Imperial State and Revolution: The United States and Cuba, 1952-1986 [Paperback]

Morris H. Morley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 1988

The United States played a decisive role in Cuba's political and economic development during the first half of the twentieth century. The emergence in the 1950s of a broad-based opposition movement to the Batista dictatorship was viewed by American policy makers as a threat to American interests. The paramount concern of the Eisenhower administration was to deny political power to the Castro forces, a goal pursued by all means short of direct military intervention. Subsequently, American policy toward Cuba, as Morris Morley shows in this book, has focused on reasserting US influence over the island. Drawing on personal interviews, classified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and other primary sources, this study presents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations' efforts to isolate Cuba politically within Latin America and economically throughout the capitalist world. During the Nixon, Ford, and Carter presidencies, as Morley shows, the global economic blockade unraveled, as did Cuba's political pariah status in Latin America. The book also traces the responses of the US Congress and the American business community to White House policy in the 1970s. In the epilogue, Morley discusses the Reagan administration's antagonistic policies toward Havana, which recalls the policies, rhetoric, and instrumentalities displayed by Washington during the early 1960s.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A turgid, overly documented, dissertation-like book that casts U.S./Cuban relations in terms of bad guy capitalist against good guy reformer. There are few new insights, but some recently available State Department documents make for interesting reading. The theoretical framework of the book is that the "Imperial State" struggles blindly to impose its will on independent states who refuse to remain satellites. Absent is any sympathy for justifiable alarm at the presence of a hostile neighbor. Readers will be better served by Tad Szulc's Fidel (LJ 1/87) for the meaning of the Cuban Revolution, and by Wayne Smith's The Closest of Enemies ( LJ 3/1/87) for understanding U.S. response. Nicholas P. Cushner, Empire State Coll., SUNY, Buffalo
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Morris Morley has written here the most comprehensive and detailed account of contemporary U.S. policy toward Cuba. To do so, he relied on the best secondary sources, on extensive archival material, and on declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act...Though it has many strengths, perhaps the book's most important contribution is its detail on the economic embargo against Cuba." The Annals of the American Academy

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Product Details

• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 29, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521357624
• ISBN-13: 978-0521357623
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,492,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent view of U.S. foreign policy, May 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Imperial State and Revolution: The United States and Cuba, 1952-1986 (Paperback)

While Americans typically recoil at the notion that there exists an American Empire, Morris Morley provides an excellent framework for viewing U.S. actions, particularly towards Cuba. While many readers might challenge Morley's assumptions, it is hard to fight with his logic. Defined as "a state with boundaries for capital accumulation located far beyond its geographic limits" (imperialism and neoimperialism), Morley suggests that the Imperial State depends on an integration of government and business.