This Is Cuba

An American Journalist Under Castro's Shadow

De: David Ariosto

Narrado por: David Ariosto

Fidel Castro is dead. Donald Trump was elected president. And to most outsiders, the fate of Cuba has never seemed more uncertain. Yet those who look close enough may recognize that signs of the next revolution are etched in plain view.

This is Cuba is a true story that begins in the summer of 2009 when a young American photo-journalist is offered the chance of a lifetime - a two-year assignment in Havana.

For David Ariosto, the island is an intriguing new world, unmoored from the one he left behind. From neighboring military coups, suspected honey traps, salty spooks, and desperate migrants to dissidents, doctors, and Havana’s empty shelves, Ariosto uncovers the island’s subtle absurdities, its Cold War mystique, and the hopes of a people in the throes of transition. Beyond the classic cars, salsa, and cigars lies a country in which black markets are ubiquitous, free speech is restricted, privacy is curtailed, sanctions wreak havoc, and an almost Kafka-esque goo of Soviet-style bureaucracy still slows the gears of an economy desperate to move forward.

But life in Cuba is indeed changing, as satellite dishes and internet hotspots dot the landscape and more Americans want in. Still, it’s not so simple. The old sentries on both sides of the Florida Straits remain at their posts, fists clenched and guarding against the specter of a Cold War that never quite ended, despite the death of Fidel and the hand-over of the presidency to a man whose last name isn’t Castro.

And now, a crisis is brewing.

In This Is Cuba, Ariosto looks at Cuba from the inside-out over the course of nine years, endeavoring to expose clues for what’s in store for the island as it undergoes its biggest change in more than half a century.

©2018 David Ariosto (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Published by arrangement with St. Martin's Press.

great overview on Cuba very interesting

I've read quite a bit on Cuba and watched quite a few documentaries this fit right in with those and was very informative seemed very accurate and was enjoyable

Great historical story

Easy to follow and very entertaining i feel it is a great way to get to know about cuba

Very well written book by a journalist.

I enjoyed the journalistic style, the wealth of information and how the author grasped the spirit of the cuban people. I feel that it is a must read before traveling to Cuba.

Very well done and personal

I enjoyed the format of this book. It being in the first person made it seem like you were in a conversation with the author and not just being TOLD something. I especially enjoyed his “compare and contrast” with Venezuela.

A complete review of the real Cuba

Having grown in and spent many of school years among Cubans of varying classes and generations, I have heard many stories about the "real" Cuba. This book seems to mend the many radically different stories into the one single story with many aspects and experiences