The Cuban Revolution: Years of Promise (review)

Unfortunately, the book’s illustrations form an insufficient graphic support for this excellent text. Although the author has retrieved historic images from various archival sources, their reproduction and integration appear to be insufficient. For a book in which visual documentation could be an extraordinary support, the images diminish its overall effectiveness, especially for students of Spanish cultural history. Of the 123 illustrations included to support the text, some two dozen images are snapshots taken by the author. Poorly composed and insufficiently edited, these images are improvisations that undermine the rigorous study itself. When Escobar introduces his own photographic reproduction of plans and elevations from the Archivo de la Villa de Madrid, the reduced contrast and rumpled papers render them virtually unintelligible. The results are satisfactory in the reproduction of documents held in the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, the Biblioteca Nacional, and other institutions with credible photographic services. Nevertheless, the study itself is an important contribution to the study of Spanish architectural, social and cultural history. Thoroughly grounded in disciplines that range beyond architectural history, Escobar has written a book that shall be essential reading for any study of the development of cities in Habsburg Spain and the Americas.