Cuba

This is my second post in a row inspired by an extraordinary book. This book is Cuba: An American History, by Ada Ferrer. Ferrer is a professor at NYU and is Cuban. This book taught me more than I have ever learned about this island. It is a lively read, great stories about the personalities, and goes all the way back to Christopher Columbus and ends in the fairly current day, even referring to Trump’s and Biden’s presidency. Cuba is truly American, and she cautions people in the US not to think that the United States is the only American country, as their are a great many ‘american’ countries in addition to the USA….but I never knew how close Cuba came to becoming part of the USA. A shared legacy in slavery, their escape from Spanish rule, and then of course the diplomatic cold war with the US, that only ended when Barack Obama was President. We learn about the various revolutions and leaders in that country, including Fidel Castro’s of course.

The more I read the more I think the USA was (almost?) as much a historical colonial power as Great Britain was in their heyday. We (the USA) tried to force our will on the people of Cuba even insisting on our input to their constitution and our military presence. Yet now we have the pendulum swung all the way to isolationism by some, including Mr Trump. I do believe that the United States has been more a force for good than not over time, but some of these stories – read this book – make us seem pretty self-centered at times.

I read to learn and I sure learned a lot from this one.