Those that admire and stand in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution will not find any measure of satisfaction here. When I read the promotional blurb, I noticed that this account was written by a Rolling Stone Magazine journalist, and that it was written soon after President Obama opened relations between the US and Cuba. I thank Net Galley for permitting me to read a review copy free of charge, but that cannot diminish my disappointment and irritation (thus one star) at the patronizing, reactionary vantage from which Symmes writes.

Has no one noticed that even the United Nations has recognized that Cuba is the only nation in Latin America and the Caribbean to eradicate malnutrition? And has nobody noticed that when Fidel died, the revolution didn’t die with him?

Most nations do not offer visiting heads of state a forum and opportunity to locate and meet with the disgruntled fringe citizens that might be open to overthrowing the government of the host nation. Symmes’ punch line here seemed to be that by Obama cutting his trip short, he was somehow making the Cuban Revolution ‘irrelevant’.

Do the other nations of Latin America and the Caribbean see it thus? Has Africa adopted this stance? I didn’t think so. It is only possible to see the Cuba in that light if one filters world news through the view of international business conglomerates and the U.S. government. Happily, there are independent thinkers here that can appreciate the contributions made by Cuba in ending hunger and oppression in that country and making medical advances from which the whole world benefits.

This book is a waste of ink, and a waste of space in one’s digital library.

This was an interesting book about how Fidel Castro came to power, the Castro era and what has happened since Fidel's death. I have to say I expected something a bit less biased, but it still sounded mostly unbiaised and fair in its obversations, even though the author seems to have mostly talked to dissidents. I still really liked this book and thought it was an interesting view into such a controversional country.

It is a very short history about Fidel Castro’s reign over Cuba since 1959. It’s a short enough book to whet one’s appetite for a short history of Cuba. It level me wanting to know so much more.