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Library Journal Review

The author, a career diplomat, was assigned to Cuba in 1957, and was head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana when he resigned from the Foreign Service in 1982. What Smith offers, in an objective and insightful manner, is an excellent, well-written critique of the shortcomings of U.S. policy toward Cuba. His personal account spares no administration, and it points up our foreign policy community's tragic weaknesses and biases not only in relation to Cuba, but to Latin America and the Third World in general. Highly recommended for most libraries. Roderic A. Camp., Latin American Studies Dept., Central Coll., Pella, Ia. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Smith argues that no U.S. administration since 1961 has dealt effectively or even sensibly with Cuba. As an officer at the U.S. embassy in Havana in the late '50s and early '60s who later became chief of the U.S. Interests Section there, his views are informed by experience. The book is a forceful account of Smith's growing dismay and finally his outright disgust over U.S. policy in Cuba. His harshest words are reserved for the Reagan administration, which he accuses of gross misrepresentation regarding not only Cuba's willingness to open discussions on various issues but also that country's military involvement in Nicaragua. Experiencing ``one disillusionment too many,'' Smith resigned from his post in 1982. And since then, he charges, the administration has continued to sidestep every overture made by the Cubans. (February 16) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

One of the most intelligent, insightful, and devastatingly critical reviews of US foreign policy. Smith uses his experience of 25 years in the US foreign service to analyze the US deplorable inability to develop and execute a consistent foreign policy. From his base as head of the Interests Section in Havana (where he started his diplomatic career), serving under the Carter and Reagan administrations, Smith describes the discouraging travail of a public servant desperately trying to infuse some principle and consistency into US-Cuban relations. He failed miserably because the National Security Council in Washington too often worked at cross-purposes with the Department of State. This is not an account that enhances confidence in the government. Smith concludes that the basic weaknesses that plagued relations with Cuba are common in all aspects of US policy, traceable both to the instruments and to the personnel. Highly recommended for all libraries.-F.W. Knight, Johns Hopkins University