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Fidel Castro Reader: Forty Years of the Cuban Revolution: Vol 1 (40 Years of the Cuban Revolution)

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At last. A work we have long been waiting for from Ocean Press has finally arrived. And it is a text which will be read for centuries to come by the English-reading world.

Fidel Castro was the greatest and most human leader of the 20th Century. In this book, in presentation after presentation, Fidel embodies with burning passion the values of communion, courage, joy, humor, compassion, sorrow, remembrance, true justice and -- perhaps most important of all -- HONESTY. One comes away from the "Reader" thinking that perhaps Fidel Castro, for all the Cold War nonsense regarding East vs. West, North vs. South etc, was the greatest Christian leader of all time. Christian in fact, in deed, in thought -- rather than the vampires and their minions who have so degraded that term.

In the Big Dark of the Bush Reich, it is very easy to feel a daily despair. This book cures that. With humor, outrage, incredible brilliance, and total honesty. One example:

"The fascists stop at nothing. They try to find the weak spot. They invent the most ridiculous lies. They try to create terror and unrest among the people by telling the most outrageous lies. Their appeal is always to the gutter instincts: hatred, fear, racism, economic insecurity, selfishness, ignorance. They feed off of keeping people stupid. They resort to every method they can think of. And what do fascists do when their own institutions no longer guarantee their domination? How do they react when the mechanisms they've depended on historically to maintain their domination fail them? They simply go ahead and destroy those institutions, without a moment's look back. The fascists stop at nothing."

Commandante Castro may not make it to the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution. But he will live forever.

Viva Fidel!

One doesn't have to agree with him, but to deny the impact of Fidel Castro on the world is insane. "Fidel Castro Reader" is a collection of writings and speeches from the Cuban revolutionary leader-turned-dictator Fidel Castro. Analyzing Castro's worlds in regards to Cuba's purpose and how the recent Democratization of Latin America will affect the future of Castro's life as well as Cuba after his death, "Fidel Castro Reader" is a must read for any political or historical reader.

For 50 years Fidel Castro has been one of the world's most popular and controversial political leaders, a revolutionary who helped alter the course of Latin American history. Love him or hate him, Castro has a deserved spot next to figures like Simon Bolivar, Emiliano Zapata, Evita Peron and Jose Marti who have defined and changed our hemisphere. It was about time a collection was published of his speeches, not least because some of Castro's fame resides in his skills as an orator.

The "Fidel Castro Reader" is the latest from Ocean Press, a great resource for Leftist, revolutionary writings from Latin America. Here they have compiled some of Castro's most important, valuable writings and public speeches, capturing well his basic ideals, philosophies and policies. Anyone doing research on the Cuban Revolution must get their hands on this volume, which offers everything from Fidel's earliest statements before the Cuban Revolution triumphed to his partying speech in Allende's Chile to his comments following 9/11.

In the United States we enjoy opinionating quite a lot about Cuba, Castro, Hugo Chavez and other leaders from a part of our hemisphere most of us never even bother to know anything about. Here there are no commentaries, no editorials from pro or anti-Castristas, just Castro's words. Let Castro speak for himself, let the reader draw his own ideas and conclusions.

It is quite obvious while reading the speeches why Castro has both captured the imagination of much of the Third World and enraged others. His prose is direct, firm and full of conviction. Castro also displays an astounding ability to process facts and data, this is evident in moments when he describes in detail historical moments, characters and events. Unlike his heir apparent, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro has a more eloquent, intellectual tone in his speeches. His UN speech can stand as a powerful statement of the Third World condemning the aggressions and dominance of richer countries. In his speech given in Chile while visiting Salvador Allende and his democratic socialist revolution, we see an interesting debate going on in Castro's words as a guerrilla fighter examines a revolution brought about through the ballot box. There is an eloquent, nostalgic speech given in 1997 when Che Guevara's remains were returned to Cuba. His famous "history will absolve me" speech is also present here, it is a vibrant statement by a revolutionary denouncing the corruption and foreign exploitation of Cuba.

One of the great highlights is a speech Castro delivered to the Cuban people on September 22, 2001, days after the World Trade Center attack and when Bush declared his worldwide "war on terror." It is a powerful moment where Castro declares Cuba's solidarity with the American people and condemns the attacks, but he also warns about Bush's proposed imperialist agenda. In a line more chilling now in a post-Iraq world, Castro writes about "the terrible, dangerous drama that we are about to suffer."

There is much more, researchers should consider this book a boon since it is now apparently the only major English-language publication of collected speeches by Castro. You do not need to be a die-hard Leftist to be fascinated or to want to be informed about what this man has had to say. The Third World is rarely heard or even cared about in the United States, as the Nixon regime famously put it, it's our "backyard." Here is one of the backyard's loudest, most defiant voices.

Fidel Castro Reader (v. 1) To Eddie Kasika a communist in disguise......

You have to be kidding us all! The gall of some people to say Fidel Castro was the greatest and most human leader of the 20th Century. To say, Fidel embodies with burning passion the values of communion, courage, joy, humor, compassion, sorrow, remembrance, true justice and -- perhaps most important of all -- HONESTY. "The greatest Christian leader of all time". Christian in fact, in deed, in thought -- rather than the vampires and their minions who have so degraded that term.

Please dont insult us with your opinion. To me and those who lived the life and suffered more losses than i can recount, your opinion is insulting and hurtful to us. The precious family members and the people who had to endure his ruthlessness. You have no idea what your talking about. Thank God we are in this great nation where people can express themselves and not fear retaliation. Castro is greedy and the devil in disguise. May God have mercy on him! Hopefully, you are just trolling us for attention!