Pérez, Louis A., Jr. 1943–

PERSONAL:

Born June 5, 1943, in New York, NY; son of Louis A. Pérez; married, 1965; children: two. Education: Pace University, B.A., 1965; University of Arizona, M.A., 1966; University of New Mexico, Ph.D., 1970.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of History, CB 3195, Hamilton Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3195.

CAREER:

Writer, historian, and educator. University of South Florida, Tampa, assistant professor, 1970-74, associate professor, 1974-80, professor of history, 1980—; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, currently J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History.

MEMBER:

Latin American Studies Association, Conference on Latin American History, Caribbean Studies Association, Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies.

WRITINGS:

The Cuban Revolutionary War, 1953-1958: A Bibliography, Scarecrow (Metuchen, NJ), 1976.

Army Politics in Cuba, 1898-1958, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1976.

Intervention, Revolution, and Politics in Cuba, 1913-1921, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1978.

Historiography in the Revolution: A Bibliography of Cuban Scholarship, 1959-1979, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1981.

Cuba between Empires, 1878-1902, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1983.

Cuba under the Platt Amendment, 1902-1934, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1986.

(Compiler) Cuba: An Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1988, 3rd edition, 2006.

Lords of the Mountain: Social Banditry and Peasant Protest in Cuba, 1878-1918, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1989.

Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy, University of Georgia Press (Athens, GA), 1990, 1997.

A Guide to Cuban Collections in the United States, Greenwood Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor) Slaves, Sugar, and Colonial Society: Travel Accounts of Cuba, 1801-1899, Scholarly Resources (Wilmington, DE), 1992.

Essays on Cuban History: Historiography and Research, University Press of Florida (Gainesville, FL), 1995.

(Editor) Jose Marti in the United States: The Florida Experience, ASU Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ), 1995.

(Editor) Joseph Judson Dimock, Impressions of Cuba in the Nineteenth Century: The Travel Diary of Joseph J. Dimock, Scholarly Resources (Wilmington, DE), 1998.

The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1998.

On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1999.

Winds of Change: Hurricanes and the Transformation of Nineteenth-Century Cuba, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2000.

(Author of essays, with Ambrosio Fornet) E. Wright Ledbetter, Cuba: Picturing Change, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 2002.

(With Robert P. Ingalls) Tampa Cigar Workers: A Pictorial History, University Press of Florida (Gainesville, FL), 2003.

(Editor, with Rebecca J. Scott) The Archives of Cuba, University of Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 2003.

(Editor, with Luis Martinez Fernandez and D. Figueredo) Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, History, Culture, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2003.

To Die in Cuba: Suicide and Society, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2005.

Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2008.

Contributor to history and Latin American studies journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

History professor Louis A. Pérez, Jr., has written extensively—more than a dozen books and numerous articles—on the politics and history of Cuba. In The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography Pérez argues in favor of a reinterpretation of Cuba's role in the Spanish-American War. He observes that most studies have ignored the extent of Cuba's participation in its own struggle for independence and consequently notes that "the War of 1898" would be a more appropriate appellation for the conflict. Pérez also discusses U.S. attitudes toward the war, remarking that those who portrayed it as motivated by idealism and high moral purpose provoked a backlash that later condemned such motivations as a source of weakness in American foreign policy. Both attitudes, Pérez contends, ignore the reality that the United States' concern with Cuba has long been motivated by the strategic and political importance of the island. Without contradicting the particulars of Pérez's contentions, Kenneth Maxwell of Foreign Affairs felt The War of 1898 is too narrow in its focus, ignoring such relevant topics as the imperialism of the 1890s, the collapse of Spain's empire, and the cases of the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

Pérez's 1999 volume, On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture, focuses more generally on U.S.-Cuban relations and covers a much longer period, the century preceding Castro's 1959 revolution. A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that Pérez "quickly makes clear that the Cuban presence in the U.S. is not an invention of the late 20th century." Migration began in the mid-nineteenth century while at the same time American industrialists and traders were becoming commonplace in Cuba. American technology soon became common in Cuba as well, making the island more advanced than its mother country and paving the way for the overthrow of Spanish colonialism. In the 1920s, during Prohibition in the United States, Cuba became an outlet for U.S. indulgence, while at the same time Cuban sports and music influenced U.S. culture. Pérez sees the democratic ideals of the United States and their impact on Cuba as a significant causal factor in the success of Castro's revolution. The Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded: "The clarity of [Pérez's] writing and his extensive research make [On Becoming Cuban] an important addition to Latin American studies."

Pérez served as coeditor, with Luis Martinez Fernandez and D. Figueredo, of the Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, History, Culture, "In what would seem a daunting task, the editors of the Encyclopedia of Cuba bring forth an overview of the different facets of the nation's history, its culture, and its people, those both local and living abroad," commented Giovanni Hortua, writing in History Teacher. The two-volume work collects writings from more than eighty researchers and scholars of Cuban culture and history. Structured around twelve broad chapters, the encyclopedia covers topics such as Cuban history, literature and the social sciences, performing and plastic arts, popular culture, Cuban economics, geography, environment, national symbols, sports, and the Cuban diaspora. Appendices contain supplemental historical material, including a variety of laws and codes that have shaped Cuba throughout its history. In the end, Hortua concluded, Pérez and his coeditors provide readers with a "concise and brilliant analysis of Cuba's history, culture, and people."

Pérez turns to a more somber topic in To Die in Cuba: Suicide and Society. In what Library Journal reviewer Lloyd Childress called a "troubling yet revealing account," Pérez explores the history of suicide in Cuba, the Cuban attitude toward taking one's own life, and the modern reality of suicide as a consistent reality in Cuba. He "provides the first systematic history of self-inflicted death on the island, exploring its sociological, cultural, and political implications from colonial times to the present," noted Adrian Lopez Denis in the Historian. Pérez concludes that Cubans commit suicide at a higher rate than in any other country. Further, he sees this higher suicide rate stemming not from mental illness but from the unpleasant social and economic conditions that have created an environment in which suicide is an acceptable option. "Cubans view self-destruction as a practical, rational way of exerting control over their lives—even if that control ends their lives," observed Rebecca A. Clay in the Wilson Quarterly. Clay further remarked that the conditions behind many suicides are similar: "Faced with unbearable circumstances, and urged on by a cultural discourse that presents self-destruction as socially acceptable, even desirable, Cubans kill themselves," she stated. "Pérez's well-written and engaging study is meticulously researched," stated Michael R. Hall in the Journal of Third World Studies. With this book, "Pérez offers a highly readable, evenhanded look at Cuba's tumultuous history through an unusual lens," commented Clay. Hall concluded: "Notwithstanding the book's macabre theme, To Die in Cuba … in addition to being informative, is a surprisingly enjoyable read and should be read by those interested in Latin America, regardless of their academic discipline."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Antioch Review, spring, 2003, Dennie Eagleson, review of Cuba: Picturing Change, p. 371.

Foreign Affairs, September-October, 1998, Kenneth Maxwell, review of The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography, p. 160.

Historian, fall, 2006, Adrian Lopez Denis, review of To Die in Cuba: Suicide and Society, p. 596.

History Teacher, February, 2004, Giovanni Hortua, review of Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, History, Culture.

Journal of Latin American Studies, February, 2006, Richard Gott, review of To Die in Cuba, p. 196.

Journal of Third World Studies, spring, 2007, Michael R. Hall, review of To Die in Cuba, p. 307.

Library Journal, April 1, 2005, Boyd Childress, review of To Die in Cuba, p. 114.

Publishers Weekly, November 1, 1999, review of On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture, p. 61.

Wilson Quarterly, summer, 2005, Rebecca A. Clay, review of To Die in Cuba, p. 124.

ONLINE

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Department of History Web site,http://history.unc.edu/ (May 12, 2008), biography of Louis A. Pérez, Jr.