This is firmly in the running for best history book I've ever read. Dr. Ferrer presents a masterclass in writing the history of a country, full of insightful stories of the people and places that made Cuba's history so diverse and tumultuous. Ferrer puts people first in her narrative of the island nation, centering the voices of woman and ensalved, and later freed, people over the traditional narrative that focuses on the Great Men and the Big Moments (of which, to be fair, there are many). This is a complete history of Cuba, from colonisation, the Spanish-American war, the emancipation of ensalved people, all the way to the Missile Crisis and the making of modern Cuba.