This book is the product of professional and personal relationships that were many years in the making. For those of us who work on and in Cuba, the professional world necessarily becomes personal because of the difficulties that have surrounded relations between the United States and Cuba. Academic exchange of this nature could never happen without the daily convictions and commitments of mentors, friends, colleagues, librarians, taxi drivers, and everyday residents whose assistance becomes more valuable because interactions across national borders have proved formidable. Current headlines indicate that reconciliation is now under way. My hope is that this book is a refreshing testament to the limits of the nation-state and the steadfastness of humanity to make dialogue out of difference.