Short Synopsis
Challenging the conventional wisdom of perpetual hostility between the United States and Cuba, this fascinating book chronicles a surprising, untold history of bilateral efforts toward rapprochement and reconciliation.

Full Synopsis
Since 1959, conflict and aggression have dominated the story of U.S.-Cuban relations. From John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top-secret quest for normalization, to Barack Obama's promise of a "new approach," William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh reveal a fifty-year record of dialogue and negotiations, both open and furtive, indicating a path toward better relations in the future.

LeoGrande and Kornbluh have uncovered hundreds of formerly secret U.S. documents and conducted interviews with dozens of negotiators, intermediaries, and policy makers. The authors describe how, despite the political clamor surrounding any hint of better relations with Havana, serious negotiations have been conducted by every presidential administration since Eisenhower's through secret, back-channel diplomacy.

"Told in clear prose, this richly detailed book underscores how diplomacy makes headlines, but many exchanges happen far from official negotiation tables." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"An exceedingly well-written and well-documented account. . . . Essential for libraries that support research into the political and diplomatic history of America foreign relations with Cuba in the latter half of the 20th century." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"Narrator Robertson Dean's deep, rich voice adds texture to the driest recitation of diplomatic initiatives." ---AudioFile

Publishers Weekly Review

Library Journal Review