Reviews for Valley of the Drawn Sword The Early History of Burnley, Pendle and West Craven

The average rating for Valley of the Drawn Sword The Early History of Burnley, Pendle and West Craven based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-12-17 00:00:00 Kelly Silva Note, November 20, 2017: In browsing through my History shelf today, I decided that, in comparison with other books I've rated there, this book would more accurately deserve four stars than five (though obviously it's still a very good book!). Cuba has been in the news a lot recently. Regrettably, this book is too old to directly cover the current transition from Fidel to Raul, or even the 2003 crackdown on dissent (which imposed draconian prison sentences on over 70 human rights and democracy activists, independent journalists, and operators of some of the island's burgeoning network of grassroots independent libraries). But it does provide a valuable overview of the history of Cuba up to 2002, setting the current regime in its context. (Modern Americans too often suffer from total historical amnesia about other countries, making it impossible for them to realistically understand present conditions.) And it lays bare the repressive character and intellectual bankruptcy of the Stalinist Castro regime and its failed socio-economic policies (while not whitewashing the record of the U.S. in Cuba's history, either). One of the world's foremost scholars in Latin American history, Dr. Suchlicki has written the definitive, well documented (the bibliography takes up 12 1/2 pages) popular history of Cuba. A perfect antidote to the rose-colored propaganda put out by the Castro government and its U.S. "solidarity groups," it deserves a wide readership.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-10-29 00:00:00 Thomas Mccambridge I thought this was a well-written book, covering the social, economic and historical aspects of the island. I would like to hear what this author has to say about the island's recent history, I'll have to poke around a bit and see if he has written anything lately.