Havana Nocturne

How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

By: T. J. English

Narrated by: Mel Foster

In Havana Nocturne, T. J. English offers a riveting, multifaceted true tale of organized crime, political corruption, roaring nightlife, revolution, and international conflict that interweaves the dual stories of the mob in Havana and the event that would overshadow it: the Cuban Revolution.

Bringing together long-buried historical information and English's own research in Havana - including interviews with the era's key survivors - Havana Nocturne takes listeners back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Thanks to strong ties with the island's brutal dictator, President Batista, the mob soon owned the biggest luxury hotels and casinos and launched an unprecedented tourist boom.

But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others who would lead the country's disenfranchised to overthrow their corrupt government and its foreign partners - an epic cultural battle that English captures in all its sexy, decadent, ugly glory.

©2008 T. J. English (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"English's engaging narrative reads with the gripping quality of fiction: the dark underworld of Havana comes to life....Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)
"Crime writer English...unfolds a story whose main outline will be familiar to any fan of The Godfather: Part II, but whose twists and turns no screenplay could keep up with." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Interesting and educational

I started this having no idea that the Mob had been involved in Cuba. In fact, I knew nothing about Cuba and its relationship with the United States so it was quite interesting to learn how the relationship could have been much different now if the American government and the mobsters had picked a different horse to back, or perhaps if Castro had been killed in one of his early coup attempts.

Anyway, it was a slow trek through the story because none of the politics, or the mob relations or the characters involved were familiar to me. But it was enlightening in how it explained the background to the current US-Cuba relations.

The narrator is okay... a bit boring but at least he's understandable.

Socialism beats the mob

A good example of how greed, sleaze and criminality can defeated but not in the USA. No lessons were learned.

Interesting but a little bland

Learned a lot about both sides of the isle and not just America’s viewpoint. I can see how Castro might have been viewed differently than just a dictator.

Great story, especially relevant now.

This is an amazing and unusual story. It is primarily about how the mob ran Havana's casino business, but this story is inseparable from the story of the Cuban Revolution that ended it all. It's a great piece of history to learn about, especially given recent events between the US and Cuba.

Some listeners complained about the plain delivery style. I would agree that it is pretty dry, but it didn't bother me. It is non-fiction, after all.

My only complaint about the narration is that it was not done by a native Spanish speaker. The narrator learned the basic rules, so it wasn't the worst I've heard. But can be a little challenging to unravel some of the the names of songs and people (for example, in the song title "Como Fue", somehow "fue" ends up having two syllables).

Overall, I highly recommend it. The subject matter is of course, at least R-rated. It would not be a good choice for your family vacation with elementary-school kids.

a good read before heading to Havana

fascinating story that captures the period and has lots of behind the scenes anecdotes. I would recommend it.