Colombia's Military and Brazil's Monarchy: Undermining the Republican Foundations of South American Independence, Vol. 7 Book

Castro is in his mid-eighties, my dad's age, and I wanted to learn more about his life. The Hawaii Public Library System has a bunch of biographies about the man, so I chose a scholarly one written by a European because I wanted a perspective that was not American or Cuban. This biography is studiously researched and does not seem unduly biased in any direction, given the controversial subject. It was not a quick-read, and bogged down sometimes in more minutia than I would have liked. However, I learned so much about the man and his beliefs, about the politics of revolution, and of both the USA and Soviet Union, about the struggles for freedom in Central and South America and Africa, about Che Guevera and his role in both Castro's life and world history. After learning about the abhorant role of the USA and our CIA in the colonialization and mafia-ization of Cuba under the brutal iron rule of Batista, I have a better understanding of the Cuban people's revolution and the events that shaped my own youth including the Bay of PIgs invasion,and the subsequent missile crisis, And, instead of learning about the devil, as Castry was portrayed, I have come to appreciate and admire the Cuban people and Castro's passionate and stubborn efforts to free their island-country from the tyrany of the USA government. Fidel Castro rose to power because the people of Cuba stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and he is the only leader of a Third World Country that I know of who did not get rich off his revolution. Viva Castro! Viva Cuba!