A Review Of The Cuban Revolution

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A Review of:

[The Cuban Revolution]

Thomas, Hugh. The Cuban Revolution. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers. 1971. (755 pages).

Section I:

This book is the second half of a larger work, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. The purpose of the larger work is to give a detailed history of Cuba’s struggle for freedom, beginning in 1762. This volume starts in 1952, with Batista’s rise to power, and concludes in 1970, with the Ten Million Ton Harvest.

Thomas endeavored to write an encyclopedic, complete history of the complex political struggles in Cuba. The book is organized in such a way that it can either be used as a reference book, or simply read straight through. The book is divided into five main sections: The Struggle, 1952-9; Victory: L’Illusion Lyrique, 1959; Old Cuba at Sunset; The Clash, 1959-62; and the Epilogue. The Struggle (section 1) is the longest and most detailed part, while Victory (section 2) is the shortest. This reflects many things, such as the length of each time period, noteworthiness of events and circumstances during the period, and available information about the time period. It may also reflect not only the author’s interest in each phase of history, but the assumed interest of the reader.

The book contains mostly text, but also quite a few photographs, maps, and statistical charts. The maps are not detailed, only giving a general sense of the area, but the statistical tables are fairly detailed. Overall, though, the photographs are the most helpful device in illustrating and giving additional depth to the text.

Section II:

The second chapter of the book described Fidel Castro’s childhood and youth. It describes Castro’s father, Angel, and the influence he had on his son. One such influence was Angel’s violent hatred of "The Monster of the North" (North America). Angel, who had been part of the Spanish Army, felt that the US had cheated the Spanish out of victory over Cuban rebels. He developed a deep grudge against the US, and passed that feeling along to his children.

Fidel Castro’s childhood was one of comfort and privilege. While young, he was already heading down the path to becoming a revolutionary. At age thirteen, he organized a strike against his own father. But, everything he did in his young life was also funded by his father.

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