This fascinating work provides an enlightening guided tour of the island of Cuba's historical, political, economic, and sociocultural development from the pre-Columbian period to the present. * A useful reference section provides a descriptive alphabetical listing of specific information on important people, places, and historical events, as well as sections on Cuban Spanish, etiquette, national habits and traditions, cuisine, holidays, and important organizations * Includes a detailed chronology of Cuban history from pre-Columbian times to the present, with emphasis on the revolutionary triumph of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Castro's enduring Communist regime, and the economic crisis of the "special period" that began in Cuba in 1990