That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution [Hardcover]

Lars Schoultz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 080783260X | ISBN-13: 978-0807832608 | Publication Date: February 15, 2009

Cuba has regularly given Washington a headache, Lars Schoultz observes in his comprehensive chronicle of U.S. policy toward the Cuban Revolution. Seeking relief, even the most patient U.S. officials have often been tempted to repeat what an exasperated President Theodore Roosevelt told a friend in 1906: "I am so angry with that infernal little Cuban republic that I would like to wipe its people off the face of the earth."

Certainly that has been true since 1959, when a group of rebels led by Fidel Castro ousted Fulgencio Batista, a dictator known for his friendly ties to the United States, and proceeded to cause more trouble than anyone could have imagined. Using a rich array of documents and firsthand interviews with U.S. and Cuban officials, Schoultz tells the story of the attempts and failures of ten U.S. administrations to end the Cuban Revolution. He covers everything from the legendary 1960s plot to assassinate Castro using a rigged ballpoint pen to the message that recently ran across the electronic billboard of the U.S. interests section in Havana: "Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff"--a comment attributed to the late rocker Frank Zappa.

Schoultz argues that despite the overwhelming advantage in size and power that the United States enjoys over its neighbor, the Cubans' historical insistence on their right to self-determination has inevitably irritated American administrations, influenced both U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, and led to a freeze in diplomatic relations of unprecedented longevity. Schoultz's analysis illuminates what has been a highly unproductive foreign policy and points to fresh prospects as a new century of U.S.-Cuban relations begins.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In time for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, Schoultz, a University of North Carolina political science professor, offers an exhaustive study of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba in the 20th and early 21st centuries. It would be a shame if the book's heft made it too intimidating for some readers to pick up, because it's an approachable, deeply satisfying narrative with a clear-eyed and persuasive critique of U.S. policy toward Cuba and, more broadly, of U.S. policy toward any weaker nation that has ever stubbornly asserted its sovereignty. Schoultz examines how the benevolent arrogance of U.S. State and Defense department advisers made schemes like the Bay of Pigs possible, and how racism steered American policy in the 20th century. He keeps the story a page-turner by maintaining his focus: analyzing U.S. policy from a U.S. perspective, speculating neither about the quality of Castro's leadership or the quality of life in Cuba. This is a gripping, expertly told story of one of the most complicated foreign policy relationship in the western hemisphere. (Apr.)
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From School Library Journal

Starred Review. The Obama administration would be wise to consider Schoultz's latest book essential reading. In a massive text, Schoultz (political science, Univ. of North Carolina) tracks the failures of ten U.S. Presidents to come to grips with and understand Cuba and Castro's Cuban Revolution, illuminating this grave and persistent flaw in American diplomacy. Schoultz concludes that American attempts to "uplift" Cuba and Cubans reflect arrogance and ultimately cross the line to ignorance, attitudes he terms delusional. One President after another has approached Cuba with the "parking lot mentality," the belief that the United States could decimate and destroy Cuba at any time. Utilizing an impressive variety of primary and secondary sources (with more than 150 pages of notes), he details Cuban-American relations administration by administration, from assassination attempts on Castro's life to messages displayed to the people at large, always returning to America's lack of respect for Cuban sovereignty and right to self-determination. Ultimately, he proffers advice for how U.S. policy should adapt. This impressive new book is highly recommended; after all, neither nation is going to be moving any time soon.—Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (February 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080783260X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807832608
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies > Cuba

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, in-depth, snarky take on US-Cuban relations, March 28, 2009

By 

S. J. Snyder "De gustibus non disputandum" (Various, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution (Hardcover)

Before I read this book, I knew that Southern leaders had already cast eyes on Cuba in the 1850s, as the Ostend Manifesto showed. But, I did NOT know that way back in the early 1820s, under the administration of President Monroe and Sec'y of State John Quincy Adams, we landed troops on Cuba for the first time. Is it any wonder that Cuba has leery concerns about our proclaimed best intentions?

As for the "snarky" part, Schoultz is a history prof at North Carolina, and the book gets blurbs from folks like former Colin Powell assistant Larry Wilkerson. So, we're not talking alt-weekly newspaper snarky. But, for an academic-level history, we are.

Here's a sample, from page 209:

"Although he could barely find Brazil on a map, (Dick) Goodwin..."

On the serious side, after a few chapters of buildup, Schoultz gets us to Batista, then Castro. He doesn't turn a blind eye to Castro's nationalization, or other early issues but does present a symmpathetic view of his rise to power. He also shows the obsessiveness, first of the Kennedy brothers (and Dick Goodwin's Camelot torch-carrying for them), then of LBJ in full macho bully pose.

Since this is about US-Cuban relations and written from a US point of view, the history is framed from that way. After the introductory and background chapters, we get 1959 and Castro's success, 1960 and Eisenhower's attempt to grasp the situation, 1961 and the Bay of Pigs, 1962 and the missile crisis, and "state sponsored terrorism" (which is a totally true description) to wrap up the Kennedy years.

After that, we get one chapter devoted to each US Presidential Administration, an easy way to focus this narrative.

An excellent epilogue sums up how American political leadership still "doesn't get it" about Cuba in many ways. In essence, long before George W. Bush's ideology-driven invasion of Iraq, when we haven't marginalized Castro's Cuba, assistance we have offered has tended to have strings of Wilsonian idealism attached to it that we've never applied to even Russia/USSR or China.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great overview of modern US-Cuban relations, July 26, 2009

By 

David A. Teich (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution (Hardcover)

The author barely touches the pre-Eisenhower days, so it's not really a review of the full history of US-Cuban relations. Still, for anyone interested in why the US has MFN status with China and Russia, trades with many dictatorships much worse than Cubas, and yet has embargoed Cuba for so long, the book clearly shows how that has happened.

Chapters are organized by Presidential Administration and show the continuity through administrations and across party lines, of current policy. The policy seems to be a confluence of the government picking on whom it can, regardless of balance or threat, the perceived political power of a minority in southern Florida and,well..., hmmm, that about covers it.

That trade would have had a much larger impact upon Cuba, a small country just off our border, than it has had with much larger countries much further away, seems to not be a clear enough message for politicos to comprehend.

The one area the author could have drawn out better is the link between the first large group of refugees, the ones most vocal about overthrowing Castro, and the Batista regime. Most weren't the least interested in Democracy when their Fascist leader was in power and they were getting all the perks that came from that. They lost their power by refusing to embrace democracy, helping push the regular Cubans to Castro, and then used the word "democracy" to try to punish the Cuban people even more for getting tired of them.

It's one reason why their descendants, as shown in polls pointed out by the author, are much less anti-Castro and pro-embargo. They don't have the link to Batista and can look more honestly at the situation.

However, that's a minor point. The book covers more than fifty years of relationship in detail, following the words and actions of many people. It's a must read for anyone trying to comprehend the issue.

5.0 out of 5 stars New Standard Reference Work, January 30, 2010

By 

Philip (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution (Hardcover)

Do not be intimidated by the number of pages in That Infernal Little Cuban Republic. Lars Schoultz's study of US-Cuban relations is a remarkably enjoyable book to read, whether you open it as a reference for details about a particular episode or digest it from end to end. Based on primary documents, a large number of interviews, and excellent secondary sources from a variety of perspectives, the book should be considered the standard reference work on US-Cuban relations since 1959. Undoubtedly due to space considerations, Schoultz covers the relationship prior to 1959 relatively briefly. Still those chapters provide a clear introduction to the book's theme, which is well developed, that the primary source of tension between the United States and Cuba is the asymmetry between the two. To US policy makers, Cuba is a small country whose responsibility is to do the bidding of the United States, and when it doesn't, they view Cuba as an infernal little republic. In contrast, Cuban officials view the United States as a hovering giant who has the capability of crushing Cuban independence, and has repeatedly tried to do so since 1959. That Infernal Little Republic is a superb book for classroom use, and will reward anyone with even a passing interest in US-Cuban and US-Latin American relations.