World Famous Comics: Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook (Global Studies)
Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook (Global Studies)
By: Ted Henken Publisher: ABC-CLIO Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: ABC-CLIO Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 578 Publication Date: October 03, 2007 Release Date: October 03, 2007
Product Description: This fascinating work provides an enlightening guided tour of the island of Cuba's historical, political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present.Despite its small size, Cuba has often had a large presence on the global stage. Its far-from-homogenous society, sophisticated music and culture, and volatile relations with the United States - as well as the uncertainty surrounding the inevitable post-Castro era - make it the focal point for the world's attention and a source of fascination for all kinds of readers."Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook" offers a revealing look at a nation that, in its ongoing pursuit of freedom, has been a colonial pawn, a neocolonial paradise for corrupt politicians and dictators, an alluring vacation destination, a defiant Communist holdout and embarrassing thorn in the side of the powerful United States.Drawing heavily on his own research and experiences on the island, the author follows Cuba's political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present - with an emphasis on the revolutionary period. The book's reference section includes alphabetically organized entries on important people, places, and historical events, as well as shorter sections on Cuban Spanish, national traditions and holidays, cuisines, and important organizations. Also featured is a chart tracing the development of Cuban popular music and a listener's guide to some of the best available recordings.
An especially appropriate addition to academic and community library International Studies reference collections The newest addition to the ABC-CLIO 'Global Studies: Latin America & The Caribbean' series, "Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook", compiled and written by Ted Henken (a Fellow at the Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, CUNY Graduate Center, new York) and an academic specialist in Cuban Economics) provides a detailed overview of Cuba's geography and history, its economics and development, as well as its institutions, culture and society. Of special note is the Reference Section highlighting key events in Cuban history; significant people, places, and events; Cuban language, food, etiquette, and holidays; Cuba-related organizations, on-line publications, and websites. Enhanced with the inclusion of an extensive bibliography and a detailed index, "Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook" is an especially appropriate addition to academic and community library International Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
More details from the author Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook provides a clear, provocative, and up-to-date overview of Cuban historical, political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present day with an emphasis on the Cuban Revolution, U.S.-Cuban relations, and Cuba's current socio-economic reality.
This comprehensive reference/text book of almost 600 pages seeks to present the many diverse characteristics of Cuba (music and dance, literature, cinema, revolutionary politics, Cuban exile politics, sugar/tobacco/rum, U.S. policy, history of the Spanish conquest and African slavery, and state socialist economics), as a complex but integrated whole - without trying to over-simplify or trivialize any of these characteristics.
Moreover, this ambitious work is written by an author who has a broad expertise in a wide array of contemporary Cuban reality having traveled to the island more than a dozen times since 1997. As such, the book benefits from direct, first-hand knowledge of the everyday struggles and engaging, endearing characteristics of the Cuban people (both on the island and in exile).
This exposure and sensitivity allows the author to provide the reader with sympathetic, dignified, but critical-minded portrayals of both committed revolutionaries and ardent counter-revolutionaries, refusing to choose sides between those Cubans who left and those who have remained in their homeland.
The book also includes a critical assessment of U.S. policy toward Cuba since the beginnings of the 19th century with John Quincy Adams' "ripe fruit" policy, up to the imposition of the Platt Amendment on the newly independent Cuban nation in 1902, culminating with the U.S. embargo (1960 - Eisenhower/Kennedy) and its hardening into the Helms-Burton Act (1996 - Clinton) and the measures of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba (2003 - Bush).
CONTENTS: Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook provides an overview of Cuban historical, political, economic, and socio-cultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present day with an emphasis on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The book contains four narrative chapters on (1) geography and history, (2) economics and development, (3) institutions, and (4) culture and society - each with its own bibliography.
This is followed by a reference section that provides fresh, detailed information on key historical events, important people, Cuban Spanish, etiquette (national habits and traditions, cuisine, and holidays), and leading institutions and organizations both in Cuba and abroad.
The book ends with an annotated bibliography that lists some of the most helpful resources used in preparing this volume (including books, newspapers, periodicals, films and documentaries, and websites).
Interspersed throughout the text are more than forty of the author's own photographs taken in Cuba since 1997, a timeline of Cuban history, a chart tracing the development of Cuban popular music, and a "discography" or listeners guide to some of Cuba's best music.
In sum, the book tells a critical yet sympathetic tale of Cuba's history and development, aimed at appealing especially to curious observers who want to add some historical weight and socio-cultural depth to what they already know about the island.
While the book is titled, Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook, it could well be subtitled, "Cuba: The Country that Dreamed It Was a Continent." That is, the island of Cuba has long had a political, strategic, and cultural importance that belied by its relatively small size, meager natural resource base, and scant population. Why is Cuba so BIG? Read this book to find out.
About the author: Ted A. Henken is an assistant professor of Black and Hispanic Studies and Sociology/Anthropology at Baruch College, City University of New York. He received a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from the Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University, 2002. Dr. Henken has traveled to Cuba on numerous occasions since 1997 to lead educational exchanges for Tulane University's Cuban/Caribbean Studies Institute and the CubaNola Collective, to attend academic conferences, and to conduct research. His work on Cuba has appeared in the journals Cuban Studies, Encuentro de la cultura cubana, Latin American Research Review, Latino Studies, and Cuba in Transition. He is a member of the board of directors of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE).
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