So many people contributed to the completion of this book that I hesitate to name them lest I leave anybody out. Thank you foremost to my wife, Anne, and to my children, Oliver, Julian, and Nathalie, whose love and joy and zest for life fuel my work and sustained this project from beginning to end. Thanks, too, to Richard Fox, David Hollinger, Jane Kamensky, Jim Kloppenberg, and Sayres Rudy, whose friendship, encouragement, and example provide continuous inspiration.
This book took shape in several institutional settings, some formal, some not. It sprang to life in the hospitable surroundings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I was visiting scholar (2003â2004) and where Leslie Berlowitz, Jim Carroll, and Jim Miller, among others, maintained a climate of dazzling intellectual stimulation. I am fortunate to be a member of a Boston-area writing group that has included Steve Biehl, Jane Kamensky, Steven Mihm, Mark Peterson, John Plotz, Jennifer Roberts, Seth Rockman, Dan Sharfstein, Conevery Valencius, and Michael Willrich. Their close reading of early chapters of this book set it on a firm foundation. I am likewise lucky to be based in Harvard University's Committee on Degrees in Social Studies, where Richard Tuck, Anya Bernstein, and a brilliant faculty and staff make coming to work each day exhilarating.
Jim Campbell, Roger Lane, and Scott Tromanhauser read a draft of
the entire manuscript. Jim and Roger provided detailed and trenchant criticism, putting me permanently in debt. Bob Branfon, Kevin Caffrey, Jeff Kahn, Jim Kloppenberg, Sayres Rudy, and Alan Taylor read chapters and/or sections along the way, saving me from all manner of errors and infelicities.
Faculty and students at the following universities or think tanks commented generously on different iterations of this project: Brandeis University, Centro de Estudios de Información de la Defensa (Havana, Cuba), Columbia University, Harvard University, Oxford University, University of Georgia, University of Madrid, University of Sevilla, and University of Sydney.
Scholars and writers from many different fields provided direction and encouragement at critical stages. Sincerest thanks to Walter Alvarez, David Carlson, Mark Clague, John Coatsworth, Jay Cope, Jorge I. DomÃnquez, Don Doyle, Rafael Hernández, Manuel Iturralde-Vinent, William Johns, Carl Kaysen, Hal Klepak, Kris Lane, Dick Lehr, William Leith, Anthony Lewis, John Lewis, Jana Lipman, Tom Miller, Richard Millett, Louis Pérez, John Paul Rathbone, Theresa Roosevelt, Patrick Roth, Nancy San Martin, Robert Pendleton, Phil Richardson, Stephen Schwab, Paul Stillwell, Michael Straus, Stephen Webre, Samuel Wilson, and James Zackrison.
Research for this project took me on some memorable trips. On three visits to the Guantánamo Naval Base, I was greeted with astounding generosity and assistance by, among others, Admiral David Thomas, Captain Mark Leary, Commander Jeffrey Johnston, Pete Becola, Stacey Byington, Christopher Creighton, Clayton Helms, Earlene Helms, Harriet Johnston, Don King, JoAnn King, Robert Lamb, Paul Schoenfeld, Frank Simone, and Cy Winter. In Havana, Cuba, I benefited from the warmth and hospitality of Rolando Al-mirante, Boris Ivan Crespo, Luis M. Garcia Cuñarro, Jesús Bermúdez Cutiño, and Cynthia Newport. In Miami, Florida, I was welcomed and assisted by Alfredo Duran and Marcos Antonio Ramos, among others, as well as by Marlene Bastien, Steve Forester, Randy McGrorty, Myriam Mezadieu, Carol Rosenberg, Alex Stepick, and Irwin Stotzky. In Washington, D.C., Ingrid Ott, Doug Jones, General Jack Sheehan, and Wayne Smith all went way out of their way to help.
Thank you to the staffs of the following libraries: Widener Library
(especially Lynn Shirey, librarian for Latin America); Houghton Library; the United States Marine Corps Research Library, Quantico, Virginia; the Navy Department Library, Washington, D.C. (especially Paul Tobin, Glenn Helm, and Ed Marolda); the British Library; Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, Spain; the Cuban Historical Collection, University of Miami; the Library of Congress; the National Archives, Washington, D.C.; and the National Security Archive, George Washington University.
Various individuals defy categorization but provided much appreciated support somewhere along the line. Thanks to Tim Bartlett, Rob Chodat, Michael Coulson, Laura Fisher, Alex Gourevitch, Sarah Lovitt, Richard Pennington, Chuck Ryan, Glenda Sluga, John Straubel, Don Soldini, Liz Svezchenco, and Alfie Ulloa. I also want to salute my Spanish instructors: Lydia Jimenez, Monica Palacio, and especially Wega Firenze, the last of whom redefines what it means to be a teacher.
With tremendous savvy and just the right amount of force, Wendy Strothman, my friend and literary agent, nurtured this book to fruition. Many thanks, Wendy, for your unflagging faith. Anyone who has ever published with Hill and Wang/FSG knows the privilege it is to work with the teams assembled by Thomas LeBien and Jeff Seroy. At Hill and Wang, Dan Crissman proved wise beyond his years, setting the gold standard for what it means to be an editor. At FSG, publicist Steve Weil was accessible and focused throughout, bringing grace and equanimity to an often-maligned aspect of book publishing.
I know I am leaving people out. I burn a candle to the unnamed but not forgotten individuals who helped make this book possible. If, after all this help, mistakes remain, they are mine and mine alone.
Finally, this book is dedicated to my parents, Alix and Chris Hansen, whose unconditional love for me and support for this project are its ultimate sine qua non.