27.8.13

The Seven Best Books About Fidel Castro

{Updated: Dec. 13-2016}
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Note: This biography of Fidel Castro was written by Jules Dubois and published in Mexico City by Grijalbo Publishing in 1959, shortly after the Cuban Revolution had overthrown the Batista dictatorship. It included feisty but flighty comments and predictions by Fidel during that heady period. Notice that he signed the book beneath a very coy sentence that translates to: "I think this revolution will last a long time."
#6:
Note: T. J. English wrote "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution" as a novel but it is meticulously researched and, far more than most "non-fiction" books about Cuba, it captures the leading role the American Mafia played in the brutal fleecing of the island by the U. S. - backed Batista dictatorship, creating the Fidel Castro-led Cuban Revolution that so remarkably did something about it. Also, unlike many other authors, T. J. English understands and is brave enough to acknowledge that the ousted Batistiano/Mafioso regime in Cuba quickly, and it seems permanently, reconstituted itself on U. S. soil. T. J. English understands that the Batista regime fled Havana, landed in Miami, and then advanced all the way to Washington, riding the coattails of the self-serving Bush dynasty.
         T. J. English {above} -- is a 55-year-old Irish-American author and journalist famed primarily for his non-fiction books about organized crime in America, a plague otherwise known as the Mafia or the Mob. It is very clear in his "Havana Nocturne" classic that he profoundly dislikes Fidel Castro, which is his prerogative, of course. But he also indicates that he, even more, dislikes "Batista," "U. S. businessmen," and "CIA boobs" whom he very correctly blames for creating the legend the world knows as "Fidel Castro." So, T. J. English in "Havana Nocturne" tells you all about how: "Meyer Lansky and his Mafia minions created a paradise in Cuba and then watched el bardudo -- the bearded one -- trample over it."
#7:
          "FIDEL CASTRO: My Life" rounds out the Top Seven in the pantheon of the best books about Fidel Castro. Based word-for-word on audio recordings conducted by Ignacio Ramonet and published in 2009, Fidel in his own words describes the life and times of...Fidel Castro. He is unapologetic and candid, and less biased than most of the billions of words that have been written about him. Yes, it is a one-sided version of a two-sided Fidel but its truthfulness can easily be substantiated or debunked. And his words are indeed historic and they reflect the nature of a man who has never been afraid to fight for what he believes in or to speak the truth as he both sees it and has lived it. Thus, it is a very important book.
Now a brief review of the Top 7: 
Ann Louise Bardach is the author of the two best books {see top) about Fidel Castro.
       Ann Louise Bardach's interviews with Fidel Castro, Luis Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch, etc., illuminate the multi-dimensional Fidel Castro better than all other sources. She captured the essence of Fidel Castro and pinpointed the enemies that created and sustained him. Anyone who is unfamiliar with Bardach's books, essays, and speeches related to the Fidel Castro-Cuba-U. S. triangle does not know Fidel Castro nor do they understand the U.S.-Cuba phenomenon. To not know Bardach is to not know Cuba.
       Julia Sweig's "CUBA: What Everyone Needs to Know" is the third most important book about Fidel Castro, especially the recently published second edition. Sweig comprehends nuances of Fidel Castro's life relating to how the legendary rebel has so massively impacted the United States, the world's all-time richest and strongest nation. For example, the Castro-led overthrow of the U.S.-backed Batista-Mafia regime in January of 1959 was not only an event that shocked the world but, more significantly, it resulted in the ousted dictatorship reconstituting itself on U. S. soil -- namely nearby Miami. While it is certainly politically incorrect to admit it, the U. S. now essentially consists of three powerful, autonomous governments -- the U. S., Israel, and Cuba. Sweig -- in "What Everyone Needs to Know" -- explains how that evolved. It revolves around the Bush dynasty -- starting with George H. W. Bush's CIA directorship, Vice Presidency, and Presidency -- that anointed Jorge Mas Canosa as the head of the Cuban-government-in-exile. And then, as Sweig explains, Bush operatives suggested that Canosa copy AIPAC -- the unchallenged "American Israel Public Affairs Committee" -- and form a similar government within the bowels of the U. S. government. Canosa did that with his Bush-anointed creation of the "Cuban American National Foundation" -- CANF. Thus, there is essentially a three-headed government in Washington, D. C.
These topics and pages in Sweig's book confirm that fact:
"Jorge Mas Canosa" -----------------------------Page 100
"Cuban American National Foundation"----Page 101
Radio Marti" ---------------------------------------Page 102
"Cubana Flight 455" --------------------Pages 60 and 84
"Robert Torricelli" --------------------------Pages 162-164
"Helms-Burton" ----------------------------Pages 171-174
"Cuban Adjustment Act" -------------Pages 89 and 167
"Cuban Democracy Act" -----------------Pages 162-165
"Brothers to Rescue Shootdown" -------------Page 169
       George Anne Geyer's "Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro" still rates as one the Top Four books about Fidel Castro. Like Bardach and Sweig, Ms. Geyer is clearly not a fan of Fidel Castro but, also like Bardach and Sweig, she is fair to him and to history with her diligent research and unbiased observations. For example, Ms. Geyer clearly explains that Celia Sanchez "over-ruled" Fidel whenever and wherever she chose to do so. Most authors and journalists do not have either the wisdom or the courage to make such points regarding an individual and/or an event such as the controversial Fidel Castro. 
Fidel Castro is very important because he says more about the United States than about Cuba.
If you read and study these 7 books, you'll know Fidel Castro. 
If you don't, you won't!
And, indeed, it's time you got to know the man because...
...since his death at age 90 on Nov. 25-2016, his legacy watch began ticking!
So his legacy is still young.
With a wink, Fidel reportedly told this fawning fan, "If you liked my life, you'll love my legacy!"
In other words......
...the final chapters in the Fidel saga and his ongoing Revolution have yet to be written!
       I'll stick by my selections of the Seven Best Books About Fidel Castro for the reasons stated earlier. Other excellent books about Fidel included: "Fidel Castro" by Robert E. Quick; "Fidel: A Critical Portrait" by Tad Szulc; "Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was A Tropical Playground" by Peter Moruzzi. Those three are excellent portraits of Fidel Castro and how his rebellious life evolved, but didn't make my Top Seven because I stressed the tomes that emphasized his and Cuba's relationship with the United States. I believe that Fidel Castro and his Cuban Revolution say more about the United States, the world superpower, than they say about Cuba, the Caribbean island.
Aug. 13, 1926 -- Nov. 25, 2016
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