Cuba Libre!: Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History

by Tony Perrottet

Overview

The surprising story of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and the scrappy band of rebel men and women who followed them.

Most people are familiar with the basics of the Cuban Revolution of 1956–1959: it was led by two of the twentieth century’s most charismatic figures, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara; it successfully overthrew the island nation’s US–backed dictator; and it quickly went awry under Fidel’s rule.
 
But less is remembered about the amateur nature of the movement or the lives of its players. In this wildly entertaining and meticulously researched account, historian and journalist Tony Perrottet unravels the human drama behind history’s most improbable revolution: a scruffy handful of self-taught revolutionaries—many of them kids just out of college, literature majors, and art students, and including a number of extraordinary women—who defeated 40,000 professional soldiers to overthrow the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Cuba Libre!’s deep dive into the revolution reveals fascinating details: How did Fidel’s highly organized lover Celia Sánchez whip the male guerrillas into shape? Who were the two dozen American volunteers who joined the Cuban rebels? How do you make land mines from condensed milk cans—or, for that matter, cook chorizo à la guerrilla (sausage guerrilla-style)?
 
Cuba Libre! is an absorbing look back at a liberation movement that captured the world's imagination with its spectacular drama, foolhardy bravery, tragedy, and, sometimes, high comedy—and that set the stage for Cold War tensions that pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735218161
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/22/2019
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	775,034
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Tony Perrottet is the author of six books: Cuba Libre!, Off the Deep End, Pagan Holiday, The Naked Olympics, Napoleon's Privates, and The Sinner's Grand Tour. His travel stories have been translated into a dozen languages and widely anthologized, having been selected six times for the Best American Travel Writing series. He is a regular television guest on the History Channel and a contributing writer at Smithsonian Magazine; his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, T+L, Outside, Surface, and the London Sunday Times. He lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Fidelmania 1

Part 1 The Cuban "Madness"

Chapter 1 DIY Revolution 11

Chapter 2 The Curse of San Juan Hill 22

Chapter 3 Fulgencio Venus Fidel 31

Chapter 4 The Misfire Heard Around the World 42

Chapter 5 Island of Lost Souls 58

Chapter 6 Fellow Travelers 68

Chapter 7 Waiting for Fidel 79

Chapter 8 The Cruise of the Cranma 87

Chapter 9 "Now We've Won the War" 95

Part 2 The Amateur Guerrillas

Chapter 10 The Kindness of Strangers 105

Chapter 11 First Blood 113

Chapter 12 Back from the Dead 120

Chapter 13 Havana Vice 133

Chapter 14 "The Bitter Days" 139

Chapter 13 The Revolution Will Be Televised 147

Chapter 16 Baptisms of Fire 153

Chapter 17 Scenes from the "Free Zone" 163

Chapter 18 Revolution on $300 a Day 175

Chapter 19 Love in the Time of Diarrhea 184

Part 3 Revolutionary Road

Chapter 20 Fiestas in Wartime 195

Chapter 21 "The Fuck-up" 203

Chapter 22 Sierra Shangri-la 210

Chapter 23 Operation "End of Fidel" 219

Chapter 24 Raúl Goes Rogue 225

Chapter 25 The Comeback 236

Chapter 26 Women in Uniform 244

Chapter 27 Hurricane Season 254

Chapter 28 Have Gun, Will Travel: The Gringo Guerrillas 265

Chapter 29 The Lightning Campaign 278

Part 4 Honeymoon with Che

Chapter 30 Compañeros Versus Mafiosi 295

Chapter 31 In (Cuba) Like flynn 304

Chapter 32 The Caravan of Victory 313

Chapter 33 Days of Rum and Roses 324

Epilogue: Last Kids on the Bloc 339

A Note On Sources 353

Acknowledgments 360

Index 362

Editorial Reviews

02/18/2019

Journalist Perrottet (Off the Deep End: Travels in Forgotten Frontiers) offers a fairly balanced, accessible history of the Cuban Revolution and how it was received in the late 1950s both at home and in the U.S. Before Cold War politics made Fidel Castro a bearded villain, he was America’s favorite revolutionary, having overthrown Cuba’s thuggish, corrupt president, Fulgencio Batista. Drawing on interviews with revolutionaries, accounts from historians from both countries, archival papers, and journalistic accounts, Perrottet traces the revolution’s arc from Castro’s student years to his 1959 interview on the Ed Sullivan Show (where the host fulsomely compared him to George Washington). Perrottet portrays with an unsparing eye the “wildly incompetent” early battles and campaigns in the Sierra Maestra mountains in the rugged backwater of Oriente Province, which nearly doomed the rebels. He avoids hagiography of the movement or Fidel, Raul Castro, and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, arguing that Castro was motivated by an appetite for power rather than by fealty to political ideology, and had many flaws as a “disorganized, capricious, and petulant” leader. The book, however, is far less insightful about Castro’s shift to megalomania after coming to power. But, despite some soft spots, this offers an entertaining and useful perspective on a remarkable political and military upset. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

2018-10-22

A history of the ragtag group of rebels who took down a powerful dictator.

Smithsonian contributing writer Perrottet (The Sinner's Grand Tour: A Journey Through the Historical Underbelly of Europe, 2011, etc.) recounts the often madcap efforts of a small band of guerrilla soldiers to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. At the forefront of this entertaining tale are two handsome, idealistic men, the Cuban Fidel Castro and the Argentinian Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and one sophisticated, elegant young woman, Celia Sánchez, Castro's close friend and possible lover. The three, coming from respected, wealthy families, believed fervently in their mission to liberate the island from Batista's military rule. In 1956, Castro and about 60 supporters gathered in Mexico City to train for rebellion. "Like an urban fitness camp," writes the author, "they went on long walks up and down the tree-lined avenues," and some men hiked in nearby mountains "with backpacks filled with stones." They also devoted hours to studying "military theory." Despite their determination, their training proved inadequate once they landed in Cuba and established their base in the inhospitable Sierra Maestra range. None of the "soft urban intellectuals" who made up the troop had ever seen the Sierra Maestra before, and they were unprepared for the torrid days and freezing nights, the relentless insects, and the slick, overgrown trails. As they hacked through the countryside with machetes, "every step became a battle." Nor were they prepared to confront Batista's army: In one battle, the rebels' hand grenades—Brazilian army surplus—failed to go off, and a stick of dynamite fizzled. Perrottet smoothly follows the rebels as they gained hundreds of supporters and engaged in bold confrontations. Their successes were reported admiringly in the U.S., where articles portrayed Castro "as a cross between Pancho Villa and James Dean." Despite his image as "the Robin Hood of Cuba," however, Castro was a disorganized and moody leader; the guerrillas instead came to rely on Sánchez's clearsightedness and practicality. By January 1959, against all odds, the rebels swept into Havana, victorious.

A vivid, well-researched history.

Kirkus Reviews

"A juicy jungle opera... fascinating... [Perrottet's] lively, gossipy account steps back and allows the characters to speak for themselves.... Humor abounds throughout the book too."
—Los Angeles Review of Books

"Perrottet does an excellent job capturing the absurdities that came with the revolution…Cuba Libre! brings history to life with thorough research and wildly addictive writing.” 
—Newsday

"With true storytelling verve, Tony Perrottet weaves the tale of Fidel Castro’s two-year-long guerrilla war to oust Cuban dictator Batista. Cuba Libre! is a welcome, highly readable romp through the opening scenes of Castro’s long turn on the world stage."
—Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

"An excellent chronology of Cuba’s liberation—dramatic, human, and illuminating.”
—Paul Theroux, author of The Great Railway Bazaar 

"An excellent new entry on the subject, with a memorable opening line and highly enjoyable chapters. If you read only one recent book on Cuba, have it be this delightful popular history."
—Library Journal (starred)

"Perrottet’s history excels in putting a human face on the fighters.... The revolution’s real stars were the smart and strong women who acted as spies, couriers, logistical experts, and ultimately as the bravest, fiercest, and most indispensible combatants.”

—Booklist
"Fast-paced and highly entertaining.”
—Book Page

"Tony Perrottet sure knows how to tell a story--and what a story this is! With Cuba Libre!, Perrottet takes us far beyond the basic facts of the Cuban revolution to the juicy details that remind us that history is deeply human: Fidel's appearance on the Ed Sullivan show was followed by a poodle fashion parade; the rebels loved to read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls between operations in the mountains; breaded snake cutlets were a favorite snack.... Perrottet gained access to private letters, diaries, and other documents no other historian has seen, and he has written a fabulous account of one of the most unlikely, romantic, astounding events of the 20th century."
—Chris Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Sex at Dawn and Civilized to Death
 
"Cuba cracked open its treasure chest of historical archives for Tony Perrottet and he uncovered so many long-lost secrets about the Revolution that even those who think they know all about Fidel’s improbable victory will end up shaking their heads in disbelief. Commanders who act like a Caribbean Rat Pack. Military maneuvers that resemble an Ocean's Eleven escapade. And a series of long, long shots that, incredibly, paid off for the Castros. Perrottet tells this familiar story in an unforgettable way that is as raucous as it is revealing."         
—Anthony DePalma, author of The Man Who Invented Fidel

"Sexy, humorous, fast-moving and deeply researched, Cuba Libre! overturns the mythology of the Cuban Revolution, while finding the genuinely epic dimensions of the island and its history. From the debauched present of Havana to the rebellious past of Santiago, the gimlet-eyed Tony Perrottet is a canny guide to all the dreams and miseries of Cuba. Should be banned by the Communist Party."
—Patrick Symmes, author of Chasing Che: A Motorcycle Journey in Search of the Che Legend and The Boys From Dolores: Fidel Castro's Schoolmates from Revolution to Exile

From the Publisher

★ Winter 2018

Perrottet (Pagan Holiday) tackles Cuba's revolutionary era, from late 1956 through 1960. Starting with the Granma fiasco and the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks to the overthrows of the Batista regime, the author drops readers into the middle of a revolutionary movement unlike any other in history. He contends the leadership was naïve, inexperienced, and idealistic, yet, somehow this amateur band of revolutionaries succeeded. We follow Fidel and Raúl Castro and Che Guevara but also meet figures such as Camilo Cienfuegos, Celia Sánchez, and Haydée Santamaría. Indeed, the uprising may well have collapsed without the organizational abilities of Sanchez. Perrottet's access to written and oral records provides for a rare achievement in the corpus of Cuba's revolutionary literature, with the remarkable epilog recounting the postrevolutionary lives of the major players. VERDICT An excellent new entry on the subject, with a memorable opening line and highly enjoyable chapters. If you read only one recent book on Cuba, have it be this delightful popular history.—Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

Library Journal

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