What was it like for those in and around cuba between the revolution and the missile crisis.

March 23, 2006 5:35 PM

What was it like for cubans, and foreigners visting / working in cuba between the time of the revolution and the missile crisis.

I'm basically wondering what restrictions there were on travel and what happened to academics / scientists who were working there, or people (americans / europeans) who owned businesses there.

The types of things I'm looking for are either history books that deal with the missile crisis from a standpoint that is less political and more about what it meant to ordinary people in cuba and the U.S., or fiction that takes place during this time.

The absolute perfect source would be a work of fiction or a non-fiction in more or less diary form written by a foreigner who watched it all happen and relates it in fine detail.

posted by miniape to Society & Culture (2 answers total)

Paul Henderson Scott, a Scottish diplomat, was there. He met Castro and he had to tell the British foreign office that the missiles had indeed been moved. I don't know how much he'll have written about it in his memoirs but there's sure to be something there. I've met him and heard him speak about it. He was also in Berlin during the blockade and airlift. You can get the book as an e-book if you can't find a hard copy.
posted by Flitcraft at 6:45 PM on March 23, 2006

My in-laws were in Cuba from birth though 1962. I can't recall offhand if they were there during the missle crisis. They left and don't regret it. They will tell post-revolutionary stories of personal discomfort etc. at the drop of a hat.

My interest in these stories is closely correlated to my love for thse people and I feel that i have learned a lot from them while sharing very few political perspectives with them. One thing that has always intrigued me is that they both note that at first they clearly supported the revolution in a kind of hopeful, nonparticipatory way - they both felt Csasto had to be better than Batista.
posted by mwhybark at 8:12 PM on March 23, 2006