Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography

by Ignacio Ramonet and Fidel Castro

Book Overview

The intimate and highly revealing life story of the world's longest-serving, most charismatic, and controversial head of state in modern times.

Fidel Castro was a dictatorial pariah to some and a hero and inspiration for many of the world's poor, defiantly charting an independent and revolutionary path for Cuba over nearly half a century. Numerous attempts were made to get Castro to tell his own story. But only in the twilight of his...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416562338
• ISBN13: 9781416562337
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 736 Pages
• Weight: 1.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A book worth your time

When the book arrived I was eager to begin reading it, but instead I set it aside and I didn't start reading it until I made sure I was going to be able to dedicate the time for it since I am usually a busy person and this books merits a comprehensible amount of time to read. As an avid reader of the history of the Cuban Revolution, I have been exposed to many different versions of the Cuban Revolution, its politics, economics, social culture, etc. I have also read dozens of books by Fidel Castro (usually collected speeches and interviews) so I knew what to expect from a book like this one. I am used to reading what Fidel Castro has said in interviews and speeches and to the surprise of no one, Castro is an excellent story-teller, a magnificent speaker, well read and rounded, and he has his convictions and strong personality that goes with it. Those who are interested in reading this book should take Castro seriously. We should not read this book with any preconceived notions or political prejudice against him. These are his words and thought and this is the closest we will come at knowing how he thinks and what he believes. Ignacio Ramonet, Ph.D., interviewed Castro for over 100 hours so there is plenty of valuable information. The conversation starts off with the life of Castro, so that in itself is a biography--or autobiography since Castro is the one telling it. From this the conversation moves to his early years as a university student radicalized by the political environment of the day. This is continued by his life as a political candidate, his failed attacks to the Moncada Garrison, and his role in the Cuban Revolution. The rest is his role as Prime Minister and then President of Cuba and the Cuban society in general. This book is worth your time (if you have it) because it will be helpful in having a balanced view of the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro is getting ZERO dollars from this book. He is NOT getting any royalties, therefore it is important to listen to what this leader has to say. There are dozens of books out there by Cuban "exiles" that deserve attention and are worth reading, but unfortunately they are lost or mixed in with the hundreds more of anti-Castro propaganda that is easily mistaken by innocent readers as a piece of fine scholarly or researched work. Enjoy it!

Fidel Castro

Since Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba I've been curious to learn the nature of the man. I've never seen or heard anything about him but propaganda. Read a bio 35 years ago that made him out to be a bufoon, which I now know was propaganda. Knew it before now, because had he been as shallow as the biographer made him out to be, he could not have lasted this long. Hearing his life, this being a spoken biography, from his own words, I've come to respect the man as much as I respect someone like Nelson Mandela. Ignatio Ramonet, the 'interviewer' who directs Fidel's talking with questions and comments, does not let him get away with dancing his way around a question. A few times Fidel was apparently uncomfortable with the question and it seemed to me like he was wanting to get around it, but Ramonet kept at him every time to address it. Fidel is up front about his own errors in decision making. Most importantly, I have found in him a man with firm ethical foundation and a love for the Cuban people that guides his own life and decisions. I admire his ongoing ability to stand up to what he calls 'the empire,' the American government. With less than 50 pages to go, I've come to admire the man, Fidel Castro, as one of the great men of the 20th century, up there with Nelson Mandela, who I hold to be the most important man of the 20th century. When Time magazine gave it to Einstein, I took it for a copout. To bring him back to human perspective, he, like Mandela, is a man whose hand I'd like to shake. As for the book itself, I pick it up every free moment, can't stop reading in it, and regret that I'm getting so close to the end. Will pass it on to a friend as soon as I'm finished with it, a friend who has the same curiosity about Fidel that I had. I've come to this attitude toward Fidel Castro not because what he has to say about himself is self-serving, but because I've come to see the man that he is, who he is, and I appreciate the man himself. I actually stand in awe of him.

Un libro muy completo...

"Fidel Castro:Biografia a dos voces" es un excelente libro que merece traduccion en ingles para aclarar dudas y prejuicios del publico americano sobre este controversial lider. A pesar de su avanzada edad y estado de salud, Fidel Castro presenta muy claramente todo evento desde la Revolucion Cubana, su relacion con el Che Guevara, y el presente y futuro de su pais. La conversacion entre el autor y Castro es presentada de manera que uno se siente que esta en el mismo cuarto con ellos durante la entrevista. Un libro muy entretenido.

Fascinating, Revelatory, Highly Enjoyable.

Let us hope that one day, even under the burning climate of the Bush regime, we will see "Fidel Castro: Biografia A Dos Voces," published in an English translation for those who do not speak Spanish. But for bilengual readers like myself, this is the best book available in a long time on the life and times of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Ignacio Ramonet has done an amazing service by documenting in great detail through many hours of interviews the life, ideas and dreams of one of the most controversial, influential world leaders of the past century and the early years of this one. This should be the definitive book for anyone wanting a detailed analysis of what exactly are the ideas behind Fidel Castro and the revolution he ignited a half century ago. This is also a valuable book because it is the only real book on Castro that goes into Cuba's influence on today's Latin America and leaders such as Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Castro recounts in stunning detail Cuba's role in helping bring Chavez back to power after an illegal, U.S.-backed coup sponsored by Venezuela's rich elites and radical right ousted Chavez for 48 hours. Castro recounts how Chavez's daughter called Havana to report that her father had not resigned as the coup plotters reported, but was overthrown and held prisoner. It was Cuba that relayed the information to major media outlets so the world could know of the crime that had occurred in Venezuela against her elected government. Ramonet takes us through Castro's childhood to his days as a passionate law student beginning to join the liberation movement to free Cuba from foreign domination of it's resources, market and culture. There are wonderful moments of memory dealing with the Revolution and Castro's friendship with icon Che Guevara. For those suckered by Fox News propaganda, Castro here reminds us that Cuba was the first nation to condemn the September 11 terrorist attacks, and eventhough Castro is opposed to the war in Iraq, he concedes that Saddam Hussein was a thug and much of his attitudes contributed to opening the door for Bush's imperialist war. The picture we get here is not of some vicious tyrant as the radical right likes to paint anyone with different views, instead we get the thoughts and ideas of a world leader who has changed much of Latin American history forever. There is little the current Bush regime will be able to do to curve the rise of socialism in the Americas, "Fidel Castro: Biografia A Dos Voces" is a perfect information tool to know how those roots were planted and what socialism really means. Castro's mastery of language is impressive and his careful, detailed analysis of world leaders, events and policies is impressive. His words are worth reading, especially in these times when blind imperial rage threatens to distabalize the Middle East if not the world. Here is one of the best books to come out of the Spanish market in a long time.

The 21st Century top book!

Thank you very much Mr,Ignacio Ramonet i love it ....