Booknote: Cuba: Portrait of an Island

Donald Nausbaum, Cuba: Portrait of an Island. New York: Interlink Books, 2005. ISBN: 1566565790. 

This was a beautiful and evocative photography book. The colorful and bright photographs of beautiful beaches and idyllic countryside just makes you wish that you could travel to Cuba. The photos of people are mostly positive, but you still get some sense of daily life.

The book is organized in ten short chapters. The first five chapters explore Cuban cities. The remaining five chapters explore themes such as "Tobacco and Cigars" and "Politics." Ron Base's text provides a nice overview and balance for the photos. For folks who may know little of the island's history, the text gives some basic background. Do keep in mind that the book came out in 2005, and there have been some changes in Cuba since then, such as Fidel Castro's retirement. Aside from that, this is a good book overall. The strength of the book is in the photographs, which are definitely a delight to look over. Armchair travelers will likely enjoy this book very much. I definitely enjoyed reading it, sitting back, and letting Nausbaum's photos take me there. You can almost hear the son and the mambo.

On account of the photos, I am giving it the full 5 out of 5 stars.

I borrowed this one from my local public library, Madison County Public Library (Berea branch).