A Guide to Cuban Collections in the United States
By (Author) Louis A. Prez
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Greenwood Press
24th May 1991
United States
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
016.97291
Hardback
192
Historical research on Cuba, since the ascent of Fidel Castro to power, has been an uncertain and difficult pursuit. Scholars both in and out of Cuba have faced seemingly insurmountable problems when trying to research archival records and manuscript collections--especially in light of poor Cuba-U.S. relations. As this long-needed guide to Cuban materials shows, extensive collections of Cuba-related materials exist in the United States. Although these collections are not as complete as some original collections in Cuba itself, they do offer excellent starting points for various research projects on Cuba--pending future access to original Cuban collections. This is an indispensable guide to Cuban materials for both American and Cuban scholars. The guide is organized alphabetically by state, with each significant Cuban collection in that state listed. Perez includes U.S. government and presidential collections, since most administrations since the Revolutionary War have dealt with Cuba in one way or another. In all cases, effort was made to list only substantial and varied Cuba-related holdings. This guide will be of great value to historians, political scientists, archivists, and other researchers interested in the history of Cuba.
He provides the reader interested in Cuban themes a veritable mine of information. In many ways, though, this is only to be expected from Professor Perez, clearly the most insightful (and most prolific) of historians around the world specializing in Cuban history. In sum, this is a fine work, detailing some 520 collections of archival documents found in the United States, which most Cuba-watchers were simply unaware of. Professor Perez is to be commended for using his vast knowledge of Cuban history to provide such a useful service to the academic community, for this collection is indeed a must for all interested in Cuban history.-Revista Interamericana De Bibliografia
The many scholarly, substantial, and authoritative works by research professor Perez in the fields of Cuban history, politics and government, and bibliography have, over the past decade and more, received their just recognition. The present guide, a valuable tool for the historical researcher in locating and identifying Cuban archive and manuscript materials in the US, is yet another excellent contribution. Conception of this bibliography was based on the assumption of the existence in the US of extensive, unknown, and unutilized collections of such material with the potential to supplement, but not substitute for, the archival documentation to be found in Cuba. However, as the compiler implies, with access to sources within Cuba often precluded by restrictions imposed by the Cuban government, the US sources here mentioned assume even greater importance. All time periods are covered. Organization is alphabetical by US state; under each state collections are identified and annotated, and the addresses of the depository institutions are provided. The 520 entries are indexed by collection and by subject.-Choice
"He provides the reader interested in Cuban themes a veritable mine of information. In many ways, though, this is only to be expected from Professor Perez, clearly the most insightful (and most prolific) of historians around the world specializing in Cuban history. In sum, this is a fine work, detailing some 520 collections of archival documents found in the United States, which most Cuba-watchers were simply unaware of. Professor Perez is to be commended for using his vast knowledge of Cuban history to provide such a useful service to the academic community, for this collection is indeed a must for all interested in Cuban history."-Revista Interamericana De Bibliografia
"The many scholarly, substantial, and authoritative works by research professor Perez in the fields of Cuban history, politics and government, and bibliography have, over the past decade and more, received their just recognition. The present guide, a valuable tool for the historical researcher in locating and identifying Cuban archive and manuscript materials in the US, is yet another excellent contribution. Conception of this bibliography was based on the assumption of the existence in the US of extensive, unknown, and unutilized collections of such material with the potential to supplement, but not substitute for, the archival documentation to be found in Cuba. However, as the compiler implies, with access to sources within Cuba often precluded by restrictions imposed by the Cuban government, the US sources here mentioned assume even greater importance. All time periods are covered. Organization is alphabetical by US state; under each state collections are identified and annotated, and the addresses of the depository institutions are provided. The 520 entries are indexed by collection and by subject."-Choice
LOUIS A. PEREZ, Jr. is Graduate Research Professor in the Department of History at the University of South Florida. He also compiled Cuba: An Annotated Bibliography (Greenwood Press, 1988).