Review by Choice Review
And so the worm turns. Almost a century ago, following the Spanish-American war, the US government used its medical system as a weapon of tutelage, to win over the hearts and minds of the people of their newly acquired colonies. Today, it is Cuba's turn. Despite appalling economic harassment from the US, Cuba has built up one of the world's finest health systems, with many of its important health indicators equal to those in the developed world. In addition, the Cubans have exported their health knowledge to other developing countries as a symbol of the superiority of their sociopolitical system. In this very fine book, Feinsilver describes and analyzes not only the Cuban health care system (a mixture of socialized and social medicine heavily dependent on large numbers of fully trained physicians rather than on less-thoroughly trained health workers, the norm in many similar countries) but also Cuba's health activities on the world stage as the country struggled to become a world medical power. A well-told and complex story, suitable for a wide readership, particularly in the US as it struggles to come to terms with a less-than-adequate health system. General. J. Farley; Dalhousie University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
