The Cubans

Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times

Anthony DePalma

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English

Vintage
15 September 2021

History; Sociology & anthropology; Politics & government

A stunning work of reportage over three generation reveals the terrible lengths to which people must go to survive daily life in Cuba

'Moving and rich...overflowing with warmth and humanity' The Times

In this pioneering work of life-writing and reportage, Anthony DePalma reconstructs the interwoven stories of five ordinary citizens and their families to bring the true story of the Cuban people to the world.

From Castro's heyday, through the devastation of post-Soviet collapse, to the false dawn of recent years, we witness the hardships of life across six decades of socialist state control - where even today the government decides what work you can do and where you live; where food is rationed, and basic medicines are unavailable.

The Cubans maps a country where the revolution that once inspired its people has since tested their faith with tragedy and disillusionment, revealing the daily acts of heroism and the endlessly adaptive resilience that are required of them to survive.

'Page-turning...revealing and unputdownable' Claire Boobbyer, Cuba travel expert

'A deeply reported...account of Cuba's bittersweet realities' Financial Times

By: Anthony DePalma
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 200mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 258g
ISBN: 9781784708221
ISBN 10: 1784708224
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 15 September 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Anthony DePalma is the author of City of Dust- Illness, Arrogance and 9/11, The Man Who Invented Fidel and Here- A Biography of the New American Continent. For much of his twenty-two years as a reporter and foreign correspondent for the New York Times, his work focused on Latin America, and he continues to write for the newspaper as well as other publications.

Reviews for The Cubans: Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times

Vibrant and hugely enjoyable ... DePalma is a terrific reporter, with a novelist's eye for detail. He uses the extraordinary trust he has gained from his subjects to paint a vivid, deeply sympathetic picture of Cuban life, and the quiet fortitude of its people * Telegraph * An immersive and compelling read ... DePalma wanted to 'reach beyond the myths, to show the real Cuba and the real Cubans who live there' ... In this, he has succeeded brilliantly * Literary Review * A moving and rich account ... DePalma's book is overflowing with warmth and humanity - much like the Cuban people * The Times * Remarkably revealing ... [DePalma] renders a Cuba few tourists will ever see ... You won't forget these people soon, and you are bound to emerge from DePalma's bighearted account with a deeper understanding of a storied island * The New York Times * Think of this as an anti-Fidel corrective to the scores of volumes fixated on the ruler-for-life-force-of-nature-movie-star dictator * Washington Post Sunday *