Customer Reviews

Fidel: A Critical Portrait

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first read this book over ten years ago, but have yet to find a better biography of Fidel Castro. The author, Tad Szulc, has known Fidel since 1959, when he covered the Cuban Revolution for the New York Times. He was given unprecedented access by the Cuban government, and by Castro personally, to conduct his research for this book. Szulc also interviewed countless people, both in Cuba and in the U.S., including friends, former friends, lifelong enemies, and acquaintances of the Cuban leader. The result is a fascinating and remarkably balanced look at the life of one of the world's most controversial statesmen.

The author has succeeded in giving us a three-dimensional view of Castro, both as a man and as a leader. One story of his youth that still stands out in my mind is how, while driving a tractor on his father's plantation, he attempted to rally the other field hands in order to demand better working conditions! There are many interesting and humorous anecdotes such as this throughout the entire book. It was a pleasure to read, overall, and did a great job of transporting me back to the places and times of Fidel's tumultuous life.

I only gave it four stars because it is somewhat dated, having been written in 1985. I wish it could have been updated to include Fidel's continued survival, against nearly all predictions, after the loss of his Soviet ally. However, a definitive biography of Castro will have to wait until after his retirement, and its judgement of him will hinge on Cuba's ability to remain a communist island in a capitalist sea.

Tad Szulc has written the best book on Castro that I have ever read. There is no doubt that he has done a great job in interviewing Castro himself and a load of other people.

It is remarkable that the author has been allowed to get as close to Castro as is the case in this book - but there is still something missing about Castros childhood. But I guess that Castro hasn't been interested in telling that story.

The story about the Cuban revolution and Castro as leader under and after the fighting in the Sierra mountain is great, and I think that the reader is given a very varied picture of Castro.

One of the important themes in the book is Castro's communism. Is he a communist or a Fidelista? When did he became a communist (if ever)? And what was the reasons for Castro to turn out as he did? The author tries to answer the questions and it is obvious that Castro himself are not quite sure when and if he turned into a communist.

A lot of space is used to describe the relationship with the russians - and it is a great describtion with a lot of funny anecdotes.

It was a true pleasure reading the book but what i miss is two things: More about the childhood of Castro and I would really enjoy if the story about Castro was extended to go beyond the year 1985 - we simply need to know what has been going on after Gorbatjov and the loss of Cuba's most important ally.

As someone born and raised in revolutionary Cuba and now living in the US for some years, I have read a lot on these subjects .......and from both sides of the ideological and political divide. " Fidel: A Critical Portrait" is simply one of the best, considering the depth of his research and the objectivity of his analysis of not only Fidel Castro, but also of the Cuban history in the last 50 years. This book by Tad Szulc is ,in my opinion, a must for anyone interested in really understanding Cuba and the Cuban revolution as well as the historical background that allowed things to happen the way they have. Furthermore, this book sheds light in what forces might come in play once Fidel Castro dies and Cuba can have a brighter future and its rightful place in America.

This book contains all the ingredients a great biography should have: comprehensive research, an interesting character, balanced and insightful analysis, and very good writing. Tad Szulc deserves all the credit he can get for putting together a book that could be used in a class as an example of how to write a biography. To me, Fidel Castro was an obstinate idealist who wanted the best for his people and country before losing himself in wrong ideas and absolutism, but you can form your own (well informed) opinion after reading this extraordinary chronicle of his life.

This is a wonderfully written account of the Guerrilla expedition that brought Castro to power. It is an objective view of this amazing man. As the reader, you are given the opportunity to draw your own views about Castro and his idealogical formation. This is a must read for anyone interested in Cuba, its revolution, and Castro.

This is an excellent biography by journalist Tad Szulc that portrays the life of Fidel Castro from his childhood, his Havana University days, and as leader of the Cuban Revolution. The first two thirds of this 650+ page book covers Castro's activities before the triumph of the Revolution. The author makes the observation that Castro grew up in an area economically dominated by American businesses, a fact that may have planted a seed of resentment in the young impressionable Fidel. Several chapters cover Castro's initial planning and execution of his first military assault of the Batista dictatorship at the Moncada barracks in 1953. It is evident from the Moncada Manifesto and the make up of his troops that his political movement was of a democratic nature and called for the restoration of the 1940 constitution. The only evidence of communist indoctrination only seems to exist under the command of his brother Raul and that of Guevara in 1958. Once the Revolution triumphs in 1959, Szluc goes into a detailed account of how Castro manipulated the country politically, militarily, and economically into the Soviet Communist Bloc with a parallel government that operated behind the cover of the pro-democracy cabinet led by provisional President Urrutia, who resigned his post and went into exile by mid-1959 because of communist infiltration in the government. Of particular interest are the narrations on the 1959 agrarian reform, the Bay of Pigs, the Escambray rebellion, and the Missile Crisis. Not much material on Castro's political repression, his interventionism in Latin America and not much on his militarist adventures in Africa. I would enjoy the story about Castro more if it was extended to go beyond the year 1985 - after the fall of the Soviet Union. Reader has to beware, as it is obvious that the interviews with Fidel and his cadre are mainly geared toward propaganda effects, although they are sometimes insightful. As a matter of fact, this book by Szulc is recommended in my own book about Memories from the Land of the Intolerant Tyrant (available from Blue Note Books) as one of the best about Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution.

As a critical political science student, I wanted to know what was all the hype about Castro. Yes, he is a communist, but is that all that makes him a "boogeyman" (if communism ever makes a person a boogeyman!). After reading many biographies of the "bearded one", Tad's book is the only one that permeates objectivity. In many parts, he criticizes Fidel for his faults but praises many of his superior societal reforms (such as the healthcare and education successes). The U.S. has got a lot to learn from his social reforms...and Castro needs to learn to democratize a little more.

If you want anti-castro/exile community propaganda, go somewhere else. But if you want the truth, read this book. Highly recommended!

I thought that the Che biography by Jon Lee Anderson was awesome. It seemed very fact oriented and neutral. Very inspirational... After finishing that, I wanted to continue learning about Cuba's recent history and wished for a book just like Anderson's, but on the topic of Fidel. Anderson mentions that "Fidel: A Critical Portrait" is THE biography on Fidel so I decided to go with it...

Well, compared to my experience with the Che book, this one was very disapointing... it has a very pessimistic tone. Perhaps Szulc is objective, however he sometimes chooses to focus on negative items, unnecessarily. The book begins and ends in negativity. Just read the last 2 pages and note the items that Szulc chooses to end the book on... problems in Cuba like alcoholism, infrastructural neglect, uninspired youth. Plenty of coutries suffer these issues; does this make Cuba stand out?

The book does have alot of information in it and valuable anecdotes, but be prepared to wade through plenty of passive jibes from Sculz regarding Fidel.

The book's introduction starts out with a sort of defense by Szulc which can be summarized as "Fidel said I could slam him... as long as I'm objective". That right there set off warning flags for me.

As far as being a "Critical Portrait" goes, it deserves 5 stars. But I imagine that there will be a few other readers that came to this via the Che book and I wanted to call attention to the very different style and to brace themselves for a different experience.

This tome presents an excellent view of Castro's past, his interests, and insights into a man I have admired throughout the years. Szurek, probably by agreement, left out some harsh practices the Castro government performed. Unfortunately, it is not a "Critical Portrait", but historically it is an excellent read if you don't mind ignoring what's been left out.

I have recently discovered a wonderful genre of historical reading: Cuban history! From Fidel Castro, and Jose Marti, to Che Guevara and Antonio Maceo, the history of the island is rich with characters whose stories are as good as any fictional action/adventure tale. I have read plenty of stories about Fidel, and this one is the most complete. There is little information on Fidel's life (up until publication) that cannot be found in this book. The writing is objective, and focuses on both the triumphs and failures of the Castro regime. It is not a quick read, it is very detailed, and I had to renew it from the library twice. Say what you will about Fidel politically, the man has lived a fascinating life, and has survived insurmountable odds and countless assassination attempts. With incredible resourcefulness and sheer determination, he managed to survive. No doubt he has left an impact that cannot be ignored and only time will tell if in history, he is truly absolved.



Mark McGinty is the author of "Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy"