{"product_id":"cuba-between-reform-and-revolution-latin-american-histories-9780195045871","title":"Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution (Latin American Histories)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf the history of Cuba is  as one observer remarked  the history of sugar  it is also a chronicle of relentless struggle against slavery  racism  injustice and  above all  domination by foreign powers  most notably Spain and the United States. Based on nearly two decades of research  Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution offers a sweeping history of this all-important island  ranging from the Ciboney Indians  who settled in Cuba around 1 000 B.C.  to the Cuba Libre movement led by Jose Marti  to the tenure of Fidel Castros government. Although Castros overthrow of Batista and his subsequent alliance with the Soviet Union shocked many observers in the United States  Louis Perez reveals that the antecedents of revolution run deep and wide through the Cuban past. He describes the vegueros rebellion against the Bourbons in the mid 18th century  the slave rebellion of 1843  called \"La Escalera\" after the ladder used to torture many of the rebels  and the improbable \"Sergeants Revolt\" of 1933 (where a group of sergeants presented a list of grievances to their commanding officers  who refused to read the list and then abandoned their posts  leaving the surprised sergeants at the head of a mutiny that soon overthrew the government). Perez is particularly skillful at tracing the development of two competing strands of Cubanidad and explaining how this dualism has been one of the principal sources of tension in Cuban history  between political solutions and armed struggle  between reform and revolution. This vividly written volume concludes with two extensive chapters on Castros rise to power and communism in Cuba. Perez provides an even-handed assessment of the Castro years  highlighting the achievements in education (universities have increased tenfold) and health care (life expectancy has gone from 57 to 74 years of age)  and the marked economic failures  including the disastrous attempt to wean the country from its dependence on sugar exports. An authoritative history of the largest and most important island in the Caribbean  Cuba will be essential reading for anyone trying to understand the present turmoil in Latin America.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45789706584117,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195045874","price":38.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195045871.jpg?v=1784695400","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/cuba-between-reform-and-revolution-latin-american-histories-9780195045871","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}