A lot of people ask me which are the best books written about Cuba. This year, more than ever it seems, people are interested. The rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, the two countries re-opening embassies after 54 years, the Cuban government’s steady economic reforms; all of this, and the thought that it will soon change Cuba irrevocably, has stirred up even more interest than usual. Tourist numbers are rising, including from the UK. People are flocking to Cuba’s beaches and to the bars of Havana. Many more are at home planning to come next year on holiday. And those who want to understand the country and get below its skin are wondering what they should read. Here are my recommendations for the best books written in English about Cuba.
- Let’s start with the relationship between the US and Cuba. ‘Back Channel to Cuba – the Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana’ tells the story of years of negotiations between the two countries. Written by William M LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh, it’s meticulously researched and was published before the 17th December breakthrough. Starting with Eisenhower it traverses eleven US Presidencies, ending with Obama under the prescient chapter heading, ‘A New Beginning?’ I wonder whether the question mark will be removed for the next print run.
- Julia Sweig’s ‘Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know’, is an easily accessible history. Answering a series of questions – e.g. How has debate evolved under Raul Castro? Will there be any political reform? – Sweig helps you get to grips with all things Cuban fairly rapidly. One to browse whilst sipping a mojito.
- ‘Cuban Revelations – Behind the Scenes in Havana’ by Marc Frank spans the last twenty years of Cuba’s history and is especially good on the recent economic reforms. Marc is correspondent for Reuters and the Financial Times in Cuba and has been following events here for more than a decade. He knows his stuff.
- Going a bit further back in time, ‘Finding Mañana’ by Mirta Ojito, is the story of Mirta growing up in Havana and then fleeing the country in the Mariel boatlift in 1980 when up to 125,000 Cubans left to go to the US. Mirta is a Pulitzer prize winner and blends the personal with the political in this very moving memoir.
- Two of my favourite books cover pre-Revolution Cuba. John Paul Rathbone’s ‘The Sugar King of Havana’ is the story of Julio Lobo, ‘Cuba’s last tycoon’, who dominated the global sugar trade in the 1950s. Come the Revolution, Lobo declined Che Guevara’s personal offer to become Minister of Sugar. This is an excellent portrait of the past but hints at the possibility of a sweeter future. The author is the Latin America Editor on the Financial Times.
- A second pre-1959 history is the unforgettable ‘The Havana Mob’ by TJ English – ‘a story of Gangsters, Gamblers, Showgirls and Revolutionaries in 1950s Cuba’. Lucky Luciano? Meyer Lansky? Frank Sinatra? John F Kennedy? They all feature. Fascinating tales of corruption, gambling, killings and pretty much anything else you can think of. Gripping stuff.
- Also worth reading is Fidel Castro’s: My Life. It’s basically a very (very!) long interview with French journalist, Ignacio Ramonet, that’s been transcribed into a book. Possibly the best book you can read to understand the motives, ideology and principles that drove Fidel.
- And how could I write this blog without mentioning Graham Greene? ‘Our Man in Havana’ is a wonderful novel – very funny and easy to read. I’m not going to spoil the story for you. It won’t tell you much about today’s Cuba but it will make you laugh. Take my word for it and take it on holiday.
- Finally, my favourite, and I’m going to cheat here by including books originally written in Spanish and much better in the original version. The Mario Conde novels by Leonardo Padura are brilliant – entertaining, fast-moving, colourful, gritty. Conde is a Cuban cop fighting crime in the capital. The books give you a real feel for life in Havana in the past few decades. Highly recommended.
Did I forget any? Your favourite not here? Read anything you want to recommend? Did I get any of these wrong? Please post comments below. I look forward to reading them too.