Fidel

It would be hard to seriously dispute Fidel Castro's place as the most consistently important and controversial political leader in the hemisphere throughout the second half of the 20th century, yet the man is constantly diminished by mainstream reportage and commentary outside of Cuba that routinely distorts not only the history of the revolution but Castro's very motives. Kohan's perspective here is far more congenial. Instead of Castro the subhuman, power-mad megalomaniac, the longtime Cuban leader is presented as a heroic statesman-in short, he gets the same sanitized, benefit-of-the-doubt treatment that sympathetic political biographers typically afford their subject. The book sets the stage for the 1959 revolution with a quick survey of the nation's history through the Batista regime and back to the time of José Martí and follows Castro through his early education, his development of a political consciousness, then into the Sierra Maestra for the long struggle that culminated in the unlikely victory of the young revolutionaries. Kohan briefly touches a single topic on each page and includes a graphic or two by his fellow Argentine Scherma, who works in various media from rough ink or charcoal sketches to modified photographs. Libraries should be aware that this book essentially reproduces 2006's Fidel para principiantes ("Fidel for Beginners"). While it certainly won't change the minds of anti-Castro readers, for those who remain uncertain it serves as a balance to the prevailing narrative. Recommended for public libraries.—Bruce Jensen, Kutztown Univ. Lib., PA