In this firsthand account by a historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, we meet men and women who led the urban underground in the fight against the brutal U.S.-backed tyranny in the 1950s. Together with their comrades-in-arms in the Rebel Army, they not only overthrew the dictatorship. Their revolutionary actions and example worldwide changed the history of the 20th century-and the century to come. "Biographical sketches of major political figures during the 1950s, as well as photographs, are important additions to the text…. Recommended."-Choice "Narrated by [someone] who not only participated in the founding of the revolutionary movement that came to power in 1959 but also … formed part of the leadership of that revolutionary movement…. [C]ontains more than one hundred pages of important documents, other first-person accounts, and photographs…. [P]rovides scholars of Cuba a wealth of information with which to stimulate further research … will also be of value for students and the general public interested in contemporary Latin America."-Hispanic American Historical Review "A historical display with vivid commentary to provide an insider's explanation."- CounterpoisePrefaces by Mary-Alice Waters, Eliades Acosta Matos, and Roberto Fernández Retamar, 28-page photo section, documents, maps, epilogue, chronological notes, glossary, index.

This comprehensive biography of Eduardo René Chibás (1907–1951) traces the life and times of Cuba’s most popular and charismatic politician during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Chibás, whose admirers included young Fidel Castro, emphasized honesty in Cuban public life and promised to sweep away corrupt politicians during his popular Sunday broadcasts. His ties with supporters, many of whom knew him simply as “Eddy,” were closer and more informal than any previous Cuban politician. During his 1948 presidential campaign, Chibás often hurled himself into the arms of adoring supporters after speeches. Such gestures were met with wonder and disgust by politicians more accustomed to buying votes than winning hearts. His suicide in 1951 dashed the dreams of his followers—who hoped he would deliver an honest government that provided services for the island’s poor and respected Cuba’s progressive 1940 constitution. His death, which was followed seven months hence by a military coup and eight years later by Castro’s revolution, represents one of the great what ifs of Cuban politics. This seminal work explores Chibás’s life in order to explain the nature of Cuban politics from the mid-twentieth century to today.

Based on hundreds of interviews conducted over many years in 28 countries, including extensive personal interviews with Castro himself, Georgie Anne Geyer reveals the untold story of Fidel Castro in this definitive biography.

Organized labor in the 1950s -- A crisis of productivity -- The employers' offensive -- Workers take stock -- Responses to state terror -- Two strikes -- Last days of Batista -- The first year of the new Cuba -- Conclusion: what was the role of organized labor in the Cuban insurrection?

Syndicated journalist Georgie Anne Geyer calls on her nearly 40 years of experience covering Latin America to create an extraordinary biography that reveals the untold story of Fidel Castro, revolutionary and demagogue. Based on hundreds of interviews and unique sources -- including four extensive personal interviews with Castro -- Guerrilla Prince is an intimate and revealing portrait, charged with all the electricity of the charismatic leader.In this updated edition, Ms. Geyer presents new insights and addresses the changes since the 1991 release of Guerrilla Prince in hardcover -- the collapse of the Soviet Union, the internal unrest, and the growing anticipation of a post-Castro Cuba.

Julia Sweig shatters the mythology surrounding the Cuban Revolution in a compelling revisionist history that reconsiders the revolutionary roles of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara and restores to a central position the leadership of the Cuban urban underground, the Llano. Granted unprecedented access to the classified records of Castro's 26th of July Movement's underground operatives--the only scholar inside or outside of Cuba allowed access to the complete collection in the Cuban Council of State's Office of Historic Affairs--she details the ideological, political, and strategic debates between Castro's mountain-based guerrilla movement and the urban revolutionaries in Havana, Santiago, and other cities. In a close study of the fifteen months from November 1956 to July 1958, when the urban underground leadership was dominant, Sweig examines the debate between the two groups over whether to wage guerrilla warfare in the countryside or armed insurrection in the cities, and is the first to document the extent of Castro's cooperation with the Llano. She unveils the essential role of the urban underground, led by such figures as Frank País, Armando Hart, Haydée Santamaria, Enrique Oltuski, and Faustino Pérez, in controlling critical decisions on tactics, strategy, allocation of resources, and relations with opposition forces, political parties, Cuban exiles, even the United States--contradicting the standard view of Castro as the primary decision maker during the revolution. In revealing the true relationship between Castro and the urban underground, Sweig redefines the history of the Cuban Revolution, offering guideposts for understanding Cuban politics in the 1960s and raising intriguing questions for the future transition of power in Cuba.

Celia Sanchez Manduley (1920–1980) is famous for her role in the Cuban revolution. Clad in her military fatigues, this "first female guerrilla of the Sierra Maestra" is seen in many photographs alongside Fidel Castro. Sanchez joined the movement in her early thirties, initially as an arms runner and later as a combatant. She was one of Castro's closest confidants, perhaps lover, and went on to serve as a high-ranking government official and international ambassador. Since her death, Sanchez has been revered as a national icon, cultivated and guarded by the Cuban government. With almost unprecedented access to Sanchez's papers, including a personal diary, and firsthand interviews with family members, Tiffany A. Sippial presents the first critical study of a notoriously private and self-abnegating woman who yet exists as an enduring symbol of revolutionary ideals. Sippial reveals the scope and depth of Sanchez's power and influence within the Cuban revolution, as well as her struggles with violence, her political development, and the sacrifices required by her status as a leader and "New Woman." Using the tools of feminist biography, cultural history, and the politics of memory, Sippial reveals how Sanchez strategically crafted her own legacy within a history still dominated by bearded men in fatigues.

It includes introductions to the life and work of female authors who are not very well known in the Anglophone world due to the lack of translations of their works. This critical work with a feminist focus will provide a helpful framework for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UK and US. A wide-ranging bibliography will be of great assistance to those looking to pursue research on the fantastic or on any of the specific writers and texts. This book is endorsed by the British Academy as part of the project Gender and the Fantastic in Hispanic Studies, and by an established international network, namely the Grupo de Estudios sobre lo Fantástico, based in the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Dictatorship in Fact and in Fiction focuses on independence movements led by “dictadores” in Latin America and the Caribbean. It presents theses and antitheses concerning the intellectual determinants and social conditions that give rise to and sustain what many call dictatorships. It also considers the false attribution of “dictatorship”, relying sometimes on the stigma produced by the word and its cognates to refer to such figures as José Martí, Simón Bolívar, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. Paraguayans named their “dictador,” José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, “El supremo Dictador Perpetuo”. Unlike his fellow “dictadores”, such as Simón Bolívar, who achieved Independence by daunting deeds of physical and intellectual leadership, Francia ensured Paraguay’s independence by enhancing its unity and productivity. And yet Sarmiento, despite his ethnic cleansing, is more widely admired. This example points to our moral duty to define “dictatorship” and, by extension, to the indispensability of the present volume.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Introduction. A History That Dare Not Be Told: Political Culture and the Making of Revolutionary Cuba, 1946-1958 -- 1 Cuba on the Verge: Martyrdom, Political Culture, and Civic Activism, 1946-1951 -- 2 El Último Aldabonazo: Fulgencio Batista's "Revolution" and Renewed Struggle for a Democratic Cuba, 1952-1953 -- 3 Los Muchachos del Moncada: Civic Mobilization and Democracy's Last Stand, 1953-1954 -- 4 Civic Activism and the Legitimation of Armed Struggle Against Batista, 1955-1956 -- 5 Complicit Communists, Student Commandos, Fidelistas, and Civil War, 1956-1957 -- 6 Clandestinos, Guerrillas, and the Making of a Messiah in the Sierra Maestra, 1957-1958 -- Epilogue. Revolutionary Cuba: December 1958 and Beyond -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z