George Gedda, a retired diplomatic correspondent for The Associated Press, has a new book out based largely on his 31 visits to Cuba, all but a few on assignment for AP. "Cuba-The Audacious Revolution" offers a rare close-up look at the struggles of the Cuban people in overcoming the challenges of low pay, substandard housing, malfunctioning public transportation and chronic food shortages. The system that Fidel Castro created provides free health care and education, both laudable goals, but delivery on them often has been uneven, especially since the collapse of his one-time patron, the...

For the State Department, image is a daily concern. Many constituencies have to be taken into account in its public declarations: the president, the Congress, the media, the taxpaying public and, finally, the many foreign governments attentive to what the State Department says and does. This book attempts, in large measure, to shed light on matters that the Department prefers not to talk about. A reporter has to be on the beat for a long time to accumulate enough anecdotes to fill even a relatively small book. In my case, my tenure in the building lasted just under 40 years. I have brief...

For the State Department, image is a daily concern. Many constituencies have to be taken into account in its public declarations: the president, the Congress, the media, the taxpaying public and, finally, the many foreign governments attentive to what the State Department says and does. This book attempts, in large measure, to shed light on matters that the Department prefers not to talk about. A reporter has to be on the beat for a long time to accumulate enough anecdotes to fill even a relatively small book. In my case, my tenure in the building lasted just under 40 years. I have brief...