Como Eramos y Por Que Nos fuimos (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Carlos G Ordonez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

Como Eramos Y Por Que Nos Fuimos (The Way We Were And Why We Left. Havana Cuba 1941-1960.

The History of Fidel Castro's generation.

The author allow us to enter the Cuban reality, with the interrogation of how was it possible that cubans followed this impostor as a hero, without considering the consequences of changing the natural course of an evolution for an unnecesary and disastrous revolution. Ordonez by telling his story moves from laughter to despair, reminded us of that Cuban world that dissapeared under a communist hurricane

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Remenbrances from Cuba

Inspired by a genuine love for his homeland, this is one of the best and most readable books depicting the lifestyle of the Cuban middle class society in the 40's and 50's just before the arrival of Fidel Castro. Ordonez writes in a natural colloquial. He is a talented story teller who is able to portray historical characters of great authenticity and vitality.

About the Author

Carlos G Ordonez was born in Marianao Cuba in 1927. Graduated in De La Salle Shool where he excelled as an all Star Basket Ball player. Their rival Belen School where Fidel Castro played. He graduated in 1951 also with Fidel at University of Havana Law School. In 1960 one year after Fidel came to power Ordonez went to excile and inmediatly joined the anti Castro Navy. After the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion April 17 196, a few month after Ordonez joined Sterlig drug Intl Inc as a Marketing manager for Latin America untill 1976 when he was hired by Copper Laboratories as manager for Central America.

In 1982 he joined Nikko Securities Intl as manager for Latin America. Ordonez retired in 1991 and he has lived ever since writing numerous articles for the El Nuevo Herald and staying active in the Cuban cause.

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Carlos G Ordonez; 1 edition (1998)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0966719409
• ISBN-13: 978-0966719406
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,063,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A portrait of life in Cuba before the takeover of Castro., July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Como Eramos y Por Que Nos fuimos (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Although this book emphasizes sports events, it provides a portrait of Cuban society before the Castro dictatorship. It shows that it worked efficiently to produce understanding and cohesiveness among the different classes. The author brings into his personal vignettes many important personalities. Many of them later became leaders in the communist regime instituted in 1959, including Castro himself. A number of important events occurring during the Batista years are recounted, based on intimate knowledge of the participants by the writer. The book is written in a lively colloquial style, and charms the reader to finish it in one sitting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most affecting memoir yet written of Cuba before Castro, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Como Eramos y Por Que Nos fuimos (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Far and away the most affecting memoir yet written of Cuba before the coming of Fidel Castro -- of the wildness, the warmth, the sense of humor, and the all-around pleasure that came with being Cuban until the Revolution put a stop to all that, in one fell swoop forty years ago, for political reasons that have still not been honestly articulated.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Carlos!, February 11, 2002

By 

Pedro Salas (Forest, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Como Eramos y Por Que Nos fuimos (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

If you lived in Havana anytime between 1941 and 1961, this book will warm you heart. If you are just curious about life in Havana, you will not find a better source. I may have been reading a book, but I felt I was conversing with a good friend. His writing is clear and reaches the reader with different emotions. Sometimes he comforts as he narrates the security, peace and happines, that sports and friends brought to our lives. Other times, he shares the uncertainty and sometimes fear that came with political upheaval. His anecdotes are his, but they move in phase with the anecdotes of many others.

This book is particularly satisfying to me. I was born in Havana in 1957 and for 13 years a lived block from Vedado Tennis Club. Carlos Ordonez explains as well as anyone why we left!