"Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook" offers a revealing look at a nation that, in its ongoing pursuit of freedom, has been a colonial pawn, a neocolonial paradise for corrupt politicians and dictators, an alluring vacation destination, a defiant Communist holdout and embarrassing thorn in the side of the powerful United States.

Drawing heavily on his own research and experiences on the island, the author follows Cuba's political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present--with an emphasis on the revolutionary period. The book's reference section...