- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster (19 Dec 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743205480
- ISBN-13: 978-0743205481
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,683,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The men have finished loading the heavy weapons into the red van when the pink-cheeked student called Jos? Antonio, whom everyone knows as Manzanita, Little Apple, speaks. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The men have finished loading the heavy weapons into the red van when the pink-cheeked student called Jos? Antonio, whom everyone knows as Manzanita, Little Apple, speaks. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A compelling story of a heroic spirit and a truth seeker.
14 July 1997
Format:Hardcover
As a Cuban born after the revolution I was taught many lies in Cuban schools as to the events that transpire during those years of the revolution. My parents told me otherwise, they said the truth to me about those events that transpire so long ago. Mr. Abella's recounting,though fictionalized, are as true as what my parents and friends narrated to me.
This book is an educational tool for those that wish to know what turmoils Cubans(Communist or not) went through during that period. The hero, William Morgan, a real life ex-marine, through the eyes of a naive foreigner, later becomes a true Cuban leader whose desire is to rid Cuba of an oppressor. In the end, he realizes that a worse oppressor has arrived, and he tries to correct a wrong.
Being a Cuban-American himself Alex can truly relate to the people in the story, the Cuban personality comes alive in this story. A must read for those who wish to know about my people and their struggle for a Cuba Libre.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Commandante Morgan: Adventurer or Great American?
9 May 2001
Format:Paperback
Like any developing nation whose history is partly shaped by the secret agencies of more powerful countries, the history of Cuba, from the controversial sinking of the USS Maine onward, is more myth than historical fact. It is therefore fitting that Alex Abella should use fiction as a means of chronicling this shadowy episode of Cuban history leading up to and immediately following the Cuban Revolution. With it, he probably reveals more about the deeply buried facts than any history text. He also brings it to life with vivid images -from the grotesque terror of Batista's police to a bizarre scene in which the dictator is being scorned by Chango, a Santeria god, during a ceremony in the basement of the Presidential Palace. At times Abella can be a little too whimsical as when a visiting American senator called John F. Kennedy inadvertently gets his head in the way of the assassin's crosshairs during an attempt on Batista, thus foiling a better moment to get rid of the tyrant and might not have saddled Cuba with yet another one. Of course, most Cuban-Americans are prepared to blame the Kennedys for every misfortune short of hurricane season. Elsewhere, though, the format allows for some interesting historical theses to be advanced. This includes the possiblity of a Soviet mole within the C.I.A. thus compromising its ambitious agenda to back all the players on the premise that they would then control the entire chess board. Indeed it is historical fact that the American mission underwent a thorough changing of the guard about a year before the Revolution, documented evidence reflecting suspicions of some sort. It does explain why the Soviets who had an apparent absence from the scene in the early stages of the game wound up with such important political prize. As a rule these things don't just happen. True or not, this is both an entertaining and provocative read from a very talented writer.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Commandante Morgan: Adventurer or Great American?
9 May 2001
Format:Paperback
Like any developing nation whose history is partly shaped by the secret agencies of more powerful countries, the history of Cuba, from the controversial sinking of the USS Maine onward, is more myth than historical fact. It is therefore fitting that Alex Abella should use fiction as a means of chronicling this shadowy episode of Cuban history leading up to and immediately following the Cuban Revolution. With it, he probably reveals more about the deeply buried facts than any history text. He also brings it to life with vivid images -from the grotesque terror of Batista's police to a bizarre scene in which the dictator is being scorned by Chango, a Santeria god, during a ceremony in the basement of the Presidential Palace. At times Abella can be a little too whimsical as when a visiting American senator called John F. Kennedy inadvertently gets his head in the way of the assassin's crosshairs during an attempt on Batista, thus foiling a better moment to get rid of the tyrant and might not have saddled Cuba with yet another one. Of course, most Cuban-Americans are prepared to blame the Kennedys for every misfortune short of hurricane season. Elsewhere, though, the format allows for some interesting historical theses to be advanced. This includes the possiblity of a Soviet mole within the C.I.A. thus compromising its ambitious agenda to back all the players on the premise that they would then control the entire chess board. Indeed it is historical fact that the American mission underwent a thorough changing of the guard about a year before the Revolution, documented evidence reflecting suspicions of some sort. It does explain why the Soviets who had an apparent absence from the scene in the early stages of the game wound up with such important political prize. As a rule these things don't just happen. True or not, this is both an entertaining and provocative read from a very talented writer.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
