I knew Fidel and Che as Cold War cliche icons but almost nothing about the Cuban Revolution itself. Perrottet sets out to retell that story afresh by putting aside the animosity between the US and Cuba with a straight up "this is what happened" retelling without presuming to know what would transpire in the years after the revolution. The story is way better than I imagined. There is a literary quality to it as Fidel and his group were college educated urbane middle-class romantics, they were reading books by Emile Zola, Edward Gibbon and Cervantes while building tree forts in the jungle. How they went from 20 unlikely guys (and a few women) in the remotest mountains who forgot to bring shaving razors, to conquering the island and the attention of the world is the stuff of legend. It is a wonderfully fun and upbeat story. Communism doesn't even enter the story until after the revolution. There are clear good and bad guys, overcoming improbable odds, fame and fortune, humor and drama set in an exotic land of pristine jungle mountains, mafioso casinos, coffee farmers, feudal landlords, and a cast of colorful people. What a delightful way to learn about Cuba as everything comes back this moment and nothing afterwards can be understood without it. ( )

This is a wonderfully readable history of Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution. ( )

This is an extensively researched, well written account of the Cuban Revolution and the overthrow of Batista. It is well written, reading more like a novel than non fiction.

All of the main revolutionary characters are here as well as cameo appearances by some surprising individuals. The roll of the US meddling in and attempts to control not only Cuba, but other Latin American countries as well is also presented.

I’m not a big fan of non fiction, but I really liked this book and would highly recommend it. It’s an incredible story! ( )