Cuba

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY

“Full of…lively insights and lucid prose” (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States—from before the arrival of Columbus to the present day—written by one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba.

Reviews

“Ada Ferrer’s astonishing Cuba succeeds brilliantly with an original approach, written in two voices, folded together seamlessly—one personal, from the depths of family transplantation, and the other a historian’s lyrical narrative. She captures the epic sweep of the island’s story of slavery, massive sugar production, colonialism, and revolution. But she also shows how Cuba and the United States have so long been joined at the hip in shared culture, political crises, and tragedy for the famous and the ordinary. Ferrer’s own ‘heavy inheritance’ is North America’s as well. Above all, Ferrer has achieved a page-turning masterpiece of her craft; rarely is good history this kind of literary performance.” —David W. Blight, Yale University, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

“A riveting, nuanced, and insightful narrative told through a multitude of personalities—from the well-known to those whose names have been lost to history. Here is the saga of Cuba presented in all the complexity it deserves: an American story that is inseparable from that of the United States. This clear-eyed chronicle will forever change your perspective on the historic relationship between the two countries and upend much of the history you thought you knew. Ada Ferrer is a gift, a scholar with the subtle prose of a novelist and the heart to chronicle a history that is both personal and epic. Cuba is an absolutely essential read.” —Ana Menéndez, Florida International University and author of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd

“Revolutions breed history wars. The role of such forces as—colonialism and capitalism, nationalism and imperialism, slavery, race, and socialism, for example—in the shaping of the Cuban past has long been contested terrain. Traversing it demands sober judgement and a steady hand. Fortunately for her readers, Ada Ferrer possesses both in abundance. Hers is a balanced, revelatory, and thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the complex history of this endlessly fascinating country and its relationship with its powerful neighbor. This elegantly written book is as much the history of a country that, for far too many Americans, remains exotic and enigmatic, as it is a surprisingly revealing history of the United States itself, viewed through a lens ninety miles away.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

“Ada Ferrer’s Cuba is a remarkable work of history. Covering more than five centuries and much of the Atlantic world, Cuba is also deeply thoughtful and highly personal in a way that truly enriches it. Imaginatively conceived and beautifully written, Cuba tells complex human stories in riveting ways and challenges our understanding of an island whose history has shaped—and will continue to shape—the Americas. Cuba is An American History in the fullest sense.” —Steven Hahn, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Nation Under Our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration