Cuba Libre

Rating:
Summary: Cowboy in Cuba
Review: The year is 1897. Steaming into Havana harbor past the wreckage of the battleship Maine, the cargo ship "Vamoose" carries cattle, a herd of horses under care of Arizona wrangler Ben Tyler, and hidden under the manure, guns for the Cuban insurgency. Fated by this reckless challenge to the brutal and capricious Spanish authorities in Cuba, Ben finds himself fighting for survival, as civil order gives way to war. It's a tropical Wild West story, masterfully told. Leonard is at the peak of his power as a writer. His characters are flawed, complex, and interesting, and the action fast-paced. As is often the case when a writer is in tune with his material, the reader learns much about the great events unfolding as historical context. Though I wasn't there then, this feels like Cuba and is a fitting celebration of the 100th anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain. In the audio version, Alexander Adams is superb, particularly with the gruff Spanish and Cuban accents.

Rating:
Summary: A bit different for Elmore Leonard
Review: This happens to be the first audio book that I have sampled. I usually prefer to read my books, but a recent change in my work life has forced me to do a lot more driving, so I thought that I'd try this format to help pass the time. It took a bit of getting used to to have the book read to me, but I rather enjoyed the experience. It certainly does help pass the time while driving. I would never choose to listen to audio-books at home because I derive such pleasure from reading, though. Anyway, to the story. This book is a quite a bit different from what we expect from Elmore Leonard. It takes us to Cuba just before the Spanish-American war (1897) and we see the country as it was then through some ex-patriot Americans' eyes. I'm not sure how true to actual are the historical facts, but the story was pretty good. There is a pretty good villain in the story, and the cowboy and his girl are kind of fun. The best thing about Elmore Leonard stories is the dialogue and this one does not disappoint in this area either. I look forward to more audio-books.

Rating:
Summary: Historical fiction
Review: Typical Elmore Leonard's crime genre, set against Spanish American war of 1898. Ben Tyler, a gun runner from Arizona is enticed by his friend Charlie Burke to bring horses to Cuba in a plot to smuggle guns to the Cubans who are fighting the Dons, Spaniards. The story then twists and turns with misstress,sugar mills, dungeons, duels, gun fights, bank robberiers, train explosions, with end never in doubt. Leonard created an unforgetable charector in Rolland Burdreaux, the American Industrialist, an opportunist and yet a realist...A good history lesson witout any clues to how the MAINE really blew up. It will always be a mystry.