Miami

Miami is a 1987 work of social and political analysis by Joan Didion. It reports on Cubans who landed in exile in Miami after the 1959 overthrow of a dictator. The book examines how that community shaped the city and United States foreign policy. Didion describes life for Cuban exiles and Miami's complex racial dynamics. She also discusses the community's role in major events, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Watergate, the Reagan Doctrine, and the Iran-Contra affair.

Why You Should Read?

• Explore how Cuban exiles in Miami influenced both their city and United States foreign policy.
• Understand the complex racial dynamics Didion describes in Miami alongside the lives of Cuban exiles.
• Follow Didion's report on major events, from the Bay of Pigs to the Iran-Contra affair.

About the Author

Joan Didion lived from December 5, 1934 to December 23, 2021. She was an American journalist and writer. She is ranked among the early figures of New Journalism. Her work began in the 1950s, when she won a Vogue essay contest. Her essays appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, Life, The New York Review of Books, and The New Yorker. Her second novel, Play It As It Lays, is seen as a classic. She also co-wrote screenplays with her husband, including The Panic in Needle Park, A Star Is Born, and Up Close & Personal.