Luis Aguilar Leon was born in Manzanillo, Cuba in 1925 and died in exile in Miami in 2008. He studied Law at the University of Havana, Philosophy at the University of Madrid and received his PhD in International Relations from American University in Washington, D.C. He taught at Cornell University in New York and later at Georgetown University in Washington, where he was named Professor Emeritus. He published many books on Cuban history and was a contributor to the Cambridge History of Latin American (Vol. 5: 1986). He had a regular weekly column at the Diario Las Amerias and was the Opinions Director for El Nuevo Herald, where he also wrote articles on history and politics.

This insightful book is necessary for understanding the history and current reality of the Cuban people. It is probably the most profound, sincere and encompassing reflection on the Cuban character, as well as their accomplishments and downfalls in the past, present and future. It is an analysis that explains the past as well as tries to give intellectual answers to the future. Included is his famous article: " El profeta habla de los cubanos". As Carlos Alberto Montaner says in his review of this book: "We stand before a writer whose intelligence, sense of humor and intellectual honesty stand out...an important figure in contemporary Cuba literature."