• Havana Nocturne

  • How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution
  • By: T. J. English
  • Narrated by: Mel Foster
  • Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,312 ratings)

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Havana Nocturne  By  cover art

Havana Nocturne

By: T. J. English
Narrated by: Mel Foster
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Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about Havana Nocturne

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Don’t care about the mob as much as I’d thought I would

I expected this book to be engaging and offer insight into the mob in Havana. I did learn a good deal about the mob and about life in Havana for the mob but it turns out I don’t care very much. I guess I anticipated a salacious tell-all but there was a lot of focus on how the mob was corporatized. Incongruity between these business details and the details of sex shows attended by those entertained by the mobsters in Cuba just felt bizarre. I’ve never read deeper in to the mob than “The Godfather” so I did gain insight into the roles of a lot of the players but as a novice, I think a book focusing on the earlier days and Las Vegas would have been more interesting - as I think those names are more commonly recognized.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Narrator is a robot

It is difficult to find the story interesting when the narrator is so boring. Do not recommend.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What A Tale....

If you could sum up Havana Nocturne in three words, what would they be?

Crooks inevitably lose

What other book might you compare Havana Nocturne to and why?

I know of no comparable book. It reads like a novel, making it easy to forget these events really occurred.

Have you listened to any of Mel Foster’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

And they thought they were gangsters...

Any additional comments?

I'll begin by saying that T.J. English is a kick-ass storyteller, and the history of the Havana Mafia, Fidel Castro and the revolution has never been told better, as far as I have read or heard. I had trouble putting this one down. I learned so much.

I read the book after having visited Cuba twice, and reading the book after the fact put a lot of things in perspective. English's account of events in sites like the Hotel Nacional, calle Neptuno, Vedado, calle 23, Old Havana, Centro Habana and the Havana Libre had me repeatedly gasping, recalling time that I spent at each of these locations. Who knew that the glorious Havana Libre was once a mobster's hotel? I didn't. Until now, I was never able to fully wrap my mind around the stark popularity/notoriety dichotomy of the late former Cuban president Fidel Castro.

I've gained a whole new, fresh perspective on Cuban history through this audiobook. I highly recommend it as a fantastic and engrossing overview of 20th century Cuba, the making of Fidel Castro and as a way to gain an understanding of why so many Cubans loved Castro and why so many Cubans hated him.

My only criticism is that the narrator, though he speaks clearly, he mispronounces numerous words, mostly Spanish words (that briefly confused me until I figured out what he meant to say) and even some English words. The iconic figure Che Guevara was discussed at various points, and the narrator repeatedly mispronounced his name. It's [Gey-VAH-rah], not [Gw-VER-ruh]. I could handle the monotone, as the story was exciting enough that I saw no need for extra inflections. But the mispronunciations weren't acceptable.

I am recommending this audiobook to everyone I know who is interested in Cuba. I've already sent it to two people before I finished it. A long read, but well worth it. I didn't want it to end. Excellent ending.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written

Interesting and riveting. Well documented and. Researched. Thank you for great entertainment and truthful information.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightening

Loved the story not the narrator. Narrator did not speak spanish and butchered almost all the spanish words.
Almost stopped listening but wanted to know the history of Cuba. Needs updating now that the embargo is lifted and Fidel died.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous

If you could sum up Havana Nocturne in three words, what would they be?

One great book!

What about Mel Foster’s performance did you like?

not overly dramatic

Any additional comments?

Audible customers should not worry about the comments about the reader. I found him to be fine, not overly dramatic, which fits the book precisely, since it IS dramatic. This book is excellent- so well written and so fascinating. It kept me company on a long road trip, and I could not wait to get back behind the wheel. This story has it all: high drama, mob, politics, sex, money, and the assassination of JFK. And so well put together and researched. I'm recommending it to everyone.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great read definitely recommend

great read love the book and would definitely recommend it has great information and a good narrator

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating Look at Another Side of the Story

There is a version of Cuba, and over all the players in this part of Cuba's history, that is crafted and told as gospel by US media and culture; this book peals back that story and looks at how it all went down in the eyes of those who were there.
Not in an overly sympathetic way, nor overly critical, but with fascinating characters and in a way that makes unique connections between events that I thought I knew about.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

I will admit that I'm a little embarrassed that I don't know much about u.s. and cuba relationship and this book provided a very interesting perspective that has stirred my interest and has prompted me to listen to more books concerning the history of Cuba and it's relationship to the U.S.

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