{"product_id":"the-cuba-reader-history-culture-politics-latin-america-readers-9780822331971","title":"The Cuba Reader: History  Culture  Politics (Latin America Readers)","description":"\u003cp\u003eCuba is often perceived in starkly black and white termseither as the site of one of Latin Americas most successful revolutions or as the bastion of the worlds last communist regime. The Cuba Reader multiplies perspectives on the nation many times over  presenting more than one hundred selections about Cubas history  culture  and politics. Beginning with the first written account of the island  penned by Christopher Columbus in 1492  the selections assembled here track Cuban history from the colonial period through the ascendancy of Fidel Castro to the present. The Cuba Reader combines songs  paintings  photographs  poems  short stories  speeches  cartoons  government reports and proclamations  and pieces by historians  journalists  and others. Most of these are by Cubans  and many appear for the first time in English. The writings and speeches of Jos Mart  Fernando Ortiz  Fidel Castro  Alejo Carpentier  Che Guevera  and Reinaldo Arenas appear alongside the testimonies of slaves  prostitutes  doctors  travelers  and activists. Some selections examine health  education  Catholicism  and santera; others celebrate Cubas vibrant dance  music  film  and literary cultures. The pieces are grouped into chronological sections. Each section and individual selection is preceded by a brief introduction by the editors. The volume presents a number of pieces about twentieth-century Cuba  including the events leading up to and following Castros January 1959 announcement of revolution. It provides a look at Cuba in relation to the rest of the world: the effect of its revolution on Latin America and the Caribbean  its alliance with the Soviet Union from the 1960s until the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989  and its tumultuous relationship with the United States. The Cuba Reader also describes life in the periodo especial following the cutoff of Soviet aid and the tightening of the U.S. embargo. For students  travelers  and all those who want to know more about the island nation just ninety miles south of Florida  The Cuba Reader is an invaluable introduction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45965882916917,"sku":"ByrdShop_0822331977","price":22.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780822331971.jpg?v=1788372005","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-cuba-reader-history-culture-politics-latin-america-readers-9780822331971","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}