Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel

By Lee Lockwood

Book Overview

"Mr. Lockwood's exciting book...holds many surprises for the reader who has seen the Cuban reality up to now only through the distorting prism of propaganda.... During Mr. Lockwood's latest, 14-week visit to Cuba in 1965] he had 'a seven-day marathon conversation' with Fidel], the transcription of which, with excellent photographs, constitutes the heart of the book.... A first-rate psychological document, this book is also an historical one in that it contains information necessary to the understanding of several conversional questions, such as the priority given agriculture in the development of the Cuban economy, the dissension between Moscow and Havana, or even the intellectual road by which Castro came to Marxism. Moreover, it provides particulars up to now unknown." Claude Julien, 'The New York Times Book Review' "Lockwood gives us crowds, posters, individual studies, Fidel in every possible mood; the cities, farms, country towns - most of Cuba is in the photographs.... Lockwood's text consists mainly of excerpts from several interviews he got from Fidel in 1965.... In one way or another Fidel touches on all the events of crucial importance from the beginning of the insurrection until 1965, and the interviews thus become an explanation of the revolution that we badly need." Jose Yglesias, 'The New Republic' "The author's questions to Fidel] are tough and penetrating and they elicited the same kind of answers.... The lively record deserves and encourages serious study." K. G. Jackson, 'Harper's Magazine' "Given the paucity of scholarly work on contemporary Cuba and the difficulty of visiting the island, the photographs, interview materials, and interpretations of this gifted journalist must go high on the reading list of anyone, professional or lay person, who maintains a serious interest in Cuban affairs and in that most dramatic and important of twentieth-century Latin American leaders, Fidel Castro." Richard Fagan, 'Hispanic American Historical Review'

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159244279X
• ISBN13: 9781592442799
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Resource Publications (CA)
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel

I am currently studying photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I am also currently enrolled in a class on the Cuban Revolution. Published originally in 1967, Castro's Cuba, Cuba's Fidel contains one of the major interviews with Fidel Castro to date. Lee Lockwood, American photojournalist and author, found himself by good fortune in Cuba on January 1, 1959, the day Castro's revolution took power. Over the course of the next decade he made several trips to Cuba. He befriended Korda, Castro's official photographer, and was able to gain access to communicate with Castro. A seven-day interview with Castro took place in August of 1965. This comprises three chapters in the book. Castro's intentions for the development of the island are discussed, as well as his thoughts on matters as extreme as U.S.-Soviet relations to matters as simple as Castro's love for baseball. The author states that the book is intended simply as an introduction to Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution. For the most part, he maintains this course throughout the book. It serves more as direct commentary for Castro's intent, his actions and the results of his actions than as an introduction to the historical background of the revolution. The photography, interspersed throughout the book, serves as a visual counterpart to Castro's words. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a chance to get inside Fidel Castro's head and counter popular opinion.