Deftly and without fanfare, Ferrer upends the 1898 narrative of the United States as Cuba’s savior with an episode from 1781, just prior to the Battle of Yorktown ... There is abundant horror on view in these pages, but all are composed with compassionate eloquence. Ferrer’s history of Cuba is the history of her own life, writ large ... Ferrer’s book, which may be the first general overview of Cuban history written by a woman, spends no time on denunciation—no small feat in a historical context where denunciation has been the order of the day for many decades. Instead, it is primarily concerned with demonstrating just how deeply and intricately enmeshed the histories of Cuba and the United States are. In overflowing, revelatory, and loving detail, Ferrer charts the living, human connections between two nations whose long symbiosis...continually survives each one’s efforts to cut off ties to the other.

Ferrer turns to the island story, packing five centuries into concise chapters brimming with vivid detail and terrific page-turning momentum ... Fidel Castro, mercifully, doesn’t enter Ferrer’s story until about halfway through the book. There is, of course, no telling the history of modern Cuba – or indeed, the modern US – without him. But he can take up all the oxygen ... Ferrer recounts his rise while balancing it with the larger social forces he was able to harness.

Ferrer’s retelling of these wars’ events from an updated, more nuanced perspective will bring a fresh view to history you thought you already knew. The narrative is often simplified as 'the United States saved Cuba,' but Ferrer’s look at the Spanish-American War frames it as the point at which relations between the two countries finally began to sour ... Organized into 12 parts and accompanied by stunning historical photographs and illustrations, Cuba covers more than five centuries of complicated and dynamic history. Although much of the book covers the upheaval and chaos of the 20th century, Ferrer is an exceptionally thorough guide of the 15th century onward, careful to keep her readers’ attention with interesting characters, new insights on historical events and dramatic yet accessible writing. This new history of Cuba shows how connected all of our countries’ histories really are.

It was probably a mistake to adopt such a longue durée...the preceding period is largely irrelevant to Ms. Ferrer’s theme of Cuban-U.S. relations, and her knowledge of it is flimsy ... From the late 18th century, however, the narrative becomes both reliable and readable, albeit hurried. More would be welcome. In the context of slave rebellions, there is much on Haiti, but no mention of Surinam. Ms. Ferrer’s belief in the 'Williams thesis'—the claim by the former leader of Trinidad that slavery fed industrialization—would benefit from more scrutiny. The fast pace bypasses much that is relevant ... Ms. Ferrer’s coverage of exiles is excellent, but readers are bound to wonder why exile was a route to power under Valeriano Weyler, 'the butcher,' but not under Fidel Castro ... On the Castro era, Ms. Ferrer’s pages are exemplary—full of plausible detail, lively insights, and lucid prose ... The author’s involvement in her story makes her objectivity remarkable. She captures the character of the failure of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba ... By being equally severe with Cuban leaders and U.S. leaders, Ms. Ferrer achieves an honorable objective: pleasing nobody by being just.

The idea of putting the United States at the centre of Cuba’s history is not surprising. But Ms Ferrer reveals a relationship that is deeper and more troubled than it may appear to readers who remember the Maine, an American battleship that blew up in Havana harbour in 1898, triggering the Spanish-American war. Her book is timely, too. This summer the biggest protests in decades confronted Cuba’s repressive (and anti-American) regime. Ms Ferrer invites readers to consider the context in which the country’s next change of regime could happen ... her book is about these lesser-known fighters for independence and equality. Her tales are revealing and moving ... readers will close Ms Ferrer’s fascinating book with a sense of hope. The cold war is over. The yearning of many Cubans for political and economic freedom is one that any American government can endorse. If they finally achieve it, Cuba’s overbearing neighbour might at last prove a friend to the island’s progress.

The book offered vivid context and detail to stories that for years I heard as vague family musings over steaming cups of café cubano ... The book is particularly relevant after mass protests erupted across Cuba in July, leading to widespread arrests and re-questioning the United States’ entangled relationship with the island nation ... There were a few places I would have liked to have seen some deeper digging from Ferrer ... But these are nitpickings. The book does an outstanding job of fleshing out pivotal moments throughout Cuba’s history.

Ferrer has produced an English-language history of Cuba remarkable not only for being comprehensive, but also eminently readable ... Ferrer delves into deep background that students of contemporary history may have never before encountered.

A fluid, consistently informative history of the long, inextricable link between Cuba and the U.S., well rendered by a veteran Cuban American historian ... Ferrer is an endlessly knowledgeable guide, and she is evenhanded in describing Fidel Castro’s revolution and the fervid nationalism and periods of economic hardship after the American embargo. She is especially good in delineating how a distinct Cuban identity was forged over the centuries ... A wonderfully nuanced history of the island nation and its often troubled dealings with its gigantic and voracious neighbor.