From the Escambray to the Congo: In the Whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Victor Dreke (Author), Mary-Alice Waters (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

The author describes how easy it became after the Cuban Revolution to take down a rope segregating blacks from whites in the town square, yet how enormous was the battle to transform social relations underlying all the "ropes" inherited from capitalism and Yankee domination. Dreke, second in command of the internationalist column in the Congo led by Che Guevara in 1965, recounts the creative joy with which working people have defended their revolutionary course--from Cuba's Escambray mountains to Africa and beyond.

This book is part of a series, The Cuban Revolution in World Politics by Pathfinder Press.

Introduction by Mary-Alice Waters, 24-page photo section and other photos, maps, glossary, index Paper, 182 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review

"First-hand testimony of the end of the Batista dictatorship and the attempts to create a better government in its place. An insert of black-and-white photographs adds a visual touch to the gripping experiences.... A welcome and much appreciated addition." ---- Midwest Book Review

"These books are the kind of books historians are always hoping for, but that very rarely see the light of day. Their value for average readers and for scholars cannot be overstressed, for several reasons, the most important being the historical process of reconnecting Cuba and Africa at a time when such reconnecting continues to be fiercely discouraged by the powers-that-be...a first-hand account by Che's most trusted aide during their seven months in the Congo...the reader gets a clear glimpse of some of the principles that allowed Cuba to do so much in the face of such constant threats to its own survival....In a subdued, almost humble, way, these books can be seen as collective praise for what Cuba has been able to do, not just for specific African countries, but for the majority of humanity resisting the unrelenting assaults of the capitalist system" ---- Jacques Depelchin, African Studies Review

"Victor Dreke, second in command to Guevara in the Congo, relates...a rich assortment of...remembrances of Guevara...as well efforts to dismantle racial discrimination in [Cuba].... [He] presents the steps a young revolution took to...lift a semicolonial nation from under the brutal Batista dictatorship into the Cuba of today." ---- Black Scholar

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Pathfinder Press (NY); 1 edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873489470
• ISBN-13: 978-0873489478
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,016,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars from such material revolutionaries are made, March 17, 2002

By 

Martin Boyers (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Escambray to the Congo: In the Whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution (Paperback)

What is striking about Victor Dreke's story is not what is different about the man, but how similar the youth was to so many others in his day and in ours. It also shows the kind of person who is made by, and makes, a great revolution.
Dreke was a Afro-Cuban teenager of the 1950s who did not know that you can't fight city hall -- or in his case, the presidential palace. He joined the battle against the vicious and corrupt Batista dictatorship, and the social and economic system it defended. In doing so, he joined the struggle of sugar refinery workers and met the militants of Fidel Castro's Rebel Army. He stuck with the struggle for the long term, taking leadership responsibilities in everything from the fight against counter-revolutionary gangs, organized and directed by the U.S. government, to armed combat in the Congo against Mobutu Sese Seko's regime.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Living Revolution, March 18, 2002

By 

George Fyson (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Escambray to the Congo: In the Whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution (Paperback)

Read this small book for a series of snapshots of what it was like to be a participant in the Cuban revolution that triumphed in January 1959. From a high school activist under the Batista dictatorship, Victor Dreke joined the Rebel Army and fought in many campaigns. The Escambray mountains in central Cuba were the scene of a bloody five-year-long attempt by Washington-organized groups to undermine the new regime. Like the Contras in Nicaragua 20 years later, these 'Bandidos' murdered literacy volunteers, health workers, and peasants who backed the revolutionary government. Dreke was a leader in the military and militia campaigns that wiped them out. His description of the Cuban mid-1960s contingent to aid revolutionary fighters in the Congo complements Che Guevara's own recently published account of this. Dreke notes how the Congo campaign, though not a success at the time, paved the way for critically important Cuban efforts to aid African liberation struggles, such as the decisive victory at Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, against South African forces in 1988. As with all Pathfinder titles, the well-thought-out maps, footnotes and glossary in this book help the reader with unfamiliar names and events. Numerous photos bring Dreke's story even more to life.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Removing the Ropes of Oppression, March 8, 2002

By 

Joanne Murphy (Iowa, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Escambray to the Congo: In the Whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution (Paperback)

This is a captivating book and must reading for progressive-minded people everywhere. Pre-revolutionary Cuba was a place of discrimination and segregation against Blacks similar to the U.S. South or South Africa's Apartheid. Dreke grew up in one of the more backward areas-- much like Mississippi, the state where I was born.

Fresh from having defeated the U.S.- backed Batista regime, the rebel army took down the rope separating Blacks and whites at a celebratory dance. Dreke, an Afro-Cuban, relates how Cuba's revolutionary government policy was to take down all the ropes of oppression and keep them down in Cuba and to help others internationally do the same.