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“LeoGrande and Kornbluh have analyzed thoroughly the history of dialogue between two countries locked in a contradictory relationship for five decades, with each side skeptical that the other truly wanted improved relations. With continual change in Washington and continuity in Cuban leadership, the authors draw important lessons from the efforts of every administration since Eisenhower to negotiate with Cuba.”
— President Jimmy Carter
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“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.”
— New Yorker
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“LeoGrande and Kornbluh’s exhaustive and masterful diplomatic history will stand as the most authoritative account of US-Cuban diplomatic relations during the five decades of Cuban President Fidel Castro’s rule.”
— Foreign Affairs
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“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 Carré as a political moralist while adhering to exacting scholarly standards.”
— American Conservative
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“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.”
— New York Review of Books
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“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)
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“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 twentieth century.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
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“Narrator Robertson Dean’s deep, rich voice adds texture to the driest recitation of diplomatic initiatives. Dean has taken the time to learn the names of the people and places involved in half a century of secret talks and deals. His pace and tone are impeccable.”
— AudioFile
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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