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Acknowledgments
- University Press of Florida
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Acknowledgments I extend my sincerest gratitude to the many people who provided help with this study. I owe an enormous debt to the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research (CIPR) at Tulane University for granting me a generous research fellowship from August 2008 to July 2010 that greatly facilitated the completion of this work. The CIPR’s director, Ludovico Feoli, offered me guidance and constant support, which I appreciate. In working on the book, I benefited from critical reading of the material by scholars and leading experts on Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations. Susan Eckstein and Peter Schwab deserve a special note of thanks for their valuable comments and suggestions, which helped me write a much better book in the end. I wish to acknowledge an anonymous reviewer for insightful observations on key aspects of U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba. I also owe a great deal to John Kirk, editor of the Contemporary Cuba series for the University Press of Florida. John believed in this project from the beginning and provided exceptional assistance throughout the whole process. Much appreciation is due to Amy Gorelick, acquisitions editor at the Press, for her efficiency and professionalism. My heartfelt thanks go to Terry McCoy, Philip J. Williams, Leann Brown, and Ido Oren for their encouragement and useful inputs. I acknowledge a major debt to William A. Messina Jr. for his enthusiastic support, kind words, and valuable help. xiv / Acknowledgments I would like to express my profound gratitude to several Cuban scholars and analysts at various research centers in Havana and to local journalists and foreign correspondents posted in Cuba. Their knowledge, willingness to help with the research, and friendliness made it possible for me to carry out such a stimulating study. I particularly thank my good friend Luca Gaudenzi for nurturing my interest on Cuban issues and providing thoughtful suggestions. I will always cherish our great conversations in Cattolica and Gradara, Italy, and the memories of our trips to many Latin American countries during the 1990s. I would like to thank my father, Luigino, and my mother, Maria Pia, for their love and generosity, and my brother, Mirco, for always being supportive and good to me. I am also grateful to my parents-in-law, Alberto Avilés and Lucy Avilés, for treating me as their own son and for their matchless hospitality. My father-in-law sadly passed from this life in October 2006. Last, but certainly not least, I am especially grateful to my beloved wife, Inés, for believing in me and for being such an amazing partner and friend. Her unconditional love, loyalty, patience, and support gave me the strength to write this book. ...