08/25/2014
For more than 50 years, the U.S. and Cuba have endured a tempestuous relationship fraught with the Cold War tensions that followed Fidel Castro’s rise to power, the subsequent U.S. embargo, the Bay of Pigs debacle, and the Cuban missile crisis. LeoGrande, an American University government professor, and Kornbluh, a researcher at the National Security Archive, dug into classified and declassified records to chart the myriad attempts of presidents, from Eisenhower to Obama, to normalize American relations with Cuba. Through both official channels and secret dialogues, third-party nations such as Brazil, Mexico, and Spain served as intermediaries between U.S. presidents and Cuban officials. Jimmy Carter came closest to a wary modus vivendi with the formidable Castro, but his State Department and National Security Council advisers worked at cross-proposes, leaving Carter to carry on his grand but futile project into retirement. Even the Soviet Union’s collapse did not translate into better ties as evidenced by the willingness of Reagan’s secretary of state, Alexander Haig, to turn Cuba “into a parking lot.” Despite good intentions, Barack Obama has scarcely fared better than his predecessors. Told in clear prose, this richly detailed book underscores how diplomacy makes headlines, but many exchanges happen far from official negotiation tables. (Oct.)

Challenging the prevailing narrative of U.S.-Cuba relations, this book investigates the history of the secret, and often surprising, dialogue between Washington and Havana. The authors, who spent more than a decade examining classified files, provide a comprehensive account of negotiations beginning in 1959. . . . suggesting that the past holds lessons for future negotiators." —The New Yorker

A fascinating and thorough intellectual introduction to the [December 2014 Obama-Castro] accords. . . . The book makes it clear that, during the long period of the Cuban–Soviet alliance, an agreement was practically impossible, though the history of attempts reads like a James Bond novel.—The New York Review of Books

LeoGrande and Kornbluh's exhaustive and masterful diplomatic history will stand as the most authoritative account of U.S.-Cuban diplomatic relations during the five decades of Cuban President Fidel Castro's rule.—Foreign Affairs

Told in clear prose, this richly detailed book underscores how diplomacy makes headlines, but many exchanges happen far from official negotiation tables.—Publishers Weekly, starred review

An exceedingly well-written and well-documented account. . . . Essential for libraries that support research into the political and diplomatic history of America foreign relations with Cuba in the latter half of the 20th century.—Library Journal, starred review

A tour de force, Back Channel to Cuba never simplifies the complexity of the post-Revolution relationship between the United States and Cuba. The authors' virtuosity and enthusiastic vigor is reminiscent of John Le Carre as a political moralist while adhering to exacting scholarly standards.—The American Conservative

Very well written. . . . It will be interesting for specialists, general readership, and undergraduate and graduate students.—Choice

LeoGrande and Kornbluh's groundbreaking work is essential reading for U.S.-Cuban scholars and for anyone who wants to understand the context of Raul Castro and Obama's December 2014 announcements.—Diplomatic History

Observers should look to Back Channel to Cuba and its mastery of detail and analysis for the precedents that map out the road ahead—and the potholes to avoid.—American Historical Review