Very interesting take on Cuba. What a world they must live in. Ben Corbett seems to have spent a great deal of time in the country getting to know people and customs. The copyright is about 20 years old, but I get the feeling not much has changed, even with Castro dead these last five years. ( )

An American journalist who's spent a lot of time in Cuba recounts the issues of life and government in Cuba, its contradictions, and how ordinary Cubans are trying to survive. The government rails against the imperialist American government, yet the dollar economy is valued more than the peso economy. Cubans who try to earn money by serving the tourist trade are taxed heavily. Tourism is what will save the Cuban economy yet the government prefers that it be the one raking in the dollars. Cubans stand in line for everything: shopping with their libreta ration cards and buses that break down. Each chapter reads like a magazine article. Vivid, slice-of-life stories about the people he's met. I read this in preparation for my trip to Cuba.