Suggested Background Readings
From Roots of Hope Wiki
Peruse the titles below for historical, political, cultural, and social analyses of Cuba. Of course, this list is only a starting point. There are tons of books out there, representing all points of view. Read away!
Andersen, John Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. Grove Press, 1997.
Arenas, Reinaldo. Before Night Falls: A Memoir. Penguin, 1994.
Bardach, Ann Louise. Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana. Vintage, 2003.
Blight, James G. and Peter Kornbluh, eds. Politics of Illusion: The Bay of Pigs Invasion Reexamined. Lynne Rienner, 1998.
Brenner, Phil, Marguerite Rose Jiménez, John M. Kirk, William M. LeoGrande, eds. A Contemporary Cuba Reader: Reinventing the Revolution. Roman & Littlefield, 2008.
Cháves, Lydia, ed. Capitalism, God, and a Good Cigar: Cuba Enters the Twenty-First Century. Duke University Press, 2005.
Cluster, Dick and Rafael Hernández. The History of Havana. Palgrave MacMillan, 2006.
De la Campa, Román. Cuba on My Mind: Journeys to a Severed Nation. Verso, 2002.
De la Fuente, Alejandro. A Nation for All: Race, Inequality, and Politics in Twentieth Century Cuba. University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Domínguez, Jorge. Cuba Hoy: Analizando su Pasado, Imaginando su Futuro. Editorial Colibrí, 2006.
Domínguez, Jorge. To Make the World Safe for Revolution: Cuba’s Foreign Policy. Harvard University Press, 1989.
Echevarría, Roberto González. The Pride of Havana: a History of Cuban Baseball. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Eire, Carlos. Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy. Free Press, 2003.
Erikson, Daniel. The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States, and the Next Cuban Revolution. Bloomsbury Press, 2008.
Fernandes, Sujatha. Cuba Represent!: Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures. Duke University Press, 2006.
Franqui, Carlos. Family Portrait with Fidel. Vintage, 1985.
Frías, Carlos. Take Me With You: A Memoir. Atria, 2008.
García, Luis. Child of the Revolution: Growing Up in Castro’s Cuba. Allen and Unwin, 2007.
García, Maria Cristina. Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959–1994. University of California Press, 2006.
Gjelten, Tom. Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause. Viking, 2008.
Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959–1976. University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
Gott, Richard. Cuba: A New History. Yale University Press, 2007.
Grenier, Guillermo and Lisandro Pérez. The Legacy of Exile: Cubans in the United States. Allyn & Bacon, 2002.
Guillermoprieto, Alma. Dancing with Cuba: A Memoir of the Revolution. Vintage, 2005.
Harris, Alex. The Idea of Cuba. University of New Mexico Press, 2007.
Hernández, Rafael. Looking at Cuba: Essays on Culture and Civil Society. University of Florida Press, 2003.
Ibarra, Jorge. Prologue to Revolution: Cuba, 1989–1958. Lynne Rienner, 1998.
Latell, Brian. After Fidel: Raul Castro and the Future of Cuba’s Revolution. Palgrave MacMillan, 2007.
Matos, Huber. Como Llegó la Noche. TusQuets, 2004.
Montaner, Carlos Alberto. Viaje al Corazón de Cuba. New Media Spanish Language, 1999.
Moore, Robin. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. University of California Press, 2006.
Oltuski, Enrique. Vida Clandestina: My Life in the Cuban Revolution. Jossey-Bass, 2002.
Ortíz, Fernando. Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar. Alfred A. Knopf, 1947 (paperback by Duke University Press, 2003).
Patterson, Thomas G. Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Oxford University Press, 1994.
Pérez, Louis A. On Becoming Cuba: Identity, Nationality, & Culture. University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
Pérez-Stable, Marifeli. The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, Legacy. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Pérez-Stable, Marifeli., ed. Looking Forward: Comparative Perspectives on Cuba’s Transition. University of Notre Dame Press, 2007.
Rojas, Rafael. Motivos de Anteo: Patria y Nación en la Historia Intelectual de Cuba. Editorial Colibrí, 2008.
Suchlicki, Jaime. Cuba: From Columbus to Castro and Beyond. Potomac Books, 2002 (5th Ed.)
Sweig, Julia E. Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground. Harvard University Press, 2002.
Symmes, Patrick. The Boys from Dolores. Pantheon, 2007.
Tattlin, Isadora. Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana. Broadway, 2003.
Thomas, Hugh. Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1971.
Valladares, Armando. Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro’s Gulag. Encounter, 2001.
For additional background material, feel free to visit the following resource guides provided by the Cuba Study Group:
