This is the second of two volumes to bear witness to the Cuban experience. Together with its predecessor, Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution , it offers a positive account. Yet, it is sensitive to the dilemmas and flawed strategies in Cuba’s 30-year process of transformation. It warns that no preconceived notion of state or of development will help grasp the multi-faceted nature of this nation, which reflects aspects of both developed and underdeveloped nations. 17 chapters, five of which are from Cuban contributors, thoroughly investigate recent political, economic, and social changes as well as the successes and failures of long-term development policies. Heavy attention is paid to the rectification process launched by Castro in 1986. This volume portrays a Cuba facing the 1990s with a burst of increased vigour in its efforts to secure continued far-reaching transformation. The book describes major changes in the economic realm, part of the rectification campaign; a slow process of liberalization in the political sphere; and a Cuba that, in social terms, is far better off than any other Latin American country.