Fifty years after the Cuban revolution, this timely book, the most intimate and dispassionate biography of Fidel Castro to date, offers a fresh assessment of the revolutionary leader. Written by the British ambassador to Cuba in the early 1990s, it chronicles the events of Castro's extraordinary life and explores the contradiction between the private character and the public reputation. "From childhood rebellion to international confrontation, Coltman's analysis of this obstinate and aggressive politician remains clear and impressively impartial." The Observer "Coltman has produced a rare commodity - a balanced view of Castro ...Very well-written and easily read." Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph "One of the most striking revelations of ...Coltman's engrossing study of the Cuban leader is just how central violence has always been to (Castro's) life ...Meticulously researched and compiled ...and fascinating material." Justin Marozzi, Literary Review "Masterfully even-handed ...and a convincing, nuanced picture. Not just Castro but Cuba and its revolution swing sharply into focus ...A superb portrait." Austen Ivereigh, The Tablet
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Review
'[An] assessment of the revolutionary leader...that attempts to provide a balanced view of the man.' -- Sunday Times, 13th August, 2006
About the Author
The late Sir Leycester Coltman was head of the Latin American Department of the British Foreign Office in the late 1980s and was British Ambassador to Cuba from 1991-94.
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First Sentence
In July 1992 Fidel Castro, then aged sixty-four, visited for the first time the small stone house where his father was born, in the north-west of Spain. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In July 1992 Fidel Castro, then aged sixty-four, visited for the first time the small stone house where his father was born, in the north-west of Spain. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Covers Castro's early youth to his survival of the fall of the eastern block. Well written and easy to read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars
17 reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing! a well balanced account of the life of Castro.
22 Mar 2006
By The Historian
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is a good, broad introduction to the life of Fidel Castro for a reader who does not want to get bogged down in ideological theories or put up with personal attacks on the man and l believe l am much the wiser reading this book.
There is a lot of nonsense written about Fidel Castro by the so called pro and anti Castro forces and this book does not fall into that trap. Coltman has produced an interesting, well balanced book about Castro which is full of sufficient detail and ideas to paint a fair portrait of the man.
Castro is a powerful, dominant man who insists he must always be right and usually gets his way and this fact was evident from his early childhood. He is a brilliant orator with a keenly developed sense of social justice as many incidents this book indicate. His achievement of free and accessible medical care and education for all Cubans is documented in this book.
Coltman does not hide that Castro is a dictator with little regard for free and open elections. He details Castro's use of Cuban troops in fighting civil wars in other countries.
Coltman makes insufficient mention however of the Cuban secret police and the crushing of internal dissent and he could have clarified and expanded on the role of his ruthless brother Raul Castro who has been central in this internal suppression.
There is a lot of nonsense written about Fidel Castro by the so called pro and anti Castro forces and this book does not fall into that trap. Coltman has produced an interesting, well balanced book about Castro which is full of sufficient detail and ideas to paint a fair portrait of the man.
Castro is a powerful, dominant man who insists he must always be right and usually gets his way and this fact was evident from his early childhood. He is a brilliant orator with a keenly developed sense of social justice as many incidents this book indicate. His achievement of free and accessible medical care and education for all Cubans is documented in this book.
Coltman does not hide that Castro is a dictator with little regard for free and open elections. He details Castro's use of Cuban troops in fighting civil wars in other countries.
Coltman makes insufficient mention however of the Cuban secret police and the crushing of internal dissent and he could have clarified and expanded on the role of his ruthless brother Raul Castro who has been central in this internal suppression.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Balanced Look at The Supreme Rebel
17 Dec 2003
By Corey W. Sabourin
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Coltman has written a fun, water-color biography on Fidel Castro. Yes, there is a chronology of historical events that shaped the leader: his failed attack on the Moncada barracks, the U.S.-Soviet missle crisis, Cuban military assistance to Nicaragua and Angola, economic woes, and the Elian Gonzalez soap opera. But the good stuff is the gossipy diplo-circle comments, such as Fidel's response to a reporter's question about his eldest son Fidelito's "resignation" as head of Cuba's nuclear power program. "He didn't resign," Castro tells the journalist. "He was fired for incompetence! This isn't a monarchy." Castro haters get red-faced whenever anyone praises the man's candor, intelligence or humor, things that detract, in their minds, from the ruthless evil dictator he is supposed to be (read the much-praised "Waiting for Snow in Havana"). Coltman doesn't ignore any of the many charges leveled against Castro's strongman style of governing. Many sections of the book are built on episodes that brought Castro severe criticism. Thoughout this biography, however, we are shown the fiercely proud patriot -- proud of Cuba, proud of its campaign of revolution since its war of independence from Spain -- showing us Castro's point of view: why a firing squad is just punishment for a turncoat Army general, why dissidents receiving money from U.S. agencies that have ceaselessly fought his government are contemptible, why 'bourgeois elections' that never brought real democracy to Cuba -- and with a poor record throughout Latin America -- are a hollow promise. Coltman neither vilifies nor glorifies Fidel Castro. For many on both sides, this is unpardonable. For the other 99.9 percent of us, it's a true gift.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Real Review
21 Dec 2005
By Moza
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Several of the reviewers before me have been critical of this biography written by Leycester Coltman, yet I doubt if Fidel Castro himself wrote an autobiography we would gain any more information. This book portrays an honest outlook, without the propaganda or blatant dislike that usually goes along with mention of the infamous dictator. It is obvious to anyone who reads this (and nobody who has can deny the fact) that Mr. Coltman is incredibly thorough in his research, going to great pains to explain events. This is especially helpful to me, as a high school student, who hadn't much prior knowledge of Cuba and famous events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Those critical of his work confound me, especially a reviewer who wrote a review ON the reviewers. I wonder how this is possible, even plausible, as they admitted to not having read the book themselves. "Walk a mile in someone else's shoes"- well Leycester Coltman has certainly provided the pathway to doing so.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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