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Before Fidel Castro seized power, Cuba was an ebullient and chaotic society in a permanent state of turmoil, combining a raucous tropical nature with the evils of arbitrary and corrupt government. Yet this fascinating period in Cuban history has been largely forgotten or misrepresented, even though it set the stage for Castro's dramatic takeover in 1959. To reclaim the Cuba that he knew—and add color and detail to the historical record—distinguished political scientist Francisco José Moreno here offers his recollections of the Cuba in which he came of age personally and politically.

Moreno takes us into the little-known world of privileged, upper-middle-class, white Cubans of the 1930s through the 1950s. His vivid depictions of life in the family and on the streets capture the distinctive rhythms of Cuban society and the dynamics between parents and children, men and women, and people of different races and classes. The heart of the book describes Moreno's political awakening, which culminated during his student years at the University of Havana. Moreno gives a detailed, insider's account of the anti-Batista movement, including the Ortodoxos and the Triple A. He recaptures the idealism and naiveté of the movement, as well as its ultimate ineffectiveness as it fell before the juggernaut of the Castro Revolution. His own disillusionment and wrenching decision to leave Cuba rather than accept a commission in Castro's army poignantly closes the book.

Average Customer Rating:

Exploring Cuba through my fathers eyes

Customer Rating:

I read this book because it covered a story with many parallels to my Fathers time in Cuba. My Father read it at the same time, and the details discussed of Cuban life at the time sparked recollections of his past. Not having been able to visit Cuba with my Father this book gave me the chance to feel like I had. Even if I could visit now the Cuba described in much of the book, the Cuba of my Father, does not exist anymore.

Classist and Racist Cuba

Customer Rating:

Mr. Moreno presents a classist, racist Cuba of which he was very much a part of. Leading a privileged life, he joins the resistance against the Batista regime both as a student at the University of Havana and as a Labor Union leader. He becomes a revolutionary and is inspired by Fidel Castro, whom he regards as a hero. His revolutionary dealings lead him to exile in 1955, because Batista had him on a death list. Returning to Cuba in 1959, after the Castro revolution, he is offered several important jobs in the new government. Without a clear explanation, he abandons the Cuba he helped forge. The books is boring, full of minutia that only serves to feed the author's ego. A good editor would have made the book a more pleasant read. Some of the Cuban customs of the period are recorded, yet the Afro Cuban culture is completely ignored if not derided.