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"""""Deep Cuba"" makes an eloquent argument for deep sea diving, scientific inquiry, and ending the embargo. I learned something new on every page.""--Tom Miller, author of ""Trading with the Enemy: A Yankee Travels through Castro's Cuba"" """"Deep Cuba"" provides a side of Cuba that's missing from most of the contemporary books and articles on the island.""--""The Lakeland Ledger"" ""[A] fascinating and easily absorbed account . . . Belleville is an articulate and skilled advocate and we should all pay attention to what he has seen.""--Rosalind Brackenbury, ""Solares Hill"" ""[A] riveting account of a six-week expedition aboard the Harbor Branch vessel, Seward Johnson.""--""Vero Beach Journal"" ""A fascinating dive into two worlds: the undersea kaleidoscope where mysterious creatures make their home, and the politics and culture of a scientific expedition. Belleville is an astute observer and a great companion. If you can't personally explore the waters of Cuba or meet Fidel, you should sail along with the crew of the R/V Seward Johnson.""--Jan DeBlieu, author of ""Hatteras Journal"" ""Engaging . . . Environmental journalist and diver Belleville works hard to achieve a documentary-maker's dream: exciting a broad public empathy for a place and its creatures.""--""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Rank[s] with the best travel writing . . . ""Deep Cuba"" will appeal to a wide range of readers: armchair travelers, recreational divers, naturalists and anyone curious about Castro and the Caribbean's largest island.""--""Orlando Sentinel"""

Engaging story of a six-week filming/exploration of Cuban coastal waters. While plenty has been written about the political history of Cuba, there's little to be found regarding the country's impressive natural history, including its 5,000-mile coastline, an irresistible bounty for marine scientists. As funding for marine research dries up, scientists find themselves hitching up with documentary filmmakers to gain access to sites. This gives credence to the documentaries, Belleville explains, but often pure research plays second fiddle to the dictates of the visual glamour that the filmmakers are after, which is rarely sparked by the endemic and rare, but by what the lay audience will find entertaining. This tension is finely portrayed by Belleville, as are all the political hurdles the expedition must jump, starting with the rude awareness that our country's role in the destiny of Cuba has not been a noble one. And although large American-sponsored missions that have landed here in the past have been anything but benign, this first American expedition into the waters off Cuba in 50 years is given wide access and even a visit from Castro. El Jefe's concern over the fate of Cuba's coast is echoed by Belleville when he considers the impact development will have on the shoreline once the embargo is lifted. Thus all the more special is this snapshot of Cuban waters at a moment when they are protected by the simple expedience of severely limited tourism ( If the best places are found at the end of the worst roads, then this southern Cuban coast surely claims some of the best places in the entire world ). Belleville also provides significant material about the scientists' work on bioluminescence, fish inventories, and deep-sea exploration. Environmental journalist and diver Belleville (River of Lakes, 2000) works hard to achieve a documentary-maker's dream: exciting a broad pubic empathy for a place and its creatures. (Kirkus Reviews)

Deep Cuba makes an eloquent argument for deep sea diving, scientific inquiry, and ending the embargo. I learned something new on every page. --Tom Miller, author of Trading with the Enemy: A Yankee Travels through Castro's Cuba

Deep Cuba makes an eloquent argument for deep sea diving, scientific inquiry, and ending the embargo. I learned something new on every page. --Tom Miller, author of Trading with the Enemy: A Yankee Travels through Castro's Cuba Deep Cuba provides a side of Cuba that's missing from most of the contemporary books and articles on the island. -- The Lakeland Ledger [A] fascinating and easily absorbed account . . . Belleville is an articulate and skilled advocate and we should all pay attention to what he has seen. --Rosalind Brackenbury, Solares Hill [A] riveting account of a six-week expedition aboard the Harbor Branch vessel, Seward Johnson. -- Vero Beach Journal A fascinating dive into two worlds: the undersea kaleidoscope where mysterious creatures make their home, and the politics and culture of a scientific expedition. Belleville is an astute observer and a great companion. If you can't personally explore the waters of Cuba or meet Fidel, you should sail along with the crew of the R/V Seward Johnson. --Jan DeBlieu, author of Hatteras Journal Engaging . . . Environmental journalist and diver Belleville works hard to achieve a documentary-maker's dream: exciting a broad public empathy for a place and its creatures. -- Kirkus Reviews Rank[s] with the best travel writing . . . Deep Cuba will appeal to a wide range of readers: armchair travelers, recreational divers, naturalists and anyone curious about Castro and the Caribbean's largest island. -- Orlando Sentinel

Author Information

BILL BELLEVILLE is an award-winning environmental journalist, filmmaker, and diver. His books include River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River (Georgia); his articles have appeared in such publications as Sierra Magazine, Oxford American, Islands, and Salon. Belleville lives in Sanford, Florida.

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