So many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this. The author (native Cuban) has written an incredible history of Cuba. This is so well done. I am avid reader of history - and I believe anyone who reads history should buy this. The writing and the research are to be commended. This book has received so many well-deserved awards this year. I am so glad to have been able to read it and learn more. I am an American and obviously Cuba has a deep place in US history. For that reason, I think this should make it on the reading lists of US history majors. Highly recommended.

Very much enjoyed CUBA: AN AMERICAN HISTORY -- it was informative, swift, comprehensive; it's strongest point, however, is the aggregation of detail, and the compression of history into something so readable.

The voice, however, fell dry at times; mostly, granted, in recounting Cuba's early history, in the first ~100 pages, where there are fewer sources to consult, and therefore fewer characters; and, of the characters, presented, few are so compelling as those who appear later on.

Ada Ferrer does a fantastic job of traversing the obstacle that might just be inherent to the task: a compressed history of Cuba is going to be noticably top-heavy.

That said: I finished the book a few months ago, and have gone back to it several times for reference on various elements of the history, and I suspect it's a book I'lll have in my library forever.

Now, this is a well-written book about Cuba. Excellent!!

The book Cuba, details from the author's point of view, the relationship between the US and Cuba.

In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington—Barack Obama’s opening to the island, Donald Trump’s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden—have made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more.

Ada Ferrer has written a detailed and lively account of Cuba's history from Spanish colonization to the present. It encompasses Cuba's economic evolution to reliance on sugar, slaves and trade and includes the increasing power and influence of the United States. The relationship between the two countries has been (and probably always will be) an intricate dance. At various times the U.S. wanted to buy Cuba, annex it, keep Spain in control. Cubans repeatedly attempted to gain reform. The United States barged in on Cuba's third war for independence and occupied the island until it got what it wanted. It left Cuba to deal with corrupt governments that spawned the rise of Fidel. Ferrer explains how he used Cuba's past experiences to shape acceptance of his program for the country. I was an oblivious young teen on the west coast of Florida during the Bay of Pigs and Missile Crisis and found those chapters electrifying as well as edifying. She follows through with the consequences of those actions.
The book is quite thorough, but not dry. The cast of characters is large. but well drawn.
Some may not agree with Ferrer's analysis of Cuban history, they might, for example, take issue with her view of the prominent role of race, but I believe that readers of every persuasion would find much of value in this book. It explains reasons for some of the attitudes each country holds toward the other. It would be nice to think that might lead to a little understanding, but even if it doesn't Ada Ferrer has produced a very interesting read.