Written in 1992, during the worst of the "special period," this excellent travelogue rings as true now as it did then. Miller does a wonderful job of capturing the openness, sensuality, and pride in the revolution that characterizes the Cuban spirit. In a manner both entertaining and warm, he takes the readers on his adventures, (including traveling with a Cuban baseball team, studying the oboe and shadowing "the Cuban Julia Child" as she teaches TV viewers suffering from chronic food shortages how to make "steak" out of grapefruit rinds). He manages to cover all the important bases -- from literature to automobiles -- and by the time you're done you feel you might understand something real about Cuba. .  (CBA11, $16.95)