Simon Reid-Henry

Most of what I know about Cuba comes from the week or two we spent studying Cuba in World History back in high school and the paragraph or two that accompanies any NY Times or Newsweek article giving context to whatever latest outrage between the US and Cuba happens to be. As this is a biography, and not a history, this book focuses more on Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's personal relationship and how that relationship shaped their political fortunes, but there is plenty of back-story and provides a good history of the Cuban revolution. The overall tone is very even handed, with Castro and Che being neither demonized as horrible monsters nor put on a pedestal as revolutionary heroes and saviors. Having finished it, I feel that I have a much better handle on the history and motivations of the Cuban communist revolution.… (more)