Reviews (2)

Forgotten jewel splashed to pages
Great book. No supercover, do not search, and that begins the style. I do not agree, that book displays the misery, serves regime, and that is something expected to be admired by 'leftists'.
A serial killer in the cover?
A wonderful book, marred by efigy of serial killer in the back cover. What a shame. The book is also peppered with photographs which are clearly the choice of an ignoramus who admires Castro and Guevara, without realizing that the beautiful ruins of Havana are their handiwork. Face it, Cuba was destroyed by the so called revolutionaries who terrorized a prosperous country and trasformed it into a Fourth World nightmare.
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Design - Decorative    3. Pictorials    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Cuba    7. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (1)

Fascinating Portrait of a Surreal Havana
A fascinating coffee table book of orginary people and nude models in the decrepit surroundings of Havava, Cuba. No captions or explanations, just photos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cuba - History    2. Havana (Cuba)    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Essays    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Pictorial works    8. Social life and customs    9. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/South America    10. Cuba    11. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (1)

Short and Sweet
I walked into this book knowing virtually nothing about Cuba, and this book did an excellent job of providing a short overview of modern Cuba. The history begins with the war for independence from Spain, and proceeds through all of the revolutionary movements, through to Castro's takeover, the Soviet relationship with Cuba, and Castro's changing policies. I found it very enlightening, a quick read, and well worth an afternoon! I would have given it a higher rating if it had more unique information, but it keeps the readers interest, and gives a reasonable overview of the politics and economics of the country. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Caribbean & West Indies - Cuba    3. Caribbean & West Indies - General    4. Cuba    5. Cuba - History    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Latin America - Central America    10. Revolutionary    11. American history    12. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    13. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Editorial Review

Robert Polidori's Havana is a haunting city of sherbet colors and peeling stucco, grand colonial architecture in decay, and real people who hang their laundry across a lofty foyer in an old mansion. Polidori's photographs, which fill the pages of this beautiful, oversized book, appear without comment, yet it is impossible to miss the affection and melancholy of his highly personal vision. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Robert Polidori: Havana
Visceral images of a unique city, in which splendor and squalor are juxtaposed, and the past is suspended within the present, decaying yet enduring. Robert Polidori has captured the beauty and melancholy of Havana, gazing unflinchingly at the ruins and the people who inhabit them. When the boycott is finally lifted, all this will be swept away by a tide of new development, so try to see it now and use this wonderful book as an introduction and a lasting memento. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

spectacular photos
These photos are breathtakingly spectacular.As soon as I saw this book, I had to buy it.It was the first time I'd ever seen anything that captures exactly what being in Cuba feels like:as if you were witnessing the beautiful ruins of a decaying Roman empire.It's the most spectacular, cinematic misery you could ever experience.And I'm glad that someone like Robert Polidori has captured it so faithfully before it all crumbles to the ground (or gets built over with hideous concrete Spanish hotels).

Poignantly, achingly beautiful
In these urban landscapes of contemporary Havana, Polidori captures on film the spectacular ruin of a vibrant culture living on faded memories of past opulence. The overwhelming feeling I got from viewing these photographs was that these people deserve so much better than this. This work is visually stunning, but it goes beyond art. It holds up a slice of the Cuban soul for the world to see and weep for. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural & Industrial    2. Individual Photographer    3. Photo Essays    4. Photoessays & Documentaries    5. Photography    6. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/General    7. Architecture    8. Cuba    9. Individual photographers    10. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (4)

Colourful Cuba
This is a great coffee table book of good quality.The colour photographs are excellent, accompanied by descriptive text.I bought it out of a sense of curiosity of how the more affluent Cubans might live.Unfortunately, as it turns out, I don't generally share their taste in design or dark furniture, but don't let that put you off an excellent and informative book.

Astonishing
Cuban Elegance is an astonishing work. That Michael Connors and Bruce Buck were able to navigate the bureaucracies to get to Cuba and to the subjects of the book; astonishing that with an admitted paucity of research material they were able to craft a book that reveals the wealth of historic artifacts in Cuba.
Beautiful photos and fine writing about Cuban furniture
This book is the first comprehensive review of Cuban furniture from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century.Connors and Buck, the author and photographer, spent months touring Cuba and doing detective work to gain access to relics of past eras.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Cuba    3. European    4. Furniture design    5. Furniture, Colonial    6. Interior decoration    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/South America    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Architecture / Interior Design    10. Furniture & cabinetmaking    11. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Another excellent entry in the Then and Now series
If you have an interest in the architecture of Havana and want a taste of what might welcome you if you visited there, this book is for you. Archival photos primarily from the early 1900s are matched with modern photos on the opposite page. It's nice to know there is a movement on now to save some of these historic gems and we get to see restorations. If you want to learn about politics, Cuban culture, or the countryside, you need to look elsewhere. This is about the history of the buildings, and by extension, the people who used them. The only improvement I would suggest would be to supply an approximate year with each of the old pictures.

It does not show anything
I have a small booklet called "Remembering the Cuba we left" with color pictures of Cuba during the 1950s, it is old and I suppose long out of print, it does not contain that many pictures, but the pictures of Havana and the rest of the country are really good. Some were shot from the sky; others captured the life and people walking through the city, buildings, nightclubs, parks, monuments, countryside, etc. I have searched for more of these same pictures and others like them and have not been able to find them. They truly capture what Cuba was before the revolution. No other, not only Caribbean nation, but many Latin American nations didn't even come close. It was the 3rd best economy in the American continent after the U.S and Canada, and followed closely by Argentina. By 1958 Cuba was the most immigrated Latin American country, with the largest European emigration, and more Americans living in Cuba than Cubans in the U.S. Havana even had a China Town.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Caribbean & West Indies    4. Caribbean & West Indies - General    5. Cuba    6. Description And Travel    7. Earth Sciences - Geography    8. Havana    9. Havana (Cuba)    10. Historic sites    11. History    12. History - General History    13. Pictorial works    14. Science    15. Science/Mathematics    16. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    17. Sale Books   

Editorial Review

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years, and as a result has experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach.While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.Read more

Reviews (30)

A difficult country to write a guide for
Cuba is a fascinating country with a socio-political system all its own. Things also change rapidly, especially in the big urban centres such as Havana so it must be a difficult place to write a guidebook for.
Dont buy this one ...
... the following letter was sent by us to LP after using the (then) fresh off the press LP Cuba in July 2004.We still did not hear from them.
Wait for the next edition.
This particular edition of LP Cuba will do you little good in the year 2005 and it's not necessarily all LP's fault as Cuba undergoes a metamorphosis every other day or so.So, go with another guide for more up to date information on currency and prices in general as well as legal casas.
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Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Cuba    3. Guidebooks    4. South America    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (23)

sorry the book ended
This book is written in many short snippets of daily and weekly life in Cuba rather than long chapters.I enjoyed it immensely; this style kept me wondering what was going to happen next with the parade of characters introduced - from household help to visiting friends to political and diplomatic appointees.It also highlighted the beauty of the island while presenting a sad gloom of the reality most of the people live day to day. It made me sad to see the family leave at the end without knowing more of the fate of all the people the author brings to life so intimately for us to care about.

Bleech!
Truly is what it says it is: An American housewife whines about not getting fresh whatever daily from the servants. She could visit the south side of Chicago and whine, sans servants. Her Martha Stewart sensibilities are out of place in a poor country struggling with social issues, quite successfully, I would add, despite North America's stupid blockade.
More than any other book, 'Diaries' puts you in Havana
I read 'Cuba Diaries' by "Isadora Tattlin" (pen name) a month ago and was compelled to write about it today as I look at various stories circulating on the Web about Fidel's broken kneecap (filed under the humorous title 'The Fall of Castro').I loved Tattlin's book and so has everyone else who I've recommended it to.Others may criticize it as being the boring diary of a housewife with not much to say, but I think that misses the point.More than any other book I've read about Cuba, 'Diaries' seems to put you squarely in Havana by showing you the challenges of every day life.Granted, Tattlin and family are not every day Cubans - she's quite frank about her life of (comparative) privilege...but she does give you a true sense of how all Cubans must survive on guile and wit.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Caribbean & West Indies    3. Cuba    4. Description and travel    5. Economic conditions    6. General    7. Social conditions    8. Tattlin, Isadora    9. Travel    10. Travelers    11. Women    12. Travel / General   

Editorial Review

The thought of Cuba conjures images and associations with Castro politics and contraband cigars, but a visit reveals more: vibrant hummingbirds, corral-colored flamingos, a profusion of insect life, and miles of sugarcane. The Read more

Reviews (25)

Comprehensive, but...
This is an excellent thoroughly researched, detailed book as stated in other reviews.
The Definitive Cuban Guidebook!
Chris Baker knows Cuba intimately.This guidebook is hands down better than the others (in fact, forget Lonely Planet on Cuba - trust me).It contains a brief history of culture and politics (the two entwined in this country) as well as in-depth coverage of the sites you want to see.
It helped me put into words what eyes were witnessing!
I've never gone on an overseas adventure without a guide book, and usually they are good for a few phone numbers and museum hours, but mostly end up being dead weight in your pack. This book on Cuba was like a lifeline during my adventure in Fidel's homeland. Anyone who has been to this pearl of the caribbean know's the social, political and economical ocean that is the Cuba of today is 100,000 leagues deep, and as a foreigner you feel as though you are caught, tumbling, in a wave not knowing which way is up. This book helps to make sense of Cubas past, while helping you to understand the nuances that hint to its uncertain future. A true pleasure to explore, with my Moon's book in hand! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Cuba    6. North America    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (7)

Deserves a close reading
I hated this book the first time I read it.The writing is that good - it definitely evokes strong emotions.However, I kept coming back to the ideas in the book, especially her conflicts as an artist and as a dubious and somewhat neurotic 'internacionalista.'So, I read it again a year later....and loved it.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dancer
The person who stressed this is a memoir is on target though I think it is quite well written. As a long time admirer of Guillermoprieto's journalism I found this a fascinating and unfaiingly honest account of her life as a dance teacher in Cuba before she became a writer. IT IS a memoir and the self pity of her young self is conveyed with a brutal honesty--it is the middle-aged writer descibing where she once was and her perspective is a perfect balance of scorn and affection for who she was. If you are looking for a wide ranging view of the revolution, this is not the book you want to read, though you will get a very interesting perspective on life in Cuba in the early 1970s. If you have not read anything by her before, read The Heart That Bleeds and Looking for History (as well as Mark Danner's The Massacre at El Mozote, a story she was responsible, with Ray Bonner at the Times, for breaking in 1982. She is a remarkable writer and this memoir was one of my favorite reads of the last several years.

Different and interesting
Why is it that so many readers, incorrectly, think a memoire is going to teach them something -- in this case about Cuba and Fidel? This is a memoire, folks. You won't get all the facts. You'll get the writer's reactions to the events of her life as they occurred against the background of an historical era or event, not details of what "really happened." If you're looking for history, read a history book.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Cuba - History    5. Description And Travel    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Dancers    7. Historical - General    8. Latin America - General    9. Women    10. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Cuba    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (4)

Great Read!!
I thought this was a great insight into a time in our country when many things were undiscovered. Living in the south myself, it was great to hear about Bonaventure and descriptions of the people John Muir came across in his travels. If you want a sense of what nature and the southern way of life used to be like, this is the book for you.

A Nineteenth-century Glimpse of America's Natural Heritage
Shortly after the American Civil War, John Muir, a 29-year-old budding naturalist, set out on an epic journey across the eastern United States. Starting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 2, 1867, he walked southward through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, where he was delayed in Savannah. After crossing through Florida he finally reached the Gulf, but, unfortunately, his desire to continue on toward South America was hindered by an illness. Not fully recovered, he eventually made for Cuba, but went no further. Muir returned home only to set out for California a short while later.During his journey, he kept a journal in which he recorded his experiences and observations of the flora and fauna he came across. This journal, along with an article written in 1872 and a letter that he wrote while in California, constitute A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, which was originally published in 1916, two years following Muir's death. Although there are a few instances when the author reveals himself to be a man of his times, his observations of a natural world which in many instances have long since been destroyed, are priceless.

A view across time....
As the human population expands the natural world around us disappears. This is a fact we mostly ignore as we go about our daily life.One day, you wake up, and discover that within your own lifetime things have been permanently altered. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1838-1914    2. Biography    3. Cuba    4. Essays    5. Muir, John,    6. Natural History    7. Naturalists    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. North America    11. Southern States    12. Travel    13. United States    14. United States - South - East South Central (General)    15. Wildlife    16. Classic travel writing    17. Nature / Wildlife    18. The Environment    19. USA   

Reviews (10)

interesting pictures
I thought it would have more of a written description, not just pictures

Beautiful
This book is such a great buy.The photographs are amazing; filled with rich textures and colors. If you are looking to expand your art library, I would definitely recommend this book.

captured complexity
I have had the opportunity to travel in Cuba on more than one occasion and am profoundly drawn to the people and the environment.Though I often times feel that photographic books do not adequately capture the essence of "real" places, I have found this book to be descriptive beyond words. The photographs tell a story of collapse and revival -- of time lost -- of hope -- of battle -- of corrosion -- ofendurance....Havana is alluring and repulsive in the same glance.Few photographers can capture such complexity in a single image.This book is amazing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Caribbean & West Indies - General    3. Cuba    4. Description and travel    5. Havana    6. Havana (Cuba)    7. Individual Photographer    8. Photo Essays    9. Photography    10. Pictorial works    11. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    12. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/General    13. Photographs: collections    14. Photography / General    15. Places & peoples: general interest   

Reviews (2)

limited coverage!
This is a good, sturdy map but, on Havana side, covers only the old city to Vedado.You will want another map if you want to visit anything outside of this area, and it is VERY likely that you will.In Havana there are excellent maps available at the airports, in "tourist" stores near major hotels, and in bookstores.

An awesome map!
Words can not explain how much use I got out of this map!I have made 3 trips to Cuba and have had this map in my pocket every day and it has still held up and is in great condition.The map is made of a sturdy slick cardboard and folds down to about the size of a business letter.On one side is a map of the whole island of Cuba detailed with dozens of major cities, railways, major highways, landmarks, sites and scuba diving areas.This is very handy if you plan on travelling on the bus or train throughout Cuba.The other side has maps of Havana, Varadero and Playas Del Este.These maps are very detailed with every street, many hotels, museums and many other sites of interest.The map key lists hundreds of all of these places with map coordinates to locate it's vacinity.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Reference / Maps    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies    5. Caribbean & West Indies    6. Cuba    7. Maps    8. Mexico    9. Reference    10. Travel / road maps & atlases   

Reviews (4)

Beautiful book, beautiful memories.
I purchased this book for my husband, he was forced to flee Cuba at the age of 5.He has a vast collection of books on Cuba and Cuban-American issues, and this is a very welcomed addition.The photographs are lovely, and when viewed by our Cuban relatives, it brought back lots of memories.Lovely as an art or historical book.

french version available in www.amazon.fr
both versions of the book, in english and french, are excellent. however, there are some 'minor' differences, for example the cover. there is also a spanish version that shares the french version cover design.

Wonderful Photography
This is a fabulous book with exquisite pictures.The photography is marvelous and it gives the reader an opportunity to see the nice range of architectural styles that can be found in Cuba. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. General    4. International Architecture - General    5. South America    6. Travel    7. Cuba    8. Houses, apartments, flats, etc   

Reviews (8)

Wrong side of history as usually for the intellectuals
This is an awesome book which helps the reader understand why intellectuals always seem to be on the wrong side of history.They loved Communism even when it was obvious that Lenin & Stalin were exterminating hoards of people!They are defective in their thinking and they stick to it.The author has a quote at the beginning of the book."A GREAT DEAL OF INTELLEGENCE CAN BE INVESTED IN IGNORANCE WHEN THE NEED FOR ILLUSION IS DEEP."(Saul Bellows) .This book walks you through the 'needs' that these intellectuals seem to have which continually seems to cause them to deny the stark realities around them & cling to their 'ideologies'.I am so glad I read this book as I just laugh now when I hear so much of what is on the news.I GET IT!

As pertinent today as it was 25 years ago...
25 years ago, "Political Pilgrims" documented beyond any doubt the willing self-deception of intellectuals in love with the totalitarian regimes in Cuba, China, the Soviet Union and East Germany.The debate no longer rages over whether these countries were "freer" than their counterparts in the West.They aren't.What hasn't changed, however, is the continued willingness of intellectuals to find paradise anywhere but in the US.
Take me by the hand and let's go strolling in wonderland
Hollander puts the selective moral outrage and selective acceptance of evidence of the Left on parade as he follows these blinkered one's through the various Potemkin Villages of the Totalitarians, from the October revolution forward into most of the 20th century.Smug arrogance knows no political party or religious faith, no gender, race or sexual preference, it seems to be evenly spread among us.In this instance the highly developed capacity for self-deception of the Left is on trial and an amusing trial at that.Their tortured explanations of the intellectually unexplainable are a fictive of mankind's marvelous ability "to transform things to the liking of his desires".Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Attitudes    3. Communist countries    4. Foreign public opinion    5. History    6. Intellectual History    7. Intellectuals    8. Political activity    9. Socialism    10. Travel   

Reviews (4)

Questionable???
This book was published by the great great great grandson of the author, Aaron Smith.In 1822 A. Smith was captured by a crew of Spanish pirates in the Caribbean Sea.The pirates designated him their navigator and surgeon, and he sailed with them for a number of months before being captured by an English warship and taken to London.Smith then was tried at the Old Bailey Court and wrote this book in 1824.I read the book and highlighted details I found intriguing.But throughout the book I wondered if Smith didn't exaggerate the pirates' abuse and torture in order to save his own hide.(If he was the pirates' navigator and surgeon, why in Heaven's name would they torture him?) I think the book is a farfetched fantasy on the part of Aaron Smith.And I wonder if he ever even went to sea.His great great great grandson does not explain where he got the original manuscript and whether he had it authenticated by scientists to see if it was written in 1824. And he does not mention going to the Old Bailey and looking up the court records. I wonder if this book is a hoax! I suggest that instead readers read THE BONDWOMAN'S NARRATIVE by Hannah Crafts, an autobiographical novel about a slave woman. The editor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has 75 pages about the scientists he contacted and the tests they ran to authenticate his manuscript. My suggestion to readers is to look for bibliographies, indices, appendices, photos, etc. then judge for yourself whether the facts within a book are factual or fantasy. Some modern novelists write fiction then in the back of the book explain the truth that the fiction is based on.A good example of that type of book is A Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo.The storyline combines slaves with pirates, and the author explains much of the history at that time with text and photos.

A Fine Account of Those Most Scurilous Pirates
Aaron Smith was an English sailor who was captured by an unidentified Spanish pirate off of Cuba in 1822.The book chronicles his harrowing ordeal as he is forced by the pirate captain into service as a lookout, navigator, doctor and translator.In constant fear for his life, Smith is perpetually torn between his morality to his fellow man and his undaunted will to survive.Graphic in it's depiction and obviously meant (at least to a degree) as a vindication of his actions, "Atrocities" is a gripping recounting of how incredibly harsh conditions among the pirates could be and the indomidable spirit of a man who refused to forfeit his ethics soley to save his own life.Powerful and engrossing.

a gratifying read
There is much to be said for this account of Aaron Smith's harrowing experience among pirates who terrorized the seas during the early nineteenth century. Captured and forced to work as their navigator, Aaron walks the reader through his daily activities and the many thoughts and feelings that he experienced during his ordeal. His observations, internal and external, are keen. His descriptions seem winningly quaint, the way only true historical writing can. He also provokes the willing reader to examine a very uncomfortable and 'timeless' truth: if a captive does not placate his criminal tormentors, he will be killed; if he placates them too much, he may be identified with them and tried as an accomplice when rescued (apprehended?) Mr Smith takes us to scary places in both his world and ours. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th Century World History    2. 19th century    3. Biography    4. Caribbean Area    5. Criminology    6. Cuba    7. Great Britain    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Maritime History    12. Modern - 19th Century    13. Naval History (General)    14. Pirates    15. Prisoners    16. World - General    17. Biography: general    18. History / United States / 19th Century    19. Smith, Aaron    20. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    21. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (3)

Irresponsible!
I must say I agree with Cramer when it comes to the wealth of Cuban culture.However I have a few concerns about this book.A most shocking part of this book is what is not in it.While it is true that Cuban citizens have no right to bear arms since all weapons were confiscated at the start of the revolution, gun violence is still a factor to consider in Cuba.Consider the case of Joachim L�vschall a Danish student learning Spanish in Cuba who was shot in the back and killed by Cuban state security with an AK-47...In addition, I did not care to hear about how JoAnne Chesimard aka "Asaka Shakur" a fugitive from justice, convicted of killing a NJ state trooper, had learned to adapt to life in Cuba.By sharing the story of Ms. Chesimard Cramer lends credence to her "story" of persecuted victim.In addition, Cramer says he will be balanced but by mentioning the story of Ms. Chesimard an allegedly former political prisoner in the US and not mentioning the plight of dissidents in Cuba (such as Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet... his commitment falls through. The US Department of State has suggestions not mentioned in Culture Shock for those wanting to visit Cuban schools and universities...

A Great Read
I bought this book after I fell in love with the Buena Vista Social Club series and thus Cuba.It is difficult to find unbiased reporting on life in Cuba because most people have very strong feelings about this island.Cramer carefully considers all opinions but actually talks to the people who live there.He doesn't just interview those who love Castro -- in fact, most think Castro should step down.He interviews people who feel that Cuba is racist and those who feel that the "social experiment" has eliminated racism.The book is very intellectually honest which is rare any work but especially one on Cuba.Cramer demonstrates why he is horserace betting's most effective writer.He can teach while he tells amazing stories. Gain insight *before* you go!
Culture Shock Cuba really did it for me. Any imaginable situation you get yourself in while visiting Cuba is mentioned. Coming from a Northern European culture there was just a lot for me to understand, if I didn'twant to behave like a total weirdo. It is an easy and fun to read book Iabsolutely recommend. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th Century Description And Travel    2. Business Etiquette    3. Caribbean & West Indies    4. Caribbean & West Indies - General    5. Cuba    6. Culture    7. Customs & Traditions    8. Etiquette    9. National characteristics, Cuba    10. National characteristics, Cuban    11. Social life and customs    12. Travel    13. Travel - Foreign    14. Caribbean islands    15. Cultural studies    16. Customs & folklore    17. Travel & holiday guides    18. Travel writing   

Reviews (1)

Beautifully presented if obviously biased
DK produces the most arguably beautiful travel books currently available.The maps, graphics, architectural renderings, photographs and overall layout are beyond reproach and most appealing and informative.Why not five stars?I'm not sure where the blame lies, be it with the writers or editors, but this guide is deeply flawed in its biased content.Though not openly sympathetic to the island's communist government, it is nevertheless more than obvious that the person(s) responsible, are more than a little enamored with that country's socio-political ideology. In describing pre-revolutionary Cuba, the guide takes a cynical stance, perpetuating the myth that Cuba was nothing more than an American subsidized den of iniquity, populated by gangsters, prostitutes, gamblers and grown ineffective with rampant corruption and illiteracy.Though all these things were certainly true, the book fails to provide a balanced perspective of that period in the country's history and that's where its inherent failure lies.The Cuban revolution, though tragic, horrible and seemingly endless, is a part of World history in general and Cuban history in particular, and, therefore, should not be ignored, but by the same token it need not be given such idolatry treatment in a travel guide, which, in my opinion, should be an unbiased reference tool, meant to educate the traveler on a country, its history and people in a clear, concise and informative manner, free of personal prejudices and/or beliefs. This guide is filled with non-stop descriptions of revolutionary monuments, sites, people, and history.That in and of itself would be fine if weren't done so with such obvious appreciation for all that it represents.In describing Che, the author writes"Though Che suffered from asthma, he had an iron will, loved books as well as sports, and had a great spirit of sacrifice, he could appreciate beauty and was a perfectionist but had a sense of humour.He was a man of action who also found time to meditate on reality and write." One would think the author was describing Robin Williams and not one of the 20th century's most controversial figures. Though he certainly may have been all the things described in the book, it doesn't give a complete and accurate portrayal of the man.That was one example, but the book is plagued with socialist fawning that ultimately proves to be an ineffectual tool.Though the author is free to appreciate, love, praise, support, condemn, ridicule whatever he/she may choose, be it political, religious, artistic, etc. or a combination thereof, it should not be done through a travel guide. It's a genuine shame because, otherwise, from an aesthetic perspective, there's just nothing out there that even comes close. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Cuba    3. Guidebooks    4. HotelsInnsetc.    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies   

Subjects:  1. Caribbean & West Indies    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Cuba    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Caribbean & West Indies