Customer Reviews

Sailing to Hemingway's Cuba

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

 

 

The author tries to do a number of things in this book: write about sailing, Cuba, Hemingway, and fulfilling lifelong dreams. It's a tall order, but he makes it work. He weaves the disparate elements well, while his sparce prose (like his literary idol Papa) and strong narrative drive take the reader on an easy, informative, and ultimately pleasureable armchair cruise.

If you're interested in Hemingway or Cuba, or if you're a sailor, you'll find something here. Schaefer writes interestingly and authoritatively about all three. What's best is his easy, warm, natural writing style that I find particularly reader-friendly. He makes it seem effortless. It's a great read.

I found this a rather disappointing book. The author is clearly deeply interested in Hemingway, and it is more a book about Hemingway than a book about either Cuba or sailing. Sailing is limited to a trip down the ICW, a crossing to Havana, then Havana back to Florida. No gunkholing or exploring of Cuba by boat. Exploration of Cuba is limited to Havana and Hemingway's farm.

I was hoping for a more in-depth exploration of Cuba as a whole, and more sailing than just to Marina Hemingway and back.

There is useful information sprinkled here and there about politics, potential trade goods, and social life, but mostly this is a book about Hemingway's life.

This is a book for sailors, for wanderers, for those who love to explore and those who simply dream about it...If you've ever wondered what it would be like to literally sail in the same open seas where Hemingway caught huge, award-winning marlin and sailfish, walk the streets of Old Havana where Hemingway caroused and then go into the Floridita where he enjoyed his famous daquiris, this is a wonderful book for you...The reader feels as though they are retracing the exact steps and sailing the same stretches of ocean which Hemingway made famous in the 1940's through the late 1950's, until he left Cuba in 1960 following the Castro Revolution, which took away his privacy (his home was visited by soldiers many times and Hemingway's dog was reportedly killed by one of them).

Hemingway loved Cuba- but most of all, he loved adventure, anywhere it occurred....on the plains of the Serengeti....looking up at Mt. Kilimanjaro, sailing the Gulf Stream around Key West and out to Bimini...and yes, his beloved Havana, where he lived for nearly 20 years, drinking and fighting and telling tales of bravery and cowardice, war and victory, love and betrayal...to the many people who came into his life. The author of "Sailing to Hemingway's Cuba" started his journey way up near the Great Lakes...cruising out to the open Atlantic Ocean and staying near the coastline of the Eastern U.S. as he made his trek toward Florida, Key West and eventually Cuba, docking in downtown Havana under the skeptical eyes of the Cuban police and intelligence establishment. Encountering the Third World clientele wandering the streets, he gives the reader useful tips (who to trust- almost no one- where to spend your money, where to eat, what bars to visit, what hotels are worth staying in or at least seeing for their historical significance)...It is a well written account of a fascinating journey and one which any Hemingway fan would enjoy- especially those interested in the popular cottage industry of following in the footsteps of famous authors....This book rates five stars because it stands as a work well done, interesting, helpful, useful for sailors and those who someday want to visit Cuba and see the famous home at Finca Vigia in the small town of San Francisco de Paula where Hemingway lived and wrote some of his most famous novels. Hemingway would enjoy this as a hearty read....

-Gene Pisasale
Author of "Vineyard Days"

I recommend this book to people curious about Hemingway, Cuba and the perils of navigating the inland waterway. Schaefer succeds by capturing both the hard truths and the enigmatic character of his three subjects--sailing, Hemingway and Cuba.

Fun to read, easy to follow along, and quite intuitive as to the 'going's on' in Cuba (during this time period). Is helpful for sailors arriving in Marina Hemmingway also...more so than travel guides, etc.

I have always wanted to go to Cuba and after reading David Schaefer's book "Sailing to Hemingway's Cuba" I feel like I have been there. David takes you on a his journey to Cuba, makes it exciting and pulls at your heart strings. Now I HAVE to go to Cuba! Very well written. It also taught me a lot about Hemingway.

I was looking for a second book to include in my stocking stuffers for Dad and liked the write up on this one as he has been to Cuba (at the end of WWII), wanted to make the inland waterway trip down the East Coast and spent a lot of vacation time in the keys. A week and a half after Xmas I asked if he had had a chance to start either book. He is not much of a talker over the phone but this time he would not hang up! He informed me that he may never finish the book as he has to reread every page at least once as they are so full of adventures he has experienced while boating. I kept hearing, "do you remember the time ...". Later, he repeated the enthusiasm at work to anyone who would listen and made a special trip to the book store to see if it was available in hard back with photos (sadly, it is not). Unfortunately, the Dave Schaefer has not yet written another book but my father is anxiously waiting for the next one (and I am afraid I will have to buy my own copy as he refuses to loan this one out).

Dave Schaefer had the urge to see Cuba and track down Hemingway's old haunters, and used his 32-foot sloop to sail from Berlington, Vermont south through the Champlain Canal to the Hudson, the Keys, and beyond. This armchair read will delight any with an interest in sailing experiences.