Rating: 
Summary: The Duke of Havana
Review: As one would expect of a book written by newspaper journalists, this books holds the readers attention from cover to cover. Although this is the well-known, true story of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, Cuban exile turned world champion New York Yankee, the reader is led to believe each page will have some new detail that they have never heard before. Through their extended research and one hundred plus interviews, Fainaru and Sanchez seem to have done their homework thoroughly because these new details are ever present. There are even points in which the reader wonders if the authors actually lived the life of the Cuban baseball player, instead of just researching it in October of 1996 when the ordeal was nearly over. Fainaru enhances this story using the experiences of other ball players and agents that were involved in similar defections. Also, Fainaru adds the strange facts about the relations between the U.S. and Cuba that make the story more interesting. Overall it was one of the more interesting and entertaining non-fiction books I have read, though I will admit that having knowledge and interest in baseball helped.
Rating:
Summary: The Duke of Havana
Review: As one would expect of a book written by newspaper journalists, this books holds the readers attention from cover to cover. Although this is the well-known, true story of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, Cuban exile turned world champion New York Yankee, the reader is led to believe each page will have some new detail that they have never heard before. Through their extended research and one hundred plus interviews, Fainaru and Sanchez seem to have done their homework thoroughly because these new details are ever present. There are even points in which the reader wonders if the authors actually lived the life of the Cuban baseball player, instead of just researching it in October of 1996 when the ordeal was nearly over. Fainaru enhances this story using the experiences of other ball players and agents that were involved in similar defections. Also, Fainaru adds the strange facts about the relations between the U.S. and Cuba that make the story more interesting. Overall it was one of the more interesting and entertaining non-fiction books I have read, though I will admit that having knowledge and interest in baseball helped.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Baseball Book Not Written by Halberstam
Review: Even casual baseball fans know the story of Orlando "El Duque" Hernández's escape from Cuba and his eventual rise to success with the world champion New York Yankees. In their excellent book, Fainaru and Sánchez focus on El Duque's amazing story, but they also shed light on the back-door deals and behind-the-scenes espionage necessary to bring such defections about. They provide the reader with enough historical and political background to understand the economic pressures confronting Cuban baseball players, many of whom could be earning millions of dollars in the United States. Many of the stories are heart-wrenching, as families are divided and dreams are put on hold. Most interesting, though, are those players who remain loyal to Castro and the oppressive Cuban system. El Duque's story, however, stands above all others. His journey from abject poverty to the World Series within a span of only ten months wouldn't play in Hollywood, but it does in the Bronx.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Baseball Book Not Written by Halberstam
Review: Even casual baseball fans know the story of Orlando "El Duque" Hernández's escape from Cuba and his eventual rise to success with the world champion New York Yankees. In their excellent book, Fainaru and Sánchez focus on El Duque's amazing story, but they also shed light on the back-door deals and behind-the-scenes espionage necessary to bring such defections about. They provide the reader with enough historical and political background to understand the economic pressures confronting Cuban baseball players, many of whom could be earning millions of dollars in the United States. Many of the stories are heart-wrenching, as families are divided and dreams are put on hold. Most interesting, though, are those players who remain loyal to Castro and the oppressive Cuban system. El Duque's story, however, stands above all others. His journey from abject poverty to the World Series within a span of only ten months wouldn't play in Hollywood, but it does in the Bronx.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Inequality
Review: Fidel Castro controls everything in Cuba. He governs not only the political aspects of the country, but also dictates every detail of life for the people under his leadership. Steve Fainaru and Ray Sanchez describe Castro's influence on baseball in their book, The Duke of Havana: Cuba, Baseball and the Search for the American Dream. Baseball serves as the ultimate venue for Castro to execute his power over Cuba because the sport incorporates the politics, economics, religion and entertainment for the country. For the participating professional athletes, baseball is not only a game, but also a way of life for them and their families. The sport separates the athletes from the rest of society by paying them higher salaries and providing them with nicer homes along with other advantages.Fainaru uses the story of El Duque's defection to evoke sympathy for Cuban baseball players willing to take any risks to live out their dreams in the American Major League Baseball. However, the special treatment given to the athletes in the Bahamas further illustrates how sport sets its competitors away from the rest of society. Allowing the Cuban baseball players to leave while the other passengers remain in the Bahamian detention center emphasizes an overlooked injustice that exists in countries with professional athletic teams. The Duke of Havana: Cuba, Baseball and the Search for the American Dream leads readers to believe baseball operates as the great equalizer. It plays upon the image of a poor, black Cuban rising above all odds to come to the United States and win the World Series. The underlying themes in the book, however, are far more thought provoking. The separation between professional athletes and the rest of society speaks volumes about the values of the different countries. In this area, the United States and Cuba are far more alike than either country would like to admit. Many hurdles subside along the road to becoming a professional athlete and individuals who achieve this goal should be rewarded even though the exponential rate at which players receive validation for their hard work undermines the contributions of others. Unfortunately, nothing will change until people open their eyes to inequality they perpetuate with their own pocketbooks.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Inequality
Review: Fidel Castro controls everything in Cuba. He governs not only the political aspects of the country, but also dictates every detail of life for the people under his leadership. Steve Fainaru and Ray Sanchez describe Castro's influence on baseball in their book, The Duke of Havana: Cuba, Baseball and the Search for the American Dream. Baseball serves as the ultimate venue for Castro to execute his power over Cuba because the sport incorporates the politics, economics, religion and entertainment for the country. For the participating professional athletes, baseball is not only a game, but also a way of life for them and their families. The sport separates the athletes from the rest of society by paying them higher salaries and providing them with nicer homes along with other advantages. Fainaru uses the story of El Duque's defection to evoke sympathy for Cuban baseball players willing to take any risks to live out their dreams in the American Major League Baseball. However, the special treatment given to the athletes in the Bahamas further illustrates how sport sets its competitors away from the rest of society. Allowing the Cuban baseball players to leave while the other passengers remain in the Bahamian detention center emphasizes an overlooked injustice that exists in countries with professional athletic teams. The Duke of Havana: Cuba, Baseball and the Search for the American Dream leads readers to believe baseball operates as the great equalizer. It plays upon the image of a poor, black Cuban rising above all odds to come to the United States and win the World Series. The underlying themes in the book, however, are far more thought provoking. The separation between professional athletes and the rest of society speaks volumes about the values of the different countries. In this area, the United States and Cuba are far more alike than either country would like to admit. Many hurdles subside along the road to becoming a professional athlete and individuals who achieve this goal should be rewarded even though the exponential rate at which players receive validation for their hard work undermines the contributions of others. Unfortunately, nothing will change until people open their eyes to inequality they perpetuate with their own pocketbooks.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: I noticed that this month's Talk Magazine called The Duke of Havana "the best sports book of the year," which I thought was a pretty compelling endorsement. With that in mind, I picked up a copy. Am I glad that they pointed out this terrific book! Whether it's the best book of this year or any year, I can tell you that The Duke of Havana is a great read, full of incredible detail about the crazy and often blatantly illegal shenanigans major league baseball teams, scouts and agents pull to get the best players out of Cuba and into major league uniforms. The book is structured around the story of El Duque, the star pitcher for the NY Yankees, but it's so much more than a bio of a well-known baseball player. In truth, the book often reads like a thriller -- and it gives American readers an amazing look into a hidden side of American-Cuban relations. If you're a sports fan or an international relations junkie, if you're fascinated by Cuba or the fall of Communism, or if you just want to read a gripping, suspenseful and totally convincing book with larger-than-life characters who all happen to be real as can be, pick up a copy of this book. You won't regret it!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor editing handicaps potential classic
Review: In "The Duke of Havana," Farinu and Sanchez give the public a well-researched investigation into U.S. - Cuba relations through the prism of baseball and one right-handed pitcher's journey from Havana to the New York Yankees. Tracking Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez' career in Cuba as a famous star, his banishment from baseball by the Communist bureaucracy, and his subsequent escape to the luxuries of the U.S., major-league baseball, and World Series, "The Duke of Havana" spins an intriguing tale of corruption, love of baseball, drama on the high seas, betrayal, love of country, and all sorts of other neat stuff. The book is A-plus in its subject matter, and C-minus in its presentation. The authors know their subject well, as newspaper and magazine reporters attached to the Latin American bureaus of their organizations. They both built personal relationships with the subject of their book, and they know the issues intimately. They describe the Cuban baseball culture, Hernandez' escape to the U.S., the politics of both Communist Cuba and U.S. Professional Sports, Fidel Castro, and the expatriate Cuban population in Miami with confidence and detail. All of these subjects are compelling. However, "The Duke of Havana" is choppy and disorganized. It reads like a series of human-interest Sunday supplements piled on top of one another. It pulls punches, failing to effectively criticize Castro, Major-League Baseball, and the Miami Cuban expatriates. The book feels like it's missing crucial personal information about the Hernandez brothers, as if the authors self-censored the book to preserve their friendship with the ballplayers -- but by remaining impersonal, the authors rob their book of its human element. I blame the publisher for the book's shortcomings. Did anyone edit this? Knowing modern-day publishing house practice, I doubt it. Too bad. With a good editor, "The Duke of Havana" could have been one of the best sports books ever.
Rating:
Summary: Baseball Book of the Year!!!!
Review: Loved this book and couldn't put it down! Steve Fainaru and Ray Sanchez take you inside Castro's Cuba and clearly document the dilemmas faced by its' athletes. This book is a suspenseful, gripping narrative which delves into the political intrigue surrounding El Duque's life in Cuba and escape from the island. It is enough to make a die-hard Red Sox fan appreciate El Duque and his fellow defectors. Thank you Steve Fainaru. You 'da man!
Rating:
Summary: Duke is worthy
Review: Ray Sanchez and Steve Fainaru give a good presentation of the occurrences surrounding the defection of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez from Cuba in their book The Duke of Havana: baseball, Cuba, and the Search for the American Dream. They explain his reasoning for defecting and denounce stories that arose out of the sudden defection in the late 1990's.
Delving deeper past the main story, the authors present the Cuban Athletic Ministry and its product athletes in hopes of better explaining the seeming mass defection of many members of the Cuban National team throughout the mid and late nineties. By using interviews with defectors, the U.S. sports agents helping them, and baseball and government officials on both sides of the Florida Straits, the stories are presented with validity in a somewhat fair way politically and socially.
The book can be read as a good story of a man's determination to fulfill his childhood dreams and oppression or as an example of the political and social aspects of the circumstances. It ties these facets of the account to the basic central story without being exceedingly academic in the presentation.
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