Louis A. Pérez Jr. has written an important book that will reshape what we think about both nineteenth-century Cuba and the post-1959 period of the Cuban people. Writing with a powerful voice, Pérez traces the intertwined development of Cubans’ sense of being a people and their sense of being a nation, informed by Cubans’ ideas of their own history. This is not a historiographical work in the traditional sense; it is rather an archeology of ideas, or better said an explication of the idea of ‘Cuban.’

Pérez argues that political, economic, social, and cultural trends, and the trajectories they followed, were affected directly by the growing sense of what it meant to be Cuban. The launching point of the text is the period between 1895 and 1902. Pérez uses the events of this period, the final war of independence and subsequent occupation by U.S. forces, to focus on the ideas that brought them about, gave them life, and found fulfillment afterward.

The six chapters that comprise the text are organized chronologically. Throughout the book, Pérez draws out the idea of the nation in all its varied cultural expressions, following threads that led to a spirit of connectedness and direction that motivated action. The first two chapters tell the story of the foundations of national identity (a term Pérez does not use), and the author makes his case through a careful examination of a wide array of sources and analyses of the multiple influences that came into play: the popular press, music and lyrics, dance, political philosophy, geography, and Cuban historiography. While precision remains elusive, something Pérez acknowledges, he convincingly demonstrates the nuances underlying the rise of Cuban identity. Cubans growing sense of themselves as a group meant that they increasingly saw themselves as no longer an extension of Spain, no longer bearers of a history subordinate to Spanish history, and this vision led them to embrace the idea of sovereignty, and finally independence. What resulted was the Ten Years’ War, a conflict that did not achieve its goal but did make manifest the spirit and determination of the Cuban people. It also defined Cuban character and morality, becoming a wellspring of inspiration for Cubans of succeeding generations.

Chapters 3 and 4, covering the period 1895–1902, treat the war and the U.S. intervention and occupation. Pérez has written about these events previously, but here he makes the reader see clearly why the prosecution of the war and the implications of the occupation had a profound effect on the Cuban people during the succeeding decades. These two chapters are the core of Pérez's argument, as they provide both the take-off point and trajectory of his argument: to show the revolutionary nature of Cuba's history. Cubans understood from the lessons of the Ten Years’ War that the price to pay for self-determination was a commitment to fight to the death. The conflict was fierce, leaving tens of thousands dead and the economy and infrastructure in ruins. While many fought valiantly, their quest was subverted when the dream of independence was interrupted by the intervention of the United States.

Pérez treads well-worn ground in his discussion of the U.S. occupation and how it created a climate in which ineffective government and corruption flourished. What sets this text apart is the clarity with which he shows how Cubans’ aspirations were side-tracked as the island's political and economic direction reoriented from Spain to the United States. Rather than sovereignty, Cubans experienced new forms of colonial abuse. The author also shows how the revolutionary past was brought forward to inculcate in the next generation the spirit of those who had fought for independence. Those who came of age in the 1920s began their own struggle for freedom and in the 1930s brought down the Machado government and forced the repeal of the hated Platt Amendment. But, with victory seemingly at hand, Cuban aspirations of freedom were again dashed by U.S. manipulation. The events of the 1930s and 1940s made it clear why a new revolution was necessary.

The final two chapters focus on the post-1959 revolutionary period and aim to show how both Cubans’ view of their history and their struggle for sovereignty and freedom played out in those years. One of Pérez's important contributions is to show that the revolution of the late 1950s was not a singular occurrence but was consistent with the previous 150 years of Cuban history. The Cuban Revolution did not arise out of the Batista years, nor was it solely a product of U.S. intervention in 1898. The idea of ‘Cuban’ was revolutionary from its earliest moments. The people who embodied the ideals of Cuban, those of all races and classes, were striving for a more equitable and just society from the early nineteenth century onward.

Understanding this historical trajectory makes the events of the later revolutionary era much more comprehensible. Within the logic of Cuban history there was no other option but to turn away from the United States, the nation that had robbed Cuba of its sovereignty. And when challenged Cuba looked for an ally that would respect its nationhood. Pérez concludes by noting that the Revolution was envisioned by many as the fulfillment of history, but argues that in the end it failed to realize the hopes of the Cuban people. The question Cubans have struggled with for the last two decades is how to understand the failure in ways that might permit them to become fully free and sovereign.

This important book deserves to be widely read, as it is an exemplary study of a people struggling to become a nation and define themselves. While the work will be indispensable to those who study Cuba, it will also offer insights to anyone interested in the formation of nations. Another asset is that the book will introduce many to the historiography of Cuban scholars, as Pérez draws extensively on this largely untapped resource.