This book addresses the roots of the hostility that has characterized the United States¿relationship with Cuba and has persisted for decades, even in the wake of the end of the Cold War. It answers the question of why Americäs Cold War era policy toward Cuba has not substantially changed, despite a radically changed international environment. Cuba is indeed a "curious case," as the title suggests, and the book uses it to shed light on the contours and paradoxes of US policy during the Cold War and beyond.