Who was Fidel Castro?In the summer of 1958, 300 bearded revolutionaries, led by a 30-year-old lawyer named Fidel, turned the tides of war in Cuba by defeating 12,000 soldiers in combat. How was this possible? If you want to understand Cuba of the last 60 years, you must first understand who Fidel Castro was, and the events of the Cuban Revolution of 1953 to 1959.The revolution began in 1953 with a botched insurrection in Santiago, Cuba. Fidel was captured and put on trial where he defended himself, finishing with the now immortal words: “Condemn me. It does not matter.

History will absolve me.”Fidel was imprisoned, granted amnesty, exiled to Mexico, and then led an invasion of Cuba with 81 revolutionaries aboard a pleasure yacht called the Granma. Only 18 men survived. How did Fidel build thissmall band of guerillas into an army that would sweep to power in Cuba?Who was the rifle-toting woman who became Fidel’s most trusted advisor as well as his lover?These questions and more are answered in the thrilling I Am Cuba, a historically accurate novel detailing society, politics, war, and love in Cuba in the 1950s.

My Thoughts:

This story gives a really good insight into who Fidel Castro was, before reading this book I had heard of Fidel but didn’t really know a lot about him. My husband works in the cigar industry so thought what better way to impress him would be to find out more about Fidel and the Cuban revolution. I have to say he was suitably impressed. I didn’t find this book too heavy like some books about the past are. Very informative and I feel like I have a good knowledge now about it all. I am now recommending this book to all my friends and to my husband’s work colleagues.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.