Start reading Enduring Cuba (Travel Literature) on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 

Try it free

Sample the beginning of this book for free

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
Enduring Cuba (Travel Literature)
 
 

Enduring Cuba (Travel Literature) [Kindle Edition]

Planet Lonely
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: £7.99 What's this?
Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £5.69 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £2.30 (29%)
Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.69  
Paperback £5.99  

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Product Description

Review

...Lonely Planet, the intrepid traveler's bible...' --Los Angeles Times, April 2005

Product Description

Zoë Brân has always been fascinated by the gap between the ideals of the world's socialist countries and the arduous hand-to-mouth struggles of the people who live in them. Seeking to understand the reality of Cuba today, Zoë travels the length of this beautiful island. Beneath the surface of music and dancing, cockfights and animal sacrifice, she finds a land of complex ambiguities: a fertile land where many hunger; an educated country with scant knowledge of the outside world; a nation exhausted by socialism but proud of its independence and history of revolutionary struggle. From Havana to the pastoral hinterland, Zoe talks with writers and artists, with expatriates, with committed revolutionaries and those desperate to escape abroad. Enduring Cuba presents a kaleidoscope of Cuba and its people, whose tenacity and endurance is at once astonishing and humbling

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 413 KB
  • Print Length: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Lonely Planet (19 Dec 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B006NTBQSM
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #257,843 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  •  Would you like to give feedback on images?


More About the Author

Zoë Brân
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Visit Amazon's Zoë Brân Page

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book within a month of returning from a trip to Cuba (also as a solo female) and found that many of my experiences matched those of the author with one major difference, she chose to fear them rather than embrace them. She appears to have a negative mindset from the outset, which colours her view of things and,I fear, may unfairly influence those who haven't visited themselves.

By all means read the book for a good insight into Cuba but bear in mind its missing much of the positive experiences that can be gained from a visit to the country. It largely ignores two major factors, most importantly, the joy d'vivre of the Cubans despite, or maybe because of, their economic hardships; and secondly, the life enhancing experinece that can be found in embracing the country's lack of commercialism and focus on simple pleasures in life such as music, landscape and human interaction.

Was this review helpful to you?
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is a really fascinating read. It was good to pick up a book that wasn't all salsa and rum. Cuba is one of the world's last dictatorships and Bran doesn't hesitate to get involved with the lives of ordinary Cuban's, questioning, digging and finally stripping away the layers of courtesy and smiles to reveal the private hell that many Cuban's live in today as a result of Castro's political ideology and US spite. There's blood and magic too, as the reader is taken through a private Santeria ceremony in the remote south east of the island. Bran's grasp of history is excellent; there's Mafia, Hemingway and conquistador's - this is a great way to get a grip on what came before Castro and Che Guevara. You feel you're seeing with Bran as she travels from one end of the island to the other meeting taxi drivers, nurses, artists, writers and ex pats. But this is not just a travel book, thought and skill have gone into the actual writing which is often quite beautiful and raises Enduring Cuba above the ordinary run of travel books. Highly recommended.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Enduring this book 24 Nov 2004
Format:Paperback
I visited Cuba before I read this. I was backpacking with a friend from Peru so I feel I have a certain knowledge of the country. I did not like this book. First of all I found it quite boring and it was a struggle at times to keep going. It improved towards the end and does provide some food for thought but overall the whole book is told in such a dull, dreary, depressing manner. Also I found the author a bit arrogant and aloof at times. Cuba is a unique country in the world and has many very good things going for it (especially comparing it to other Latin American countries) and very bad things e.g. the day-today struggle of the people but it is a fascinating place nonetheless. There is just no excuse for the book to be boring. It was as if her writing style had to mirror her perceived struggle of the people. Not a travel book, not a good analysis of the political situation - didn't achieve at any level. Some food for thought and that's it. I could do better myself.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Privacy Statement Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Delivery Information Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. GB Returns & Exchanges