Shadow Warrior/the CIA Hero of a Hundred Unknown Battles

Rating:
Summary: He REALLY hated Castro
Review: Rodriguez reminds us that being anti-Castro does not make him pro-Batista. He's pro-Cuba.

The son of a well-to-do doctor who escaped to Miami, Felix has spent his entire life fighting against Castro and his communists. One of the last men to see Che Guevara alive, he said he greatly regretted the man's execution and protested against it. He even relays the ironic anecdote of how a physician (Che) wound up as economics minister for Castro, and their brief but informative discussion on why the Communist rebellions in Africa failed.

He also has no love for the CIA, detailing the number of times in the Americas and South East Asia that the Agency screwed up his missions from bureaucracy or sheer stupidity, and the pathetic budget they were allowed to use. He considered them to be useful idiots in his own crusade.

Idealistic to a fault (Several faults) and yet quite shrewd, it was Rodriguez who warned LTC Oliver North that the arms coming in were being grossly overcharged for and that someone was pocketing the money. That he was ignored by North and others shows again the frustrating universe he had to operate in. And yet he persisted.

The writing drags a little here and there--this was one of Weisman's first projects, I believe. But it's not bad overall and there's plenty of content. A great counterview to the numerous bios of Che and others, and a rare examination of the very underplayed US response. The CIA didn't smash the Communist Revolution. The Revolution failed due to it's own (greater) incompetence and dishonesty. A comparison of the players on each side makes that obvious, and Felix was one of those players.

A fine addition to my library.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book of a true hero
Review: This is a fantastic book first of all. It tells the story of Felix Rodriguez who despite being Cuban born fought for this country's ideals and in fact became an American citizen. I won't go into the whole book, I'll leave that to anyone who reads it, although it is a great book, and you will see that Rodriguez does not deserve the things that he has been unjustly accredited with. A must read for those interested in CIA or Special Ops hiistory!