State of Ambiguity

"State of Ambiguity challenges dominant visions of Cuban history in the first three decades after independence. Much of the U.S. and the post-1959 Cuban historiography has been dominated by concerns with the imperial ties between Cuba and its northern neighbor. The distinguished contributors to this collection break with that obsession, providing refreshing perspectives and exploring dimensions of Cuban history that have been largely neglected to date." - Barry Carr, Institute for Latin American Studies, La Trobe University

"Until now, the early republican period of Cuban history has been remarkably understudied. State of Ambiguity fills the gap. Most of the essays engage aspects of Cuba's early republican era that have rarely been written about before, in Spanish or in English. The highly original essays bring history alive, moving through the local streets and cane fields while never losing sight of the national and international contexts and comparisons." - Gillian McGillivray, author of Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities, Class, and State Formation in Cuba, 1868–1959

“Taken as a whole, this provocative collection reveals that the Cuban republic was a vibrant locus of intellectual ferment ranging from the natural sciences and architecture to medicine and the media. It is proof that the history of the Cuban republic requires much more from historians than simplistic accounts of “doctors and generals.”” - John A. Gutiérrez, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Professors and graduate students concerned with the background to the Cuban Revolution of 1959 will find much to ponder in the new approaches and material these noted authors offer in State of Ambiguity. By assembling this collection of outstanding essays-all of which are reader-friendly, free of scholarly jargon, and well-referenced-the editors have amply succeeded in their effort to challenge the three dominant views of pre-Castro Cuba by reframing the central concerns of civic and cultural life during the first republic and by opening up new avenues of investigation." - Jane M. Rausch, Journal of Third World Studies