Cuba: Island at a Crossroad [Hardcover]

David Alan Harvey (Photographer)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 1999

This book displays the island of Cuba in both pictures and words. It explores the present-day concerns of the Cuba people, which include surviving under an impoverished government and an uncertain future without Fidel Castro.'

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Fidel Castro's 40-year stranglehold on the citizens of Cuba has resulted in financial disaster, decaying cities, and loss of loyalty even among supporters of the Revolution. This publication presents a firsthand account of the effects of Cuba's totalitarian government and dire economy upon its remarkably resilient population. Harvey, a National Geographic photographer for 25 years, offers 150 vividly colorful images of Havana and the countryside--including many photographs of 1950s automobiles and crumbling homes, which are common sights. These images are matched with staff writer Newhouse's historical overview, which discusses the country's rich architectural heritage, culture, and social conditions. Together these add up to a sympathetic understanding of what the island is like today. Clearly, Harvey and Newhouse were captivated by the exuberance of the Cuban people. Recommended for a wide range of readers at most public libraries.
-Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Pearl of the Antilles, crown jewel of the Spanish empire, the island of Cuba lies so enticingly close, off the coast of Florida--but, with some few exceptions, we Americans can't get there. That seems ironic, considering how close the ties between the U.S. and Cuba have been since the early days of Cuban independence and before the U.S. embargo against the Castro regime. The best most of us can do to grasp an essence of the island's taste and feel is peruse the pages of an album of truthful photographs such as this one. It is almost a cliche, and often sounds too patronizing to begin with, to make reference to Cubans' "spiritedness." But in Harvey's soul-baring photographs, backed up by Newhouse's understanding text, it becomes obvious that high spirit is indeed a national trait. Cuban spirit is tinged with poignancy, of course, given the various freedoms and materials Cubans lack; but you can't miss the strong will etched on every face, young or old, caught by the camera here. Brad Hooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792275012
• ISBN-13: 978-0792275015
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 0.9 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,200,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars This book celebrates the passion and sensuality of Cuba but. October 26, 2000

By Allan M. Gathercoal

Format:Hardcover

Cuba is a visual delight and, with more than 100 color photographs, David Alan Harvey shows you why. Combine Harvey's images of life in Cuba with Elizabeth Newhouse's terse yet thorough style and you have a perfect match for this book.

I have recently visited Cuba and found that Harvey's photography captures the essence of Cuba's greatest resource - the Cuban people. Strong and proud, though materialistically impoverished, the people of Cuba are rich in relationships, music, dance and defiance. Harvey, a photographer for National Geographic, has spent the last 20 years photographing Latin America and is skilled at capturing people in their everyday environment.

Newhouse's chapter on the turbulent history of Cuba is excellent. Without pulling any punches about the glaring deficiencies of Castro's totalitarian Communist government, she writes with objectivity about life in Cuba and she is able to show, with sensitivity to the culture, the strength found in the people of Cuba. "But above all Cuba is music," Newhouse writes, "expressing Cubans' intense joy in life, sensuality and machismo. Garcia Marquez calls Cuba 'the most dance oriented society on earth. And that Fidel Castro is the only Cuban who can't dance, should have warned the people about him from the start.'"

The downside of this book is the publisher/printer's very poor reproduction of Harvey's photos. Almost all of the photos are too dark and thus rob the effect that David Harvey intended. Considering that National Geographic is distinguished for its stunning photography, I called the publisher and asked about this blunder and was told that the printer, not the photographer, was culpable.

This book celebrates the passion, color and sensuality of the Cuban people, and, even with the gray backdrop of Communism framing their existence, and the deficiency in the photo reproduction, the Cubans are still able to shine through the gloom and darkness. Recommended.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Modern-Day Henri Cartier-Bresson January 16, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

David Allen Harvey is a veteran National Georgraphic photographer. His style reminds my of one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century, Henri Cartier-Bresson, who photographed exclusively in duotone. But Harvey's photos are in glorious color, and are striking for their lack of artificial style. I have not been to Cuba, but having studied Harvey's deceptively simple photos, I feel I have gotten as close as I can legally, given US restrictions. And the book makes me want to go I do not believe, as other reviewers say, Harvey is exploiting anyone. Like the best Geographic photographers, he simply took pictures of things as they are, not as he wishes they were. I do not believe he glorifies poverty by any means -- quite the contrary. Harvey's pictures do reveal an impoverished culture -- a proud one -- struggling to keep up with the rest of us. I strongly recommend the book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A sublime work by a master photojournalist December 18, 2000

By m_s_

Format:Hardcover

David Alan Harvey, long one of the most outstanding photographers at an outstanding publication, National Geographic, has produced that captures well the beauty, spirit, and reality of life in Cuba. Harvey's masterful compositions with his trademark use of strong, vibrant color remind one of Alex Webb's photographs of Haiti and the tropics.

I suspect that those who complain about "dark pictures" have missed the point; the photographer seems to deliberately have exposed for the highlights, leaving his shadow areas to fall to blackness and lending the subjects in his photos a timeless anonymity.

And the harsh reviews that Harvey has "misunderstood" Cuba seem to be misguided on the part of some reviewers. I guess they'd rather deny that the poverty reflected in some of his photographs actually exists, and bash him for merely bringing a non-Cuban perspective to the land they love with rose-tinted vision, rather than address the actual points his work raises.