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Fidel Castro  By  cover art

Fidel Castro

By: Fidel Castro, Ignacio Ramonet
Narrated by: Todd McLaren, Patrick Lawlor
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Publisher's summary

For decades, people have tried to persuade the leader of the Cuban Revolution to tell his own life story. Ignacio Ramonet, the celebrated editor in chief of Le Monde diplomatique, has finally succeeded. For the first time, in a series of extensive and probing interviews, Fidel Castro describes his life from the 1950s to the present day. In frank and compelling detail, he discusses his parents and his childhood, his earliest influences, the beginnings of the revolution, his relationship with Che Guevara, the drama of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Jimmy Carter years, Cuban migration to the United States, his dealings with successive American presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush, and his relationship with such controversial leaders as Saddam Hussein and Hugo Chavez.

Along the way, Ramonet challenges Castro to discuss his views on a number of controversial questions, from human rights and freedom of the press to the repression of homosexuality and the survival of the death penalty in Cuba. This book will stand as the definitive record of an extraordinary life lived in turbulent times.

©2006 Ignacio Ramonet (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Enormously fascinating." ( Booklist)
"A book of great importance to anyone interested in contemporary history and current events." ( Kirkus)

What listeners say about Fidel Castro

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

In His Own Words

First, I am not pro-Castro. However, having spend some time in his Cuba I was interested in what this head of state had to say. I wanted to get a glimpse of Castro the man. "Fidel Castro: My Life" has gotten me about as close to the man as I could get.

Ignacio Ramonet has spent over 100 hours interviewing Castro. Those thoughts are contained here. The book follows a Q&A format which is helpful. The prose is polished and well read by two readers. One reads the questions and the second plays the part of Castro.

Whatever your attitude toward the Revolution, this book is very interesting. The stories, even from Castro's perspective, are engaging and informative.

The book has a rather lengthy introduction. If you are pro-Revolution, you will be rewarded. If you are anti-Castro, you might not continue the book. I was a little put off, but greatly rewarded for continuing on and opening my mind to the narrative. The introduction is also helpful and should not be skipped because Ramonet details his interview and writing methodology.

Listen to the book if you believe it is fiction. Listen if you believe in Castro.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

Fidel Castro sets the record straight - removing the patent falsehoods perpetuated by the US government and the Cuban "exile" community in Miami.

He tells the truth about events we in the US never hear about - US financed terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, biological warfare and, lets not forget, a cruel economic blockade that is odd - considering how the US kowtows to China(a country that has slaughtered MILLIONS). You'll have a very different view of the phony "war on terror" when you learn of what the US government has done to Cuba over the past five decades.

Forget the lies of those with a vested interest in having a Cuba that is nothing more than a playground for the wealthy elite of the US.

Compared to the books written by US politicians(which are generally never more that campaign publicity), this book is breathtakingly frank. If you want to know the quality of a politician, see how often they admit to their mistakes - or take the blame when something goes wrong. They rarely do, but Fidel Castro does.

This book sets the record straight - which is something we direly need in an era of US Nazi-style propaganda.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Lino

I am the son of Cuban-exile parents who were displaced in the early 60's by Fidel Castro. I have studied Cuban history, in particular the era in which Castro has been a major player. Castro clearly manipulates facts relative to my parents' and many other exiled people's experiences. Upon listening, it became very clear that Fidel has filtered the text to fit his needs. The author provides a disclaimer at the beginning of the book that Fidel reviewed and edited before publishing for more "clarity". I listened with this caveat, not expecting full truth, but, with interest in how Castro portrays himself and the communist regime he has led. In this context, I found the book very interesting, but, would suggest reading other books on Castro to cross-reference historical facts and events.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Narrators problem

It is most distracting that the narrators obviously have made no attempt to learn how to pronounce Spanish, particularly proper names. For the most part their pronunciations are merely grating, but in some cases their pronunciations render names of people and places actually unrecognizable. Although distracting, this detracts from neither the value of the content nor the clarity of the English in the narration.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Restraint. Resolve. Vision.

I listened to this book while on holiday in Santiago de Cuba and found Castro fascinating: his restraint, resolve, moral vision are inspiring and I think that history will judge him to be one of the towering figures of his century.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thrilling Story Despite Your Personal Politics

What made the experience of listening to Fidel Castro the most enjoyable?

This book is written as an interview conducted with Castro over several weeks in the mid-2000's. The narrators both have neutral American accents and makes for easy and enjoyable listening. From the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks to the Sierra Maestra to Cuban Missile Crisis to the fall of the Soviets the author (not Castro) gives a meticulous engineers' diagram of the situation in Cuba.

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

The Greatest Story The Government Doesn't Want You To Know

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, not so great narration

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrator for Castro's voice could not pronounce many of the Spanish words which was a bit annoying.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed it. Very informative.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • PK
  • 12-07-19

Awesome

Felt like listening to grandpa! Very informativeand captivating. Plus it is an invite to more research

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Comandante!

great book about the legendary leader!
read, listen to learn many truths about Fidel, el Comandante!

and narration is well-done, engaging and flowing.

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5 people found this helpful

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

loved it! eye opener in many ways.

loved it! eye opener in many ways. Have an open mind. History is told ny the winner.

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4 people found this helpful