- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Lonely Planet; 2nd Revised edition edition (Aug 1 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1741795192
- ISBN-13: 978-1741795196
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #290,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
...Lonely Planet, the intrepid traveler's bible...' --Los Angeles Times, April 2005
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Book Description
Intrigued by the many disparate views of Cuba, Zoe Bran visits the country of contradictions and, interweaving history and current events, personal and wider viewpoints, she paints a vivid and compelling picture of contemporary Cuba. She finds a land that has little in common with the tourist image of tropical paradise, encountering a different country whose people reveal an individuality and tenacity at once astonishing and humbling. Zoe Bran has always been fascinated by the gap between the ideals of the world's socialist countries and the arduous hand-to-mouth struggles of the people who live in them. Castro's Cuba is one of the last such places on earth. Seeking to understand the realities of Cuba today, Zoe travels the length of this beautiful island. Beneath the surface of music and dancing, cockfights and animal sacrifice, she finds a land of complex ambiguities: a fertile land where many hunger; an educated country with scant knowledge of the outside world, a nation exhausted by socialism but proud of its independence and history of revolutionary struggle. From Havana to the pastoral hinterland, Zoe talks with writers and artists, with expatriates, with committed revolutionaries and those desperate to escape abroad. Enduring Cuba presents a kaleidoscope of Cuba and its people, whose tenacity and endurance is at once astonishing and humbling.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very sensitive and observant view of today's Cuba,
By "ginnymurray" (Edgartown, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lonely Planet Enduring Cuba (Paperback)
Ms. Bran's book so closely mirrors my own impressions and experiences in visiting Cuba with a natural history tour group in early 2001 that it is spellbinding. Her objectivity and the breadth of her experiences provide a reader with a more than reasonable facsimile for an actual visit to the island. The many small details that she notes are particularly noteworthy for a past traveler to Cuba: the lack of toilet seats, the rationing of soap and toilet paper, the constant search for food by the populace,the CDR painted on the cement residential buildings, the Chocolate Factory outside Baracoa, the intimate social activities along the Malecon, the political slogans, the presence of Che Guevara today, the furtive conversations, the marvellous music, the wonderful hopeful spirit of the population. If you read just one book about the current social experience in Cuba today, run to enjoy Enduring Cuba. I couldn't put it down!
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Right Title,
By L. Brost "The Conflict Guy" (Saltspring Island B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Lonely Planet Enduring Cuba 2nd Ed.: 2nd Edition (Paperback)
I found this book lived up to it's title. Ms. Bran certainly "endured" Cub. In a book that evokes Dickens, she finds a deep-seated malaise and sadness. It's overlong by about 25%, which led me to heave a sigh of relief when it ended. I found it interesting that she spent so little time on exploring the education system and music scene in Cuba, and so much on an exotic stew of emigres and castaways who added little value. Bottom line- It's not a good travel book,and it's certainly not a balanced examination of Cuban society.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The real thing,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lonely Planet Enduring Cuba (Paperback)
This is one of the very few really good books on Cuba available right now, mostly because it's much much, more than just a travel book. Unlike many so-called experiences of the island, Bran's book doesn't sentimentalise but gives the real experience of someone visiting Cuba with a clear, unbiased eye. There's history here and personal experience and a whole lot of great description of people and places. Bran's range of knowledge is considerable and I particularly liked her Graham Greene-style meetings with the foreign correspondent who got thrown out of the country because he upset Castro by constantly referring to his age! I'd definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about Cuba and what's it's really like in the dying days of a communist state.
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