Guerrilla Prince

Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: A very interesting read. However, the author fails to explore the truth about Castro in enough depth - mainly, why he continues to murder and oppress his own people in what's supposed to be "socialist paradise" (in quotations since 'socialist paradise' is most definitely an oxymoron).

Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: A very interesting read. However, the author fails to explore the truth about Castro in enough depth - mainly, why he continues to murder and oppress his own people in what's supposed to be "socialist paradise" (in quotations since 'socialist paradise' is most definitely an oxymoron).

Rating:
Summary: And old man river, he just keeps rollin', along...
Review: After seven years of exhaustive research Georgie Anne Geyer produced this 457 page book about Fidel Castro, one of the few remaining dinosaurs of the Marxist-Stalinist Cold War, Who still invokes communism as a governing policy. As readers of Casto's history are aware, he is at heart a murderous thug, the personification of that virulent alpha-chimp personage that can be found in every human society throughout history. His need to dominate and control his people supercedes any manifestation to the contrary putting him in the same category as a Hitler, Lenin or Stalin. Even a far-Left crank such as Noam Chomsky has averred that Cuba under Castro is a "Stalinist hellhole".

Geyer follows Castro through his entire life weaveing a surprisingly fair and balanced tale of a man who, while worshipped by Leftists, is abhorred by freedom loving conservatives whose lifestyle choices center around the touchstone of individual liberty. It's a remarkable tale of a driven, machiavellian man who, borne of not inconsiderable bravery, assiduously fights for, gains, and builds a power base 90 miles off the coast of the U.S.A. The fact that he murders and jails his own accomplices, drives his remaining countrymen into menial poverty, and becomes a player on the world stage, is all documented in this terrific book (readers of Armando Valladare's book "Against All Hope", can seamlessly interweave both narratives to form a fuller picture of Castro).

The sadness of this tale is that so few in America fully understand the cruelty of Castro and the murderous bent he shares with other, aforementioned, dictators of his ilk. The Elian Gonzalez saga was unfortunately made into a sideshow under the Clinton administration to the detriment of the truth. A more responsible press could have contrasted both sides of that issue.

That so many in America are still blinkered by Socialism's promise, of delivering unmitigated prosperity to the masses, is partial testament to why Castro has remained in control of his island prison for over 40 years. That free elections in Cuba don't exist, that hundreds of thousands have risked and frequently lost their lives making the 90 mile passage across the Caribbean sea, seems not to deter the Leftist faithful from worshipping at their self-constructed altar of Fidel. It's just too familiar a totem for them to jettison.

Geyer speaks Spanish, which helped when she interviewed Castro four different times. She also interviewed hundreds of other sources as part of her intensive research. It's made clear in this book that Castro's supporters fit the mindset in the song lyric penned by Paul Simon in "the Boxer" i.e. that a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. While Castro is a fascinating man by virtue of his political capabilities, many have been the plots to bring him down; and, to give him his due, he has survived them all well into his seventies.

This is an excellent look behind the veil of a charismatic leader who has done his best to preserve his image as a caring revolutionary bringing free education and healthcare to the those that Juan Peron called the "shirtless ones". For this his acolytes eulogize him. But, for those like Valladares, he will remain forever a heartless demon. Like many other books that have been under-promoted to the public, this one deserves to be recommended reading for all secondary and college students throughout the world.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Overview, but...
Review: Amazon steered me to this book when I was looking for more on Cuban politics after reading "Against All Hope" by Armando Valladares (a maginificent, poetic book about the horrors of life in the Cuban gulag).

Geyer presents a sweeping biography of Castro, from childhood all the way up to September 11. She offers real insight on Castro's psychology and crisply recounts events leading up the revolution. It is primarily a political history.

To me the most fascinating aspect of Castro's story is how easily he comes to power after starting out with such pathetically meager resources. His "liberation" of Cuba begins with a tragi-comic marine landing by a handful of hungry and confused rebels. Incredibly, by virtue of his irresistible personality, brilliant, bold, and ruthless tactics, and a hopelessly incompetent Batista regime, Castro takes control of Cuba. The story is remarkably similar to that of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas.

Two problems with the book. First, I think Geyer's narrative becomes quite sketchy after Castro reaches power. There's a lot going on, and she needs more detail to tie together all the political, psychological, and social threads of her story. Second, the writing is uneven: her descriptions of characters and events are passionate and dramatic, but her analysis is sometimes vague and hard to follow.

All in all, Geyer paints a pretty good picture of the Castro phenomenon. If you have never delved into this subject, you might be astonished at what's been going on 90 miles from the United States. Clearly, Geyer knows her material, since she personally knows many, many of the key political figures in Cuba and the United States. I think she is a very reliable source of information on a subject where reliable reporting is hard to find.

Rating:
Summary: good history, but biased and very speculative...
Review: an interesting read, but about halfway through the book it is clear that the author is alligned with the miami cuban community, which has proven itself to be even more oppressive of free speech than fidel's cuba.....there do not appear to be any direct interviews between the author and castro, and she appears to assume a great deal of knowledge about places she only visits briefly (for a week, for ex.)...

a great deal of histrionic conjecture....too bad, because it detracts from the many truths the author does reveal about this
brutal and heartless dictator...

Rating:
Summary: the truth THE BEST BOOK ON CASTRO
Review: Here is the true story of Castro, written largely from a foreign policy standpoint. This is not a story of the everyday man in Cuba(although we do learn that he suffered much economically). This is not an economic history of Castro's Cuba(Although we learn how much the economy declined and sugar production as well). This is the story of Castro's foreign flings and the cult of personality around him. We learn of Castro's invasions of a dozen countries in Africa, from Angola to the Congo. We learn equally of Castro's associations with his Latin American compatriots and his attempts to invade and infiltrate most of his neighbors. Those that love Castro and believe he created a socialist paradise in Cuba will not be happy with this book. Equally those wanting to learn the gruesome details of the many suppressed by Castro will also not be happy. This is a fair portrait of this larger then life Guerilla and the wrath he has brought upon the world. This is not a negative book that condemns Castro, in fact I find myself admiring him more after reading it. What one does have to ask themselves if they are an admirer of Castro is if he is truly loved by his people why are their no free elections? Why are other political parties outlawed in Cuba? Why are only government sponsored newspapers allowed? If Castro's socialism was such a paradise then why not let his own people write what they think of it, and say what they think, why murder your political rivals? Or banish them? It is so obvious that communism and all it brings is slavery to its own people, Cuba is a great example and this book tells all about Castro. The author could have done away with the investigation of the Kennedy murder because she reveals nothing new but pollutes many pages with theories.

Rating:
Summary: annoying!
Review: If you want a book to read about Fidel Castro, to tell you the truth about the revolution and himself then steer well clear of this book. This book is nothing more than an aggressive, and completely unfounded attack on Fidel Castro. You can learn nothing from this book other than Fidel liked his ladies...WOW! The author, despite her claim to the contary in the forward, hates Fidel Castro. She shoots herself in the foot by pages eight when she, while listing Castro's "faults" (all of which can be justified when you take into account outside influences), gives a bitter rendition of "America's humiliating defeat at the Bay of Pigs." Like he was just going to sit around and LET America steal his people's country. The Bay of Pigs was a glorious victory, America should never have stuck their noses in in the first place. Viva Fidel Castro! Soy Fidelista contentisima!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: This book is a very well written analysis of Castro's regime as well as his personal methods of operation. It does an excellent job of helping to understand what makes him tick. However, it is extremely slanted toward the anti-Castro Miami Cuban community, and virtually ignores the black Cubans. Highly recommended, but take the bias into account, because it is easy not to.

Rating:
Summary: An illiterate hit piece!
Review: This book is an embarassment to thinking people everywhere. The author makes goofy and wild charges (perhaps the worst was when she inquired whether Castro was the biological father of Cuban raft survivor Elian Gonzales!), gives no sources for them, and calls it biography.

Gee whiz.

She apparently viewed pre-Castro Cuba as some kind of paradise (80% illiteracy, a horrific gap between rich and poor, with the Mob's handpicked president Batista running the country from his offices adjoining the casinos) and modern day Cuba with more doctors per capita than the US, lower infant mortality than the US, same life expectancy as the US ALL accomplished without cash due to an embargo more extreme than the one against Iraq as some kind of terrible place.

Actually, rage is so much less on the island. They don't have soccer rage, air rage, checkout line rage, road rage there. The family structures are wonderful and intact, it's a violence free society for the most part (grandmothers are in the park late at night because the cocaine has vanished with the canine patrols) whose culture isn't dominated by Starbucks and McDonald's.

I know countless professors from the University system there who have had ample opportunity to defect but have chosen not to. But you'd never know this from reading this bizarre book.

The CIA has had 50 years to show the world what we can do in the Caribbean. In Haiti, our handpicked governments ranging from Papa Doc Duvalier in the 50s and Baby Doc Duvalier to Aristide have turned that country into a desperate nightmare.

I suggest that Ms. Geyer visit Haiti to learn first-hand what is possible with US government intervention in the Caribbean.

Matthew Dubuque