Reviews for Guerrilla prince

The average rating for Guerrilla prince based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-10-03 00:00:00 Jorgy Johnson About the Author: The author was one of the reporters on the long-running PBS program Washington Week in Review during the years when the amiable Paul Duke was the host. She is also the author of the delightful memoir Buying the Night Flight. Overview: This book is mainly a character study of Fidel Castro. Gigi argues that the question of exactly when Castro became a Communist is of secondary importance, because the basic problem is that Castro was a bad guy. Geyer found that Castro had the following characteristics: • Castro wanted to be remembered by history as a revolutionary hero and champion of the oppressed • Castro wanted complete political power over the people of Cuba • Castro did not believe in any particular political ideology, such as Marxist-Leninism, but, in general terms, favored poor people against rich people, and poor nations against rich nations • In particular, Castro hated the United States • Castro was not a great military tactician or strategist, but he always had a gun with him • Castro was a charismatic speaker, a great manipulator of the press, and he loved having his picture taken Opportunist Turned Communist: Fidel admired dictators across the political spectrum, including not only Communists, but also Franco, Hitler, Mussolini, Peron, and the Spanish Falangist, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. It was Fidel's brother Raul and his comrade Che who believed in Communism. Castro regarded the local Cuban Communist party as a rival and he was never their agent. After he gained power, Castro turned to the Soviet Union, because he needed an ally against the United States. Fidel was not a tool of the Soviets, he was a rogue element that they could not control. Castro needed their money, weapons and training. In return, he offered them something of great value: location, location, location! Exporting Revolution Abroad: Fidel was bored by rule, and so he sought excitement by starting revolutions in other countries. Cuba sent his Cuban guerrilla fighters to many third-world countries: Angola, Bolivia, Chile, Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Zanzibar. Fidel was also a champion of debt forgiveness for third-world countries. Dealing with Rivals: Fidel selected followers who were obedient to him. Fidel refused to share power, and he eliminated anyone who was a threat to him. It was not enough that a person be loyal to Fidel. Fidel would eliminate individuals who had always been loyal, simply because they had acquired a strong enough power base to pose a possible threat to him sometime in the future. Castro often sent people to their deaths, rather than killing them directly. He would send them to a dangerous place where they would likely be killed by others. The most famous example was Ernesto "Che" Guevara, whom Castro sent to foment revolution in Bolivia, and then cut off the supply chain to  Guevarra after his arrival in Bolivia.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-04-24 00:00:00 Ariel Bernardo An excellent and easy to read biography of Fidel Castro: from his childhood to his rise to power in Cuba and the world stage. Geyer's analysis of the Castro persona is impressive. This book truly tells the real dictatorial, micromanaging, and egocentric personality of Fidel Castro, putting him up there with other dictators like Stalin, Mao and Kim Jong il. Many little known facts about the Cuban dictator are shown throughout the book, such as: Castro's attempt on the life of Leonel Gomez during his days as a student at the University of Havana, and his initial acts of supporting subversion in Panama and the Dominican Republic in 1959, starting his long career as a troublemaker in the Americas. She goes into the trial and harsh punishment of Camaguey province commander Hubert Matos (got 20 years for resigning his post as a protest for communist infiltration) and the mysterious disappearance of legendary commander Camilo Cienfuegos in late 1959. Geyer displays a clever analysis of Castro restructuring of the communist party to his own ends: total power in Cuba and the support of the Soviet Union. Most interesting is her analysis of the close relationship between the two Spanish Caudillos (Castro and Franco), their love of military tactics and strategy, and their shared hatred of the U.S. Her coverage of Castro's adventurism in other countries is comprehensive, from his sponsorship and training of thousands of foreign Marxist guerrillas and subversives in Cuba (which continues to this day) to his orchestration of communist takeovers in Angola and Nicaragua. Geyer's biography is a unique insight into the life of the man who will hopefully be the last Maoist Stalinist dictator in the Americas. As a matter of fact, this book by Geyer is recommended in my own book about Memories from the Land of the Intolerant Tyrant (available from Blue Note Books) as one of the best about Fidel Castro Castro and the Cuban Revolution.