{"title":"History--Caribbean \u0026 West Indies--Cuba","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-republic-of-pirates-being-the-true-and-surprising-story-of-the-caribbean-pirates-and-the-man-who-brought-them-down","title":"The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down","description":"An entrancing tale of piracy colored with gold, treachery and double-dealing (Portland Press Herald), Pulitzer Prize-finalist Colin Woodward's The Republic of Pirates is the historical biography of the exploits of infamous Caribbean buccaneers during the Golden Age of Piracy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the early eighteenth century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Edward \"Blackbeard\" Teach, \"Black Sam\" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates -- former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves -- this \"Flying Gang\" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. For a brief, glorious period this true story of pirates reveals a success story as they became heroes in the eyes of the people.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on extensive research in the archives of Britain and the Americas, award-winning author Colin Woodard tells the dramatic untold story of the Pirate Republic that shook the very foundations of the British and Spanish Empires and fanned the democratic sentiments that would one day drive the American revolution.\u003cp\u003eThis definitive work of maritime history reveals the real story behind the legends: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Golden Age of Piracy: \u003c\/b\u003e Go beyond the myths to discover the true, ten-year maritime revolt that brought the British Empire to its knees and disrupted transatlantic commerce.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eLegendary Pirate Captains: \u003c\/b\u003e Follow the dramatic exploits of Edward \"Blackbeard\" Teach, \"Black Sam\" Bellamy, and the notorious Charles Vane as they rise from common sailors to feared commanders.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Pirate Democracy: \u003c\/b\u003e Learn about the \"Flying Gang\" and the crude but distinctive republic they established in the Bahamas, a zone of freedom where leaders were chosen by vote and all men were equal.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAuthoritative Research: \u003c\/b\u003e Based on extensive investigation in the archives of Britain and the Americas, this untold story shakes the foundations of our understanding of the era.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 015603462X\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780156034623\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Woodard, Colin\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Mariner Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (May 2008)","offer_id":45937609277637,"sku":"9780156034623","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780156034623.jpg?v=1772881142"},{"product_id":"the-eternal-forest-a-memoir-of-the-cuban-diaspora","title":"The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Spellbinding.\" --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review - \"A must-read.\" --\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Poetic.\" --Emma Straub - \"This is writing as spell-casting and archival longing.\" --Leslie Jamison\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA memoir of the Cuban diaspora that follows one family's exile from the island, through a lyrical exploration of memory, cultural mythology, and the history of Cuban-American relations.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHistory is undeniably dominated by its men, but the stories Elena Sheppard was brought up on were almost always about Cuba's women--everyday women, whose names would be forgotten and buried along with their bones unless someone took the effort to remember them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCifuentes, Cuba, in the 1950s was nearly idyllic--at least that's how Elena's grandparents, Rosita and Gustavo Delgado, remember the Eden they left. When Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, Gustavo was placed on a list of political undesirables, and by the end of 1960, the couple and their two daughters had fled to Florida, with nothing more than five dollars, and a suitcase each. The Delgados were certain they would return to Cifuentes within a few months, after Castro's reign had run its course. But they never went back, and a piece of each of their identities became frozen in that moment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1987, Elena was the first in Gustavo and Rosita's family to be born in the United States, but through the memories that lived on in her grandmother's mind, Cuba became the foundation of her childhood. Elena takes us inside these stories, and as we travel back and forth across the narrow Florida Straits that separate Miami and Havana, we also weave between past and present, to discover family secrets that are on the brink of being lost to time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn lyrical yet unflinching prose, \u003ci\u003eThe Eternal Forest\u003c\/i\u003e follows one family's exile from their homeland and in so doing, it tells the larger political story of the Cuban Revolution and its diaspora. Through a spellbinding blend of cultural myth, historical texts, and personal narrative, \u003ci\u003eThe Eternal Forest \u003c\/i\u003eseeks to understand the nature of inheritance, how trauma and memory are passed down through generations, and what it means to yearn for an island you can never fully know.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1250287685\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781250287687\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Sheppard, Elena\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: St. Martin's Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Sep 2025)","offer_id":46080873464005,"sku":"9781250287687","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781250287687.jpg?v=1776041349"},{"product_id":"no-god-but-gain-the-untold-story-of-cuban-slavery-the-monroe-doctrine-and-the-making-of-the-united-states","title":"No God But Gain: The Untold Story of Cuban Slavery, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Making of the United States","description":"From 1501 to 1867 more than 12.5 million Africans were brought to the Americas in chains, and many millions died as a result of the slave trade. The US constitution set a 20-year time limit on US participation in the trade, and on January 1, 1808, it was abolished. And yet, despite the spread of abolitionism on both sides of the Atlantic, despite numerous laws and treaties passed to curb the slave trade, and despite the dispatch of naval squadrons to patrol the coasts of Africa and the Americas, the slave trade did not end in 1808. Fully 25 percent of all the enslaved Africans to arrive in the Americas were brought \u003ci\u003eafter\u003c\/i\u003e the US ban - 3.2 million people. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis breakthrough history, based on years of research into private correspondence; shipping manifests; bills of laden; port, diplomatic, and court records; and periodical literature, makes undeniably clear how decisive \u003ci\u003eillegal\u003c\/i\u003e slavery was to the making of the United States. US economic development and westward expansion, as well as the growth and wealth of the North, not just the South, was a direct result and driver of illegal slavery. The Monroe Doctrine was created to protect the illegal slave trade. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn an engrossing, elegant, enjoyably readable narrative, Stephen M. Chambers not only shows how illegal slavery has been wholly overlooked in histories of the early Republic, he reveals the crucial role the slave trade played in the lives and fortunes of figures like John Quincy Adams and the \"generation of 1815,\" the post-revolution cohort that shaped US foreign policy. This is a landmark history that will forever revise the way the early Republic and American economic development is seen.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1781689997\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781781689998\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Chambers, Stephen\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Verso\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jul 2017)","offer_id":46081066926277,"sku":"9781781689998","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781781689998.jpg?v=1776042840"},{"product_id":"a-small-place","title":"A Small Place","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA brilliant look at colonialism and its effects in Antigua, by the author of \u003ci\u003eAnnie John.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLyrical, sardonic, and forthright, \u003ci\u003eA Small Place \u003c\/i\u003emagnifies our vision of one small place with Swiftian wit and precision. Jamaica Kincaid's expansive essay candidly appraises the ten-by-twelve-mile island in the British West Indies where she grew up, Antigua, and makes palpable the impact of European colonialism and tourism. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book is a missive to the traveler, whether American or European, who wants to escape the banality and corruption of some large place. Kincaid, powerful and resolute, reminds us that the Antiguan people, formerly British subjects, are unable to escape the same drawbacks of their own tiny realm--that behind the benevolent Caribbean scenery are human lives, always complex and often fraught with injustice.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1250340616\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781250340610\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Kincaid, Jamaica\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jan 2025)","offer_id":46081472889029,"sku":"9781250340610","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781250340610.jpg?v=1776046383"},{"product_id":"reminiscences-of-the-cuban-revolutionary-war","title":"Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War","description":"\u003cb\u003eChe Guevara's definitive account of the Cuban revolutionary war, in an updated edition. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIncludes photos and new foreword by Aleida Guevara--Che's eldest daughter who is a physician. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThere is no better account of the Cuban revolutionary war than this little book by guerilla leader Che Guevara. Assembled from his campaign diary, first published in 1963, later corrected and edited by Che, and published here finally in an authoritative edition that includes not only his corrections, but also a number of short essays and articles published just after the revolution's triumph. As always, Che's writing is intimate, searching, and self-critical. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHaving initially joined the Cuban expedition as troop doctor, Che describes his dilemma in having to choose between a backpack of medicines and a box of ammunition (he chose the box of ammunition). In another justly famous chapter of the book, \"The Murdered Puppy,\" Che describes how he had to give the order to have a dog killed. Throughout this book, the sweep of history and matters of life and death are rendered in small and intimate ways.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1644211076\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781644211076\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Guevara, Ernesto Che\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Seven Stories Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Seven Stories Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Dec 2025)","offer_id":46099839647941,"sku":"9781644211076","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781644211076.jpg?v=1776645796"},{"product_id":"fidel-castro-my-life-a-spoken-autobiography","title":"Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe intimate and highly revealing life story of the world's longest-serving, most charismatic, and controversial head of state in modern times. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFidel Castro was a dictatorial pariah to some and a hero and inspiration for many of the world's poor, defiantly charting an independent and revolutionary path for Cuba over nearly half a century. Numerous attempts were made to get Castro to tell his own story. But only in the twilight of his years was he prepared to set out the details of his remarkable biography for the world to read before his death in 2016. This book is nothing less than his living testament. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn these pages, Castro narrates a compelling chronicle that spans the harshness of his elementary school teachers; the early failures of the revolution; his intense comradeship with Che Guevara and their astonishing, against-all-odds victory over the dictator Batista; the Cuban perspective on the Bay of Pigs and the ensuing missile crisis; the active role of Cuba in African independence movements (especially its large military involvement in fighting apartheid South Africa in Angola); his relations with prominent public figures such as Boris Yeltsin, Pope John Paul II, and Saddam Hussein; and his dealings with no less than ten successive American presidents, from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCastro talks proudly of increasing life expectancy in Cuba; of the half million students in Cuban universities; and of the training of seventy thousand Cuban doctors nearly half of whom work abroad, assisting the poor in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He confronts a number of thorny issues, including democracy and human rights, discrimination toward homosexuals, and the presence of the death penalty on Cuban statute books. Along the way he shares intimacies about more personal matters: the benevolent strictness of his father, his successful attempt to give up cigars, his love of Ernest Hemingway's novels, and his calculation that by not shaving he saves up to ten working days each year. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on more than one hundred hours of interviews with Ignacio Ramonet, a knowledgeable and trusted interlocutor, this spoken autobiography will stand as the definitive record of an extraordinary life lived in turbulent times.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1416562338\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781416562337\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Ramonet, Ignacio, Castro, Fidel\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jun 2009)","offer_id":46100095041733,"sku":"9781416562337","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781416562337.jpg?v=1776647523"},{"product_id":"keeper-of-my-kin-memoir-of-an-immigrant-daughter","title":"Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eCuba: An American History\u003c\/i\u003e comes a heartbreaking yet redemptive memoir about migration, separation, and the love of one family forcing its way through the fissures of history.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1963, four years after Fidel Castro came to power, Ada Ferrer's mother made the agonizing decision to flee Cuba with her infant daughter, Ada, and to leave behind her nine-year-old son, Poly. That moment was but a ripple in a much larger story of a world historical revolution. Yet, in another more intimate family history, that choice was a crossroads, ultimately inseparable from who and what they all became. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this beautiful memoir, Ferrer masterfully shifts between her roles as historian and family member, weaving a multigenerational tale that reaches into the past to understand the circumstances and choices that led to the present. We see key historical events through the eyes of the family: the grandmother who raised Poly after Ada's departure, a Black woman born a year after the end of slavery in Cuba; Ada's parents, forced to invent themselves anew in a foreign land; and two brothers left behind--Poly and another, once-secret brother named Juan José, both of whose lives were marked irrevocably by revolution and family separation. Moving between Cuba and the United States and then back again, the book unpacks the experience and emotion of migration, in the moment of separation and over the long-term, for those who left and those who stayed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUsing a treasure trove of letters written across the gulf of family separation and found after the death of Ada's parents, as well as government documents acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests, Ferrer offers us a profound reflection on belonging, memory, and the lasting imprint of history.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1668025655\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781668025659\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Ferrer, Ada\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (May 2026)","offer_id":46100104380613,"sku":"9781668025659","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781668025659.jpg?v=1776647577"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.inveni.store\/collections\/history-caribbean-west-indies-cuba.oembed","provider":"Inveni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}