Cuba (Modern Nations of the World)

Rating:
Summary: more harmful than helpful
Review: This book is helpful because it contains very general information about Cuba. However, the manner in which the info is presented is questionable since the author's sensitivity about world cultures is limited. The author's perception about Cuban culture, and more specifically subjects like Santeria, seem more indoctrinating to the debilitating effects that stereotypes produce. On page 71, the author writes, "Santeria appeals to many people because it does not have the strict moral sanctions that Catholicism does".
If we are to appreciate and understand a foreign culture like Santeria (from an American perspective), we should judge it on its own terms and not on the borrowings of another culture.
Strict moral sanctions manifest itself in very different ways in Santeria. This and other aspects about Cuba have arisen from a different historical experience, something that the author is highly unaware of.
On Cuba and related subjects, I recommend that people interested in such subjects look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: more harmful than helpful
Review: This book is helpful because it contains very general information about Cuba. However, the manner in which the info is presented is questionable since the author's sensitivity about world cultures is limited. The author's perception about Cuban culture, and more specifically subjects like Santeria, seem more indoctrinating to the debilitating effects that stereotypes produce. On page 71, the author writes, "Santeria appeals to many people because it does not have the strict moral sanctions that Catholicism does".
If we are to appreciate and understand a foreign culture like Santeria (from an American perspective), we should judge it on its own terms and not on the borrowings of another culture.
Strict moral sanctions manifest itself in very different ways in Santeria. This and other aspects about Cuba have arisen from a different historical experience, something that the author is highly unaware of.
On Cuba and related subjects, I recommend that people interested in such subjects look elsewhere.