Cuba for the Misinformed: Facts from the Forbidden Island

Cuba for the Misinformed: Facts from the Forbidden Island

A lively survey of Cuba's past and present, and a “must-have” companion to any Cuba travel guide

“Cuba has the same effect on American administrations
that the full moon has on werewolves.”
–– Wayne Smith, former head of US Interests Section in Havana

For more than 50 years, the US government and mass media have misrepresented, hidden or ignored the truth about Cuba. In Cuba for the Misinformed, Mick Winter brings together a fascinating array of facts and anecdotes about Cuba's history, its government, its people, and the actions that the United States has taken against the well-being of those people.

Citizens of other countries do know many of these facts. That is why every year at the United Nations almost every country on the planet (the 2012 vote was 188-3) demands that the United States end its embargo of Cuba.

As you read this book, you will recognize that for more than fifty years something very interesting has been happening just ninety miles offshore from the United States. You may not agree with everything— or even anything— that has happened since the Cuban revolution, but you will likely admit that this small island country of eleven million people has had a global effect that reaches far beyond its size.

This book presents information that is little-known (particularly to most Americans) about Cuba and its relationship with the United States. It offers this information clearly, succinctly and in a style that's enjoyable to read, and backs it up with helpful footnotes and links to resources. Whether you're a student, educator or journalist; planning a trip to Cuba (this book is an essential companion to your Cuba tour book); anticipating future business dealings; or simply want to know more, you'll find Cuba for the Misinformed a treasure of interesting—and often fascinating—information, facts and anecdotes about Cuba and its people.

“Hard as it may be to accept, our policy toward Cuba has failed
and it is now time to change our focus from trying
to destroy Cuba's government to helping its people.
—Former president Richard Nixon (1994)

Discover the answers to questions like these...

• Why did Che Guevara thank US President John Kennedy for the Bay of Pigs invasion?
• What was the real deal on ending the Cuban Missile Crisis and why was Fidel Castro furious?
• What did Cubans do to the man who killed Che Guevara?
• Which country supports the US embargo of Cuba but lets its own citizens holiday and invest there?
  
  
• Who thanked Cuba for helping bring about the end of apartheid in South Africa?
• How did Cuba dramatically increase its literacy rate in just one year?
• Why did Fidel Castro fire his own son?
• What is Varadero and why don't Americans know about it?

Cuba for the Misinformed includes...

• 123 photographs
• 238 footnotes
• recommended viewing and reading sources,
• an extensive resource list with more than 80 Cuba-related websites.

Despite its many remarkable achievements, Cuba is still a developing nation in terms of consumer resources and personal income, particularly compared to the United States. However, it isn't the United States to which Cuba should be compared— although those comparisons frequently weigh in Cuba's favor. Cuba shines in relationship to countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean— not to mention Africa and much of Asia. Its focus on human dignity and value, healthcare, education, sustainability, and international humanitarian cooperation serves as an example for all countries.

Americans and all citizens of the world can learn much from what the Cuban people have accomplished. But we can learn only if we are aware of the facts.

This book has them.

A former advertising copywriter and screenwriter, Mick Winter is now an academic researcher living in California's Napa Valley. He is the author of books on sustainability, travel, and mobile technology, and a contributing author to textbooks from leading academic publishers in Germany and the UK. He holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MA (Distinction) from the University of Brighton (UK).

Winter's long-time interest in Cuba was deepened and expanded during month-long studies at the University of Havana. Since that time, his goal has been to create a book on Cuba that was enjoyable to read, yet filled with information that would give readers—Americans in particular—the facts that are seldom found in mass media.

As Winter says...

My original goal was to write a small booklet on Cuba. Something like “50 Facts about Cuba.” But I began to suffer from Kitchen Sink Syndrome; I was starting to put everything in the book “but the kitchen sink.” The manuscript became potentially huge. I managed to get it down to 400 pages, took a good look at it, and started over. Finally I came up with a concept and structure that I like and that I hope readers will also like.

The size is currently 268 pages, but more importantly it's reader-friendly. I've divided it into a number of chapters, with each chapter divided into a varying number of topics. Each topic could be, and often has been, the subject for a number of books. What I've done is distill the subjects down to their essence, presenting the information succinctly, clearly and, I hope, even entertainingly.

I've also been careful to back up all the facts in the book. I wanted readers, should they wish, to be able to see that the sources I draw on are credible. If I couldn't find a solid original source for a claim about Cuba, I didn't include it. Some readers might disagree with my interpretation of some of the facts, but it will be difficult for them to disagree with the facts themselves.

And that is the purpose of the book. I wanted readers to see clearly what the Cuban people have accomplished in the last fifty years. Readers can then make up their minds whether this is positive or negative. I hope also that they recognize that Cuba is the sole responsibility of the Cuban people, not of governments in other countries.

I hope you enjoy the book and that it gives you a new, or expanded, perspective on this inspiring country.