Answer: We can evaluate this integral using the residue theorem. First, we need to find the poles of the integrand within the contour |z-1| = 2.
We have:
z^3 - 8 = (z - 2)(z^2 + 2z + 4)
The roots of the quadratic factor are:
z = (-2 ± sqrt(-4*4))/2 = -1 ± i sqrt(3)
None of these roots are inside the contour, so the only pole is z = 2.
The residue of 1/(z^3 - 8) at z = 2 is:
Res(1/(z^3 - 8), z=2) = 1/(3*2^2) = 1/12
By the residue theorem, the integral is:
∫(|z-1|=2) 1/(z^3 - 8) dz = 2πi Res(1/(z^3 - 8), z=2) = 2πi/12 = πi/6
Therefore, the value of the complex integral is πi/6.