See You Later, Alligator: Blackford Oakes in Havana

By William F. Buckley Jr.

Book Overview

The year is 1961; the setting, Havana. CIA super-secret agent Blackford Oakes has been sent there on a mission, only to find himself in the eye of an international political hurricane. President... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385194420
• ISBN13: 9780385194426
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 351 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Best of class - Blackford Oakes in Havana

This is the first of Buckley's books that I have read and it was a real treat. This book is so good in a variety of ways that I think it deserves five stars. It is a combination of good story-telling, historical information, compelling characters (including those taken from real life), clear writing, and intrigue. These elements are combined smoothly into a very entertaining and easy to read tale. The book starts with the thoughts of President Kennedy and ends with Johnson in the Oval Office. The story provides a fascinating glimpse of Cuba in the 1960's, starring Castro and Guevara. There is plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning, but the pace and tone are very even - not a run of peaks and valleys. Even the dedication and acknowledgements were interesting. It was fun!

Great what-if scenario

Buckley's Blackford Oakes novels seem to remain one of the best-kept secrets around. For the record: These novels are all based on historic events, but, unless Mr. Buckley has even more of an inside track than I believe he does, they weave a wonderfully complex--and witty!-- web of circustances surrounding them. In this novel, we get a two-fer: the Cuban missile crisis *and* the assassination of JFK. Didn't know that they were linked? Read the book to see how they (maybe) were. [This one ought to be included under the Cuban missile crisis heading.]