic embargo, and its lack of results and the polictical climate which allows it to continue. He gives an overview of life for the average Cuban, and all that is lost between the two countries as the ban continues.
The only qualm I have is that the book is a little dated. I think things have actually gotten a little worse for Cuba and the U.S. since George W. Bush became president, and I would have been interested to see the authors take on the current state of affairs.

This book is very interesting. It tells the Cuban side to the economic embargo. Schwab gives specific examples of how the U.S. embargo has hurt the Cuban people. He also provides an idea for an alternative to a U.S. dominated Cuba. Schwab gives us the side of the story that we don't hear from the U.S. government.

This is 188 pages of political rhetoric by an author who, 1.) loves communism/collectivism, 2.) has disdain for U.S. concepts of human rights, and 3.) spends most of the book name-calling those who would disgree with him. He constantly mixes up facts with his own opinions. The ideas are also very disorganized, so even as a reference book, it is difficult to use.