Moon Handbooks: Cuba (1st Ed.) [Paperback]

Christopher P. Baker (Author)

Book Description

Series: 1st ed | Publication Date: December 1997

Author Christopher P. Baker leapt onto a motorcycle and logged over 7,000 miles researching this book--the most comprehensive travel guide to Cuba ever written.

"Cuba Handbook" ranges from Havana's colonial plazas and dynamic nightclubs to the diamond-dust beaches of Varadero, providing:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The thought of Cuba conjures images and associations with Castro politics and contraband cigars, but a visit reveals more: vibrant hummingbirds, corral-colored flamingos, a profusion of insect life, and miles of sugarcane. The Cuba Handbook tells the oft-neglected details of Cuba's history, from slave trading to the U.S. embargo. But like the sidebar on Cuban cigars, the information is merely an aside, for this is a practical book: you'll find out how to gain entrance, where to stay, and what to eat, plus the scoop on all of the beaches, Hemingway memorials, and Revolution museums you could desire. There's sailing and golf, bird watching and scuba diving, and Cuban baseball. There's ballet, cabarets, and the ubiquitous beat of salsa throbbing in the night air. A vivid, engaging Cuba, peopled by Cubans justly renowned for their warmth, awaits.

From Library Journal

The first of these works is a guidebook?and an excellent one at that. Baker, who has traveled extensively in Cuba and written other guidebooks and magazine articles, gives a general introduction to his subject, with tips on getting to Cuba, hotels, money, and all the usual things one expects from a guide. But his book has a special twist for Americans because of the embargo. After introductory material on history, flora and fauna, the Helms-Burton bill, Castro, and many, many other topics, the book is organized by region, with maps, hotels, tips on getting there, etc. This excellent work is one of the most thorough guidebooks this reviewer has ever seen. Highly recommended. The author of two other works on Latin America, Schwartz has written not a guidebook but a well-researched description of tourism in Cuba, mainly from the Twenties to the Sixties. The emphasis is on American tourists, the most numerous until Castro, and the history is chronological, showing how World Wars I and II affected Cuban industry. Schwartz describes the Mafia influence and the state of tourism since Castro, and she also considers how tourism affects a country, any country, which makes interesting reading. An excellent history that should have broad appeal, this is scholarly but not dull.?George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 714 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Pub; 1 edition (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566910951
• ISBN-13: 978-1566910958
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,699,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher P. Baker (1955-) was born and educated in Yorkshire, England, studied at universities in London and Liverpool, and has lived in California since 1980. He has since established himself as one of the world's leading travel writers & photographers and is considered the world's foremost authority on travel and tourism to Cuba and Costa Rica. He has authored and illustrated more than 30 books for such publishers as Dorling Kindersly, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Moon, and National Geographic, etc., including guidebooks, literary books, and his acclaimed coffee-table book, "Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles." His writing & photography have appeared in more than 200 international publications, from National Geographic to Newsweek. His literary travelog "Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba," won both the Lowell Thomas Award as 'Travel Book of the Year,' and the North American Travel Journalist Association Grand Prize. In 2006, he won the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award 'Travel Journalist of the Year,' and has also been named 'Travel Journalist of the Year' by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (2005) and Jamaica Tourist Board (1998). He posts twice-weekly blogs at www.moon.com/blogs/cuba-costa-rica and promotes himself through his website: www.christopherbaker.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than a travel guide..., January 15, 2000

By 

KAH "Headache free in Colorado" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moon Handbooks: Cuba (1st Ed.) (Paperback)

I've recently returned from a month-long working trip in Cuba. I read this book before going, while there and once again upon my return. Not only was the travel information accurate and thorough, I was well prepared for understanding the people and the culture. I am writing an article about my experiences there and find myself returning to the book for details that need reconfirming. It is much more than a travel guide....

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, easy-to-read, informative, and entertaining., July 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Moon Handbooks: Cuba (1st Ed.) (Paperback)

This was a terrific orientation to Cuba. Christopher Baker gave a thorough overview of the political and historical climate of the country, and his descriptions of the people and culture were always on target. He really demystified the labyrinth of getting into, around, and out of Cuba. We read the book as intently on our last day as we did before we arrived, always finding some new insight on every page. After looking at all of the other Cuba guidebooks, this is clearly the only one anyone could need.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best travelbook for Cuba, no doubt about it !!!, March 23, 1999

By 

Danny Seegers ([e-mail]) (Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Handbooks: Cuba (1st Ed.) (Paperback)

This is the best travelbook for Cuba, we have been there in feb '99 and even compared this book with The Lonely Planet. All (experienced) travellers agreed this book from Moon was much better than the Lonely Planet!!