FIDEL CASTRO

by Enrique Meneses ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 26, 1968

In 1957 the author, a Spanish journalist writing for Paris-Match, spent four months in the Sierra Maestra hideout of Castro and his contingent. His reminiscences of this period and the rebel takeover form the most interesting part of this otherwise banal essay: Fidel kept him up all night with questions about Egypt, Fidel quarreled with his brother Raul, Fidel criticized the USSR and charmed the peasants. Meneses' preliminary backgrounding is fairly good, straight reportage which begins with the 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks, reviews the Batista years, and describes the formation of the 26 July Movement. The post-revolution account, however, is far less detached. Bypassing social improvements, Meneses selects political events (including Castro's New York visit, the Bay of Pigs aftermath, relations with Russia, his talks with Miami expatriates) in a superficial and clumsily slanted manner. His liberal criticisms of ""a revolution betrayed"" are common ones; but he lacks the polemical sophistication of a Draper or the scrupulous empiricism of an Yglesias. A semi-documentary supplement to the increasingly numerous primary sources, rather than a contribution to the critical literature.

Pub Date: July 26, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Taplinger

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION