In this new edition of his acclaimed 1990 volume, Louis A. Perez Jr. brings his expertise to bear on the history and direction of relations between Cuba and the United States.

Of all the peoples in Latin America, the author argues, none have been more familiar to the United States than Cubans - who in turn have come to know their northern neighbors equally well.

Focusing on what President McKinley called "the ties of singular intimacy" linking the destinies of the two societies, Perez examines the points at which they have made contact - politically, culturally, economically - and explores the dilemmas that proximity to the United States has posed to Cubans in their quest for national identity.