This timely book provides a balanced and deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since Christopher Columbuss first arrival in 1492. With decades of experience studying and reporting on the island, Philip Brenner and Peter Eisner provide an incisive overview for all readers seeking to go beyond stereotypes in their exploration of Cubas politics, economy, and culture. As Cuba and the United States open their doors to each other,Cuba Libre gives travelers, policy makers, businesspeople, students, and those with an interest in world affairs an opportunity to understand Cuba from a Cuban perspective; to appreciate how Cubans quest for independence and sovereignty animates their spirit and shapes their worldview and even their identity. In a world ever more closely linked,Cuba Libre provides a compelling model for US citizens and policy makers to empathize with viewpoints far from their own experiences.

Philip Brenner is professor of international relations and affiliate professor of history at American University. He is a co-editor ofA Contemporary Cuba Reader and co-author ofSad and Luminous Days: Cubas Struggle with the Superpowers after the Missile Crisis.Peter Eisner is an award-winning foreign correspondent who covered Latin America for many years as an editor and reporter at theWashington Post,Newsday, and the Associated Press. He currently teaches at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism. His most recent book isMacArthurs Spies.

PrefacePart I: 14921598Chapter 1: Columbus Arrives and Spain Colonizes Cuba, 14921550Chapter 2: Sugar and SlaveryChapter 3: Struggle for Independence, 18681898Chapter 4: Cuban Independence War and US OccupationChapter 5: From Occupation to Good NeighborChapter 6: Playground of the Western World and the Rise of Batista, 19341958Chapter 7: The Revolutionary Struggle, 19531958Part II: 19591989Chapter 8: The Quest for SovereigntyChapter 9: Consolidating the Revolution: Culture and PoliticsChapter 10: Consolidating the Revolution: Economic Reforms, New Institutions, and Basic NeedsChapter 11: Bay of Pigs/Playa GirónChapter 12: The Missile CrisisChapter 13: Foreign Policy in the 1960s: Exporting Revolution, Chinese Flirtations, and Soviet TensionsChapter 14: Internal Adjustments and Advancing Equality, 19631975Chapter 15: Becoming a Third World Leader, 1970sChapter 16: Mariel ExodusA Warning Signal, 1980Chapter 17: Change and Rectification at Home and Abroad, 1980sPart III: 19902016Chapter 18: The Special Period in a Time of Peace, 19902000Chapter 19: The Cuban Diaspora and Racial InequalityChapter 20: Helms-Burton, US-Cuban Relations, and Terrorism, 19951998Chapter 21: The Pope Goes to Cuba; Elián Goes to Miami, 19982000Chapter 22: The Search for a Viable Strategy, 20012006Chapter 23: The Transition from Fidel to Raúl Castro, 20062009Chapter 24: Securing Cubas Independence through Economic Change, 20102016Chapter 25: Securing Cubas Independence through Foreign Policy, 20102016Chapter 26: Change, Continuity, and the FutureAppendix: Chronology of Key EventsBibliographyIndex