An absolute must for anyone studying Cuba or communism in general. This book provides a fascinating account of the unknown secret struggles within Cuba's political élites. Thanks to classified documents he was able to obtain, this author - a young and promising Oxford and Cambridge graduate - puts us into the picture of the delicate and intricate power games at the regime's peaks. Thrilling throughout all its pages, and very easy to read.

In this book, Maurizio Giuliano has been able to collect material which may otherwise have been destroyed, on the secret tensions and divergencies among Cuba's political élites. It is the first time that this type of documents are published, enabling scholars and others to know more on this delicate issue. The stories of repression against Cuba's dissidents are no news, but the repression and internal purges within the élites are something very different, which can indeed tell us a lot about the prospects for change in Cuba 'from within'. This book therefore does a marvelous job. It constitutes an extremely valuable source, as well as fascinating reading with extremely astute intepretations and observations.

This is of course an academic book, filled with information and data from secret documents which the author managed to obtain from unknown sources. It offers an analysis of the events it describes, as well as a lot of reflexions and interpretations. Yet, at the same time this is a 'human story', of women and men (perhaps special women and men, but still human beings) in today's Cuba. The book tells of their struggle in Castro's Cuba, to achieve or to maintain their own little niches of freedom within the regime. The book is not only interesting, but also fascinating to read, and makes excellent reading for all.

``How the Hebrew Language Grew'' is absolutely fascinating. It will teach you a lot about Hebrew--but also about how linguists think, especially semitic linguists. Horowitz explains the major ways that new words are invented, with lots of examples from Hebrew down through the ages.

Yet Horowitz is never dull or scholarly. He never gets bogged down in details, and explains everything in clear, simple language. Linguistics can be a dull subject, but Horowitz makes it come alive.

Maybe that's because linguistics isn't really what Horowitz cares about. He is really a Hebrew teacher, and he wants you to actually learn some Hebrew as you go along. By telling you how different words were invented, he helps you remember them. Even better, he helps you figure out new words that came about in the same way. If you're interested in learning Hebrew, then ``How the Hebrew Language Grew'' will be a real vocabulary builder!

I do have two warnings for you, although I loved the book. First, Horowitz assumes that you understand some very basic Hebrew. I didn't, when I read it, and still thoroughly enjoyed it. But you will get more out of the book if you at least know the alphabet, and can read it phonetically. If you can understand simple sentences, that's even better.

Second, if you are trying to learn Hebrew then this book will make you work a little. You CAN just read it through--it is fascinating--but to make it stick, you'll need to chew on it pretty carefully. Each chapter does have some questions at the end to help you study. I ignored them the first time through, many years ago, but now I'm using it almost like a textbook.

You'll definitely keep coming back! This is NOT a ``read once, throw away'' kind of book!

no other book unlocks the mystery, beauty, logic and wisdom of the hebrew language like this one.

Horowitz take us to a trip into the language land.
With anacdotes, and funny stories we meet the hebrew - and languages - origins.

excellent book!