That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution »

Lars Schoultz is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a past president of the Latin American Studies Association.

Lars Schoultz offers a comprehensive chronicle of U.S. policy toward the Cuban Revolution. Using a rich array of documents and firsthand interviews with U.S. and Cuban officials, he tells the story of the attempts and failures of ten U.S. administrations to end the Cuban Revolution.

Publishers Weekly

In time for the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, Schoultz, a University of North Carolina political science professor, offers an exhaustive study of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba in the 20th and early 21st centuries. It would be a shame if the book's heft made it too intimidating for some readers to pick up, because it's an approachable, deeply satisfying narrative with a clear-eyed and persuasive critique of U.S. policy toward Cuba and, more broadly, of U.S. policy toward any weaker nation that has ever stubbornly asserted its sovereignty. Schoultz examines how the benevolent arrogance of U.S. State and Defense department advisers made schemes like the Bay of Pigs possible, and how racism steered American policy in the 20th century. He keeps the story a page-turner by maintaining his focus: analyzing U.S. policy from a U.S. perspective, speculating neither about the quality of Castro's leadership or the quality of life in Cuba. This is a gripping, expertly told story of one of the most complicated foreign policy relationship in the western hemisphere. (Apr.)

Introduction: Neighbors 1

1 Heritage 13

2 Prelude: The Truman Years 34

3 Arousal :The Eisenhower Years, 1953-1958 52

4 Watching and Waiting: The Eisenhower Administration, 1959 82

5 1960: The Year of Pushing and Shoving 109

6 The Bay of Pigs 142

7 State-Sponsored Terrorism 170

8 He's Going to Be There until He Dies: The Johnson Administration 213

9 Mutual Hostility as a Fact of Life: The Nixon-Ford Years 241

10 Reconciliation and Estrangement: The Carter Years 291

11 Back to Square One: The Reagan Years 362

12 Unwavering Hostility: The George H. W. Bush Administration 419

13 Blessings of Liberty: The Clinton Administration 453

14 More Blessings of Liberty: The George W. Bush Administration 515

Conclusion: Benevolent Domination 553

Notes 569

Index 729