Rating: 
Summary: Mi Moto Gidel
Review: An unusually insightful and personal book telling the personal adventure that went into the writing of Mr. Baker's Cuba Handbook. What stands out for me is the personal excitement and honisty. We see Mr. Baker with both his clothes on and off as it were in a fast paced adventure with insights into life in Cuba and life itself. I find it unusually insightful both into what really goes into Travel Writing, into life in Cuba, some amazing Cuban people, and into life itself - especially the life of Chris Baker.
Rating:
Summary: Baker's Cuban motocycle journy a real winner
Review: Baker's words utterly captivated my imagination. Each time I had to put the book down, it was like leaving a great party much too early. And, when I came to the last page it was as like a power outage in the midst of watching an enthralling movie. Bake deftly crafts scenes that are alive with the alluring sights, sounds and scents of Cuba. He manages to smoothly weave in to the mix, fascinating bits about Cuba's tumultuous history, some intriguing insights into Castro's childhood and early years as well as informative asides about Che and other pre and post revolutionary characters. His words flow like a heartfelt letter from a friend- or better yet, to read Me Moto Fidel is the next best thing to riding right alongside Baker as he explores one of the world's most enigmatic countries onboard his rugged Paris-Dakkar Beemer. Baker was also commendably frank and revealing about his socialist ideals and how his preconceptions and assumptions were sometimes confirmed, sometimes transmuted and repeatedly decimated as he explored Cuba's towns, cities and rural expanses. Mui Bueno, Cristobal!! Perfecto!
Rating:
Summary: Cuba - spot-on
Review: Chris Baker does an outstanding job of capturing the essence and gist of Cuba in Mi Moto Fidel. Almost everyone that has gone to Cuba cites "the people" as one of the major assets. Chris' writing brings his characters to life and depicts the Cubanos and Cubanas to a tee. Having been there twice, I feel like I have actually met some of the very people that he has described. He craftily portrays the struggles yet parallel joy of life that run so rampant throughout Cuba. Chris hones in on the key aspects of Cuban life - the economic and political strains, the music and dance, the hospitality and openess of the people, the sexuality and the omnipresent transition of an entire society.He is very masterful at interweaving historical data with his personal experiences. He brings the reader along on his many journeys - the geographic, personal, cultural and political. He allows us to see and understand how his own views transform over the course of the book. His dry sense of humor had me in hysterics on more than one occasion. I would have loved to witness some of the amusing moments that he articulates. His writing style is very gripping and easy to read. Mi Moto Fidel provides a wonderful escape to an intriguing foreign land. While it would be very simple to finish the book quickly, I found myself intentionally savoring each word, not wanting the stories to end.
Rating: 
Summary: Mid-life fantasy masquerades as travelogue...
Review: Christopher Baker, the author of "Mi Moto Fidel" won my heart in the first chapter by choosing a BMW motorcycle instead of a Harley. He then spent the rest of the book losing my sympathy. What could have been a fine dissection of a country in transition instead becomes a male mid-life sexual odyssey. In the introduction Baker tells us he will detail his amorous conquests because "it illustrates the sensual nature of Cuba". Unfortunately he finds it necessary to include every sideways glance, every swished hip & every complementary female remark he intercepts. It gets a little tiresome for a reader to hear constant reiteration of how good a lover Baker is, what beautiful eyes he has, how every female bedded feels her life will be empty without him, etc. etc. ad nauseum. He must be the most gullible man around! When he manages to get to the business at hand, ie writing of Cuba's scenery & people, things improve immensely. For most Norte Americanos, Cuba is Havana & maybe Trinidad. There is much more to this large island, & Baker rides thru most of it. The older people sound generous & dignified while the younger generation seems focused on extorting as many dollars as possible from every passing tourist. We are treated to excellent descriptions of beaches, mountains & agricultural areas. Baker also gives brief lessons in Castro & Cuba's history. Unfortunately, altho the author mentions almost every photo he stopped to take, none appear in the picture section. Those that do are so generic as to seem standard Cuba Board of Tourism releases. There's not even a good picture of the title motorcycle included! Most men will enjoy this book unreservedly; my partner is ready to book a flight to Cuba this minute! Women will probably end with finding the author unsympathetic & vain. Take this book under advisement!
Rating:
Summary: Mid-life fantasy masquerades as travelogue...
Review: Christopher Baker, the author of "Mi Moto Fidel" won my heart in the first chapter by choosing a BMW motorcycle instead of a Harley. He then spent the rest of the book losing my sympathy. What could have been a fine dissection of a country in transition instead becomes a male mid-life sexual odyssey. In the introduction Baker tells us he will detail his amorous conquests because "it illustrates the sensual nature of Cuba". Unfortunately he finds it necessary to include every sideways glance, every swished hip & every complementary female remark he intercepts. It gets a little tiresome for a reader to hear constant reiteration of how good a lover Baker is, what beautiful eyes he has, how every female bedded feels her life will be empty without him, etc. etc. ad nauseum. He must be the most gullible man around! When he manages to get to the business at hand, ie writing of Cuba's scenery & people, things improve immensely. For most Norte Americanos, Cuba is Havana & maybe Trinidad. There is much more to this large island, & Baker rides thru most of it. The older people sound generous & dignified while the younger generation seems focused on extorting as many dollars as possible from every passing tourist. We are treated to excellent descriptions of beaches, mountains & agricultural areas. Baker also gives brief lessons in Castro & Cuba's history. Unfortunately, altho the author mentions almost every photo he stopped to take, none appear in the picture section. Those that do are so generic as to seem standard Cuba Board of Tourism releases. There's not even a good picture of the title motorcycle included! Most men will enjoy this book unreservedly; my partner is ready to book a flight to Cuba this minute! Women will probably end with finding the author unsympathetic & vain. Take this book under advisement!
Rating:
Summary: Mi Moto Fidel
Review: I absolutely loved this book. Christopher Baker has a fantastic writing style which creates wonderful word pictures of his experiences in a strange land. His writing is very often more like a well-crafted thriller than a travelogue--makes you really feel as if you are on the bike with him and seeing the country for the first time. I have never been to Cuba, but his book makes me want to go there and experience the wonderful hospitality and humanity of the people. I strongly recommend this book to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Unfulfilled Promise
Review: I began reading the book before a trip to Cuba. I continued to read the book while in Cuba, and I finished the book after returning from Cuba. It's interesting, especially, if you've been to Cuba. All of his observations are very accurate. but I found the book very easy to put down. But it did make me want to get a motorcycle, especially a Ural, the Russian BMW copy that are all over Havana. Many complain about the many sexual exploits. But that's also a part of Cuba. I just wished he'd gone into more detail. I'd like to know more about why he feels Cubans are so good in bed. His sexual adventures read more like "had dinner." I'd like to know more about the meal. I would like to visit the ice cream place in Havana as I never saw any lines while I was there.
Rating:
Summary: Travel Book of the Year
Review: I bought this book after reading that it won both the Lowell Thomas Award "Travel Book of the Year" and the North American Travel Journalist Associations' Grand Prize for Excellence. Figured that must mean something! I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was so enthralled that I read it in one sitting, although I wish I'd bought the hardback copy, which has colour photographs. Baker is a fascinating writer with a tremendous ability to make you feel as if you're actually there, on the back on his motorcycle. There are two main themes to the story of his three-month journey, the primary purpose of which is to research a travel guidebook. The first is his exploration of Cuba's sexuality (one senses that the island's sensual ease actually puts the author - who is English - at ease with his own sexuality). Most prominent and interesting is his metaphorical political journey, which begins with his arriving in Cuba as a believer in the Revolution. The deeper he gets into Cuba and the deeper he develops his understanding, his early naive perspectives dissolve, to be replaced by a realization that Castro's communist revolution has been a highly destructive process, although Baker acknowledges the revolution's achievements and is fair-minded and has no obvious axe to grind (some of the comments by other reviewers about the author being too left-wing etc. seem churlish). The more he changes, the more Cubans open up to him and express their anger toward Castro and his government. The book really gets interesting when Baker has what he calls his "epiphany," and the secret police first appear. I won't give the ending away, but the final scene with the arrival of the secret police is the stuff of great movies. Politics. Sex. It's all here, as the Lowell Thomas judges wrote: "This is a wonderful adventure book... a meditation on philosophy, politics, and the possibilities of physical love. It has the depth of a novel and the feeling of a great love story". You end up being thoroughly entertained while being provided a fascinating understanding of a complex society and political culture by a true expert on Cuba. Unfortunately there's no map so it was difficult to follow Baker's journey without referring to an atlas. Two thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Poorly written in contrast to his purely factual guidebooks
Review: I bought this book expecting something along the lines of Patrick Symmes Chasing Che. Instead I got something else entirely. Fair enough. I believe there is a market for this kind of swashbuckling travel writing. But it wasn't for me. And to be frank, it was poorly written. Too many words to say far too little. A better narrative requires fewer adjectives and less alliteration. I have seen this guy's guidebooks and they are actually quite good and well written. But his ability to guide did not follow over to his literary endeavor. He shouldn't really be faulted entirely though. After all, an editor's job is to make sugggestions, hone the prose, and pare down. In short, to edit. I give the subject matter a 5, Baker a 3 for the effort, and National Geographic editors a 1 for nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: boasting, self-centered
Review: I must say I became disappointed, because the author is so full of his own ego, lacking any style. Seemingly he wants to get in touch with the life of cuban people, but is staying an outsider. My 2 stars come because of the vast amount of historical facts.
| 
