CUBAN JOURNAL

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 1964

The author, a young Scripps-Howard reporter, has an Indian passport and thus was able, by pretending to be nothing more than a tourist and never hesitating to play to Communist sympathizer to go to Cuba and travel about relatively on his own. In straight and lucid -- if cliche-ridden -- prose, he tells what he saw, heard, and did there. He scarcely attempted to get official information -- it was the opinions of the ""man on the street"" that he was after. There is no doubting his integrity or his diligence, yet this book is a striking example of how much one's expectations (in this case identical with Scripps-Howard's) can influence one's findings. he spoke with whomever he could, he must have tried quiteearnestly not to prejudge, and yet he could come away saying blithely that ""the current U.S. policy toward Cuba is the best policy under t he circumstances"" and that ""there is still hope that...an insurrection or invasion will gain momentum."" No one can definitely state that Mr. Rauf is wrong in this opinion; yet anyone not formerly of the same persuasion will wonder whether he looked deeply enough beneath the surface to justify the great lengths he went to in order to make his journey.

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION