Adventuring Through Spanish Colonies: Simon Bolivar, Foreign Mercenaries and the Birth of New Nations Book

This is the perfect example of how news can affect the shape and course of history.

Although it is arguable whether Fidel Castro could've triumphed when he did against the Batista regime without the timely help of The New York Times's Herbert L. Matthews, the fact remains that Matthews was instrumental in creating a legend, resurrecting Castro with a vengeance after rumors of his death had been confirmed by Batista's government.

This is the story of the strange relationship between a journalist, the newspaper he worked for, a young rebel turned dictator, and the American public opinion.

It is a thorough study of all the elements that come together to influence events and it is on a league of its own in its genre, its treatment of the subject matter and its principal players, and the careful balance it strikes between what actually happened, what people involved in this story think happened, and how people looking on from the outside perceived what has happening.