A bold reexamination of the achievements and failures of the Cuban revolution and a perceptive, behind-the-scenes look at the problems facing Cuba today, this revealing text examines the background of the revolution, ranging from the inauguration of the republic in 1902 to Castro's triumphantentry into Santiago de Cuba in 1959, and highlights the factors--such as a one-crop (sugar) economy and U.S. interference in Cuban affairs--that made Cuba susceptible to revolution. Offering an unflinching look at Castro's thirty-year rule and the U.S. response to it, the author argues that therevolution actually ended in 1970, when the regime turned to the model of the Soviet Union, accepted a new dependence, and began what would become, for many years, a profitable relationship with the Soviet Union. She further charges that Cuban leaders failed to achieve a more balanced economy tosustain the nation, failed to create democratic institutions, and found themselves ill-prepared to deal with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. With its hard-hitting criticisms of Cuba's revolutionary elite and of U.S. policy, The Cuban Revolution offers students of this area's history andpolitics a provocative look at the turbulent past--and the precarious present--of a nation on the brink of change.