Cuba: An American History

Ada Ferrer‘s Cuba: An American History presents a detailed history of how external forces impacted the people of Cuba beginning with Columbus’ first expedition to the New World and ending with an open question as to what US-Cuban diplomacy will look like going forward. The author tactfully explores the concept of Cuban sovereignty by examining Cuba’s colonial period, de-colonization, imperfect democracy, Batista’s authoritarian regime and the rapid Fidel Castro-led revolution that heavily influences the Country’s current diplomatic policies. Recently, Ferrer’s work won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in History.

Historical Comprehension

This work involves extensive original research and thought as a result of the author’s background and specialization in Latin American and Caribbean studies. In addition, this research included onsite visits to Cuba to gather unique perspectives alongside primary source discovery to uncover and explain lightly-covered historical events. Notably, the author offers up supported contrarian opinions on the causes of tensions between Cuba and the US in the first half of the twentieth century that shaped diplomacy in the second half of the twentieth century.

Modern Readability

For a thorough account of Cuban history, Ferrer effectively intermixes factual narrative, analysis and individual accounts on major events. The author evenly distributes the narrative and analysis to contextualize notable events leading up to the Cuban Revolution. Critically, the individual accounts don’t derail the flow of the chronological narrative. The subject-matter of the work addresses and educates a broad American audience and requires minimal historical literacy.

Unique and Balanced Perspective

When many Americans think about Cuban history, they tend to overemphasize Fidel Castro’s political rise and the socialist governance that succeeded it within the framework of the Cold War. Ferrer expands upon this myopic viewpoint by analyzing the long-term historical events leading up to the Cuban Revolution. In terms of balance, the author maintains a relatively neutral stance by contextualizing the political and economics motivations of Cubans vs. the ambitions of external forces instead of emphasizing the benefits of one ideology/viewpoint over another.