Customer Reviews

Cuba Or The Pursuit Of Freedom

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't be intimidated by the bulk of the book. Despite its imposing weight (some 1700 pages), Thomas' magisterial history of Cuba is a pleasure to read, combining painstaking scholarship with a marvelous narrative facility, even rendering palatable the inevitable statistics.
Americans unfamiliar with Cuban history (that would be most of us), may be surprised at the close intertwining of U.S. and Cuban histories, with involvement by Robert E. Lee's nephew Fitzhugh, Jefferson Davis, and Dan Sickles, Meyer Lansky, and Eldridge Cleaver, in addition to the better known roles of the Roosevelts (both), and the yellow press barons.
With photos, decent maps, useful appendices, and an excellent index, Thomas' work is highly recommended to history readers, students of Western Hemisphere affairs, and anyone else interested in that fascinating island.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

I've never read much about the history of Cuba or its politics, but I have enjoyed other books written by Hugh Thomas, and thought I might give this one a shot also. I will further confess that sometimes large books have a sort of fascination for me, and this is the largest single volume narrative I've ever seen: the book is 1710 pages long, and of that 1508 is text. Seriously, 1500+ pages of information on something is bound to be fascinating. If there are some errors here and there, it's to be expected, isn't it? I myself noticed a few typos, and a couple of minor inaccuracies involving American history, but I won't quibble.

The fascinating thing about the book is the author's ability to focus on Cuban history over what's a relatively short period of time. The heart of the narrative concentrates on the period between the end of the Seven Years' War (when the island was occupied for almost a year by the British) and the spot just about exactly 200 years later when the Cuban Missile Crisis ended. There is a parade of personalities, from Maceo and Marti to Guevera and of course Castro, lengthy discussion of the sugar crop and things like coffee, cigars, and rice, and discussion of everything from unions to industry to political parties and the church. All of this is wonderfully conveyed, with much detail and authenticity. The prose is a bit wordy at times, but overall the book is very readable and accessible.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, but I will tell you that there's a mountain of information here, and it can be a bit tough to get through. The title of my review is funny, but it's also realistic: this is probably more than most people wish to know on the subject of Cuba. For those who are interested, though, it's worth the effort.

As a historian I find it incredible how gullible people still are about Cuba and its history. It is sad that such a respectible historian as Hugh Thomas can come up with a book that is fraught with mistakes. I like to know from what history source did Mr. Thomas find that Donato Marmol was black? Marmol was a (white) Major General in the Cuban Liberation Army. Thomas also writes that Jose Marti's successor as provisional president of the Republic was Salvador Betancourt Cisneros, Marquis of Santa Lucia. Well, Marti was never provisional president of the Republic to begin with, and the correct name of the Marquis of Santa Ana is Salvador Cisneros Betancourt. In reference to the Catholic Church, I would like to know where did Thomas get the information that there were no religious seminars in Cuba? To mention just a few: Calvario (Jesuits), Santa Maria del Rosario (La Salle), Santiago de las Vegas (Franciscans), Arroyo Naranjo (salesians), La Vibora (Maristas). In addition, the fabricated statement he made on priests doesn't even merit an answer. I would also like to know what official document (from the Catholic Church) did Thomas use to obtain the information that Jose Marti was excommunicated? That never happened. Also, Alberto Muller was never Minister of Commerce and his uncle Monsignor Muller was never Bishop of Matanzas, but of Cienfuegos. I also would like to know where Thomas came up with the information that Cuba did not use fertilizers before 1959? Unfortunately, I dont have enough space to mention all the errors I found in this book. Overall, Thomas' book is full of biases, misinformation, and propaganda. If you do buy this book, please look into other reference materials, such as State Department's Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, UN's Statistical Yearbook, US Department of Commerce, Direction of Trade Statistics (Washington: International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), Demographics Yearbook: Historical Supplement (United Nations), Energy Statistics Yearbook (United Nations), UNFAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Productions Yearbook), World Bank (Internationa Bank for Reconstruction and Development 1951 report on Cuba, Washington IBRD. I can only say that this book has no merit whatsoever. It completely misleads those that have no knowledge about Cuba prior to 1959.

I found this book initially difficult to read, because of its grammatical structure. The book begins with the British occupation of Havana, but I’m afraid that this is just a dull history book until it gets to the days of Castro’s revolution. The content on Jose Marti, one of the greatest Cuban revolutionaries, is extremely disappointing, but it does give some insight into his life, although inadequate. On the whole, it does make the Cuban past look grim, especially the persistent corruption among the government officials, and despotic dictators before the revolution… there’s obviously corruption everywhere to an extent, but the Cuban case was extraordinary. Then from the early 50’s, the book suddenly becomes exhilarating, and an absolute joy to read, in fact Hugh’s style suddenly seems to change for the better (must have something to do with the fact that he was often present in Cuba). The author gives intelligent opinions based on witnessed events, or as a result of research, but never senseless opinions (like the book about Che Guevara by Jorge Castaneda “Companero”… probably THE most awful book I have ever read), and the points Hugh makes for and against the Castro regime are valid.

The updated content is also disappointing, as I’m sure lots more interesting events took place before the Soviet Union collapsed. I’d like to find out more about Cuba and the Non Aligned Movement, or Castro’s involvement with the ANC against the apartheid regime in South Africa, and especially Cuban intervention in Angola (if anyone knows any publications about these subjects, do let me know), but who knows, maybe that kind of information isn't yet available.

On the whole, the content on Castro's revolution saves this book.

This is a comprehensive History of Cuba from 1762 to 1971. Although it has minor inaccuracies and a few typos, Thomas narrative is both entertaining and informative and easy to read despite the 1700+ pages. It covers the last 100+ years of the Spanish colonial period, the several wars for independence, and the days of the early Republic, with nearly the second half of the book covering the periods of the Batista and Castro dictatorships. Impressive is Thomas' coverage of the early days of the Cuban Revolution (1959-60): A detailed description of how the naïve and trusting provisional President Urrutia and his cabinet agreed to Castro's proposal for them to rule by decree, subtly dismantling rights in the 1940 constitution, with the purpose of prosecuting Batistianos; and we are also told how Castro deceived his liberal and moderate allies in the struggle against Batista and was able to form an alliance with the Communists starting in early 1959, consolidating his power as defense minister and the implementer of the agrarian reform, eventually having a strong enough power base by mid-1960 when he cancelled elections, suppressed freedom of the press, and continued a campaign of property confiscation. Thomas will sometimes go into detailed narration of events, such as the agrarian reform, and gives a brief description of the initial implementation of Castro's police state by the G2 (Cuba's undercover police equivalent of the KGB) and the neighborhood watch committees. Events in 1959-60, such as the cancellation of elections and the confiscation of private property, set up confrontations with the U.S., which resulted in the Bays of Pigs in 1961 and the Missile Crises in 1962. As a matter of fact, this book by Thomas is recommended in my own book about Memories from the Land of the Intolerant Tyrant (available from Blue Note Books) as one of the best about Fidel Castro Castro and the Cuban Revolution.

Incredibly detailed, yet broad-perspective, history of Cuba 1762 - 1962, written with great objectivity and compassion both. Exemplary history, with real insight into a tragic nation.

When Cuba is the topic of conversation and you don't want to look like a fool, I suggest you read this book.

A good history of Cuba but let's not forget the leftists leanings of the author.