Rating: 
Summary: Accurate portrayal of the brutal dictator.
Review: This book gives a accurate portrayal of Castro's life. As a Cuban who has suffered under his heavy hand, I have to say the author does a good job. Castro's regime after 40 years is as brutal as ever with numerous crackdown on political dissidents every day. It is funny how some outsiders can go to the island and leave "experts", simply because they spoke to a few people. You have to live many years in Cuba to really know how oppressive Castro's regime has been.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome addition
Review: This is book is a welcome addition and sheds much needed light on the phenonmenon of Castro. It is thoroughly researched and quite lengthy-perhaps too much so however. After completing a masters degree in Latin American studies and pouring over the vast literature on Cuba, I definitely recommend this book but suggest reading others on the topic as well. Cuban studies is such a politicized field and it is remarkably difficult to find academics, pundits, and others writing in this area who aren't completely biased in one way or the other. In addition to this book, I recommend books and articles by Jorge Dominguez, who is probably the most noted scholar writing on Cuba today.
Rating:
Summary: A very thorough account
Review: This is obviously a well reserched book. Sometimes a little "heavy" in depth and to extreme detail, however the detailed account of his younger years helps to understand the type of person he is! In power for over 30 years(longer than any contemporary leader) Quirk gives a good insight to how such a person strategically thinks and the effect of charisma. His obsession of not conforming to the Western capitalism economic order to become a subservient economy to the rich Western nations appears to give him incredible drive and motivation. If you want to gain some knowledge about Castro, this is a good one!
Rating: 
Summary: truly pathetic -- don't waste your time
Review: Truly pathetic, borderline-propaganda crap. I'm not normally so blunt in my comments, but this book is so biased, I don't think it even deserves the time I'm taking to write this (nor the time I have already invested in reading it!). If you are interested in a more objective biography of Castro, there are many to pick from -- this is certainly one of the worst, even among the most vehemently anti-Castro titles I have read.Perhaps I shouldn't give this title such a horrible review... this author's totally conspicuous lack of objectivity might alert some readers as to the incessant propaganda that attempts to pass as unbiased reporting about Castro.
Rating:
Summary: Total Bull
Review: We shouldn't praise a dictator because a book shows his lif
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