Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana

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Summary: Left-Winger's Take on Elian
Review: The book is useful as a review of the Elian Gonzalez case, and gives a decent overview of the past and present players in the Miami/Cuba rivalry that has been burning for the past 45 years or so. In the first part of this book, Bardach is straightforward, presents facts, and allows the reader to take what he or she will from the material. Castro's rise to power is treated succinctly and factually, with little editorial comment.
Unfortunately, the author's standard left-wing biases cloud her better judgement, and the second half of the book descends into an extended bash of the Miami Cuban community and the Bush family. Some of the Bush material is pure conspiracy theory and is quite amusing. Also, the election controversy of 2000 is rehashed by Bardach, this time with exile Cubans as the evil ones that stole the election from Al Gore.
Some interesting and informative material about Cuba here, but also a lot of left-wing nonsense to sort out.

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Summary: It's NOT surprising....
Review: ...to read the polarity of reviews with which Ann Louise Bardach's book has been received ... but actually reading them makes one think that there is some sort of "agenda" behind the dismissive or more vitriolic ones. CUBA CONFIDENTIAL is simply brilliant. It reads like a great detective story and I finished it (devoured it, actually) over 2 days. Anyone interested in Cuba, history, politics and future generations or descendents of the Cuban people should DEFINTELY not miss the opportunity to "catch up" on an amazing story.

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Summary: If you want to understand the Miami community...
Review: A very detailed and carefully written book. And, from my experiences in Miami, accurate. The Elian incident was a watershed period in Miami. Any honest person with any type of interaction with the Miami Cuba community knew how committed most Cubans were to keeping Elian in the United States. The feelings were so extreme that conversations about the boy was difficult; and, with some, it is still difficult. But things are a little different now. Somehow the Elian incident seems to have mitigated some of the more extreme voices in the community, and for that, things are better. This book is an excellent primer for understanding the South Florida community.

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Summary: Baised and unfounded allegations
Review: Although the book summary states that the auther will provide an "unbaised" view of the Cuban Exile community, as I was reading the book, I never quite reached the unbaised view it promised. I was shocked at the unfounded allegations the author used to portray the Exile community. She went as far as suggesting that Mas Canosa was involved in the drug business and that the Cuban community in Miami are terrorists which bomb organizations which they do not agree with. Yet, when I tried to check her references, she only provided a list of sources pertaining to each chapter as opposed to referencing the exact sentence or statement in particular, as realiable journalists/writer practice. Her referencing technique made it virtually impossible to check her "sources".
I found this book to be a careless, irresponsible and extremely inaccurate view of the Cuban exiles. The Author does a GREAT disservice to her readers by perpetuating her lies and Fidel's propaganda.
So, if you are interested in reading a fictional book, this might indeed be a great read. But that's all it is, a fictional portray of the exile community as Castro would like the world to believe.

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Summary: Chisme Not-So-Confidential
Review: Ann Louise Bardach's book Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana, is rife with chisme about the notorious leaders of the exile community-- so much chisme, in fact, that it looks like it could have appeared in as serious a publication as Vanity Fair. This exhibit of sensationalist journalism does not bring the serious reader anywhere close to an understanding of the shattered Cuban family. In the book, Bardach follows in the footsteps of most American media and paints the Cuban community in exile with a one-size-fits-all broad (and dirty) brush. Furthermore, she omits the numerous ways in which the Cuban government has cruelly divided families and taken family members hostage for its own political gain, and for this huge omission alone I denounce this book. One can read this book from cover to cover without ever knowing the stories of the countless "reverse-Elian's"-- divided families and children separated from their parents because of the Cuban government's insistence on denying permission to leave the country to anyone they perceive as opposed to the regime. For all her travels to Cuba, she brings her American readership no closer to understanding the reality of living in a totalitarian society dominated by fear and what Cubans call doble moral. Finally, her tired and distorted depiction of pre-1959 Cuba as nothing more than an American sin paradise is a further affront to those honest and hard-working Cubans who had made Cuba among the most prosperous countries in Latin America in 1958, and then lost their way of life the following year. Castro appears to have claimed yet another public-relations victory by winning the heart of the author of this book.

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Summary: Fantastic Accurate Book on Miami-Cuba Connection
Review: As a former life long resident of Miami and familiar with the legal community as well as knowing many of the people mentioned in this book this is the best record of history of Miami since the Cuban revolution that changed not only Cuba but Miami forever. Being a gringo living in a "foreign" country finally someone has the courage as does Bardach to tell the true story of life in Miami and the ongoing corruption. The Miami Herald has given in to the Miami-Cuban Mafia which is evident so I don't suscribe. Amazing that Raul Cantero, once representing Mas Canosa in the suit against the New Republic is now a justice of the Floria. Supreme Court duly appointed by Jeb Bush.
Also not suprising that Mas Canosa initially had the paternity action against him dismissed by the trial court judge and never took a paterntiy test. Try that if you are John Doe and you would be tossed in jail. You can buy your justice in Miami which is no suprise. A great book, accurate in every respect that is a must read. I will buy this a x-mas gifts for my friends so they can know the truth about Miami politics. It is evident the negative reviews on this book are typically the exile extremists in denial and want to bury the truth. Thank you Ann Louise Bardach for your excellent work that deserves the Pulitzer Prize!!!!

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Summary: INTRIGUING
Review: Bardach does an excellent job of showing the reader the roots of the 43-year old standoff between Miami and Havanna. This book is compelling and interesting, especially in the first few chapters. It shows a view of Miami without the bias... portrays the truth of Castro's Cuba and Miami exiles. I highly recommend everyone to read this book.

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Summary: Honesty May Not be Popular
Review: Bardach's honesty about American foreign policy regarding Cuba and the power that the corrupt Miami Mafia have on Florida, and after the last presidential election, national, politics has not won her many friends in the Miami Cuban population. Elian was used and manipulated by Marisleysis and her father, two people who shouldn't be entrusted with the life of a roach, much less a little boy. But the Miami Mafia was willing to sacrifice him to these two pathological personalities in order to score one against Castro. Then there is Orlando Bosch, a convicted terrorist who was paroled into the United States by Bush the First against the orders of his acting assistant attorney general. In the Banana Republic regimes of Little Havana and the White House, it doesn't matter how many innocent civilians you kill nor how many children's lives you throw away as long as you do it in the name of fighting communism.

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Summary: The Cuban story in a nutshell
Review: Cuba Confidential is an accurate and well told story of the Cuban and Cuban-American drama. Bardach fully understands the passions and misunderstandings that unite and divide Cubans. Besides being a highly literate and entertaining read, this is the first book to turn to if you are interested in knowing what has separated two neighbor countries for half a century.

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Summary: The ugly truth about both sides
Review: Cuba Confidential is an extremely biased book. Anyone with knowledge on the Cuban people will clearly see the bias against the exiled Cubans. This book portrays the Cuban american community as a bunch of extremist crooks who will do anything to get their agenda across. Of course in the Cuban community their are some extremists, but not to the point that the author makes it. This book seems to sympathize much more with Castro and his regime than with the Cubans here in the U.S. trying to live a free life. The book has very few unbiased facts. If you are looking for a completely objective book, this is not the one.