Latin Revolutions

In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation.

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.

After a long pre-history, the actual Cuban revolutionary war itself only lasted, incredibly, a little more than two years, from Dec 2, 1956, to January 1, 1959 - from the disastrous first battle, in which three-quarters of the expeditionary force of 82 revolutionaries that traveled to Cuba on the Granma were killed, to total victory at the beginning of January 1959. And there is no better account of the war than this little book by guerilla leader Che Guevara.

Historian and journalist Tony Perrottet chronicles the events of the Cuban Revolution and the figures at the center of the guerrilla uprising: Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and the scrappy band of rebel men and women who followed them.

Whichever belief system was in play for the major industrial nations of Central and South America, a constant bombardment of foreign influence pushed the people of states such as Nicaragua, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and others toward overthrow. Few examples remain as memorable as the conflict in Nicaragua, where the Frente Sandinista de Liberation Nacional (FSLN), a left-wing revolutionary party, seized power in the small Central American nation of Nicaragua in July 1979, toppling four decades of dictatorial rule perpetrated by the Somoza dynasty.

In response to the American administration's attempt to isolate Cuba, Fidel Castro delivered a series of speeches designed to radicalize Latin American society. As Latin America experiences more revolutions in Venezuela and Bolivia, and continues to upset America's plan for neoliberal imperialism, renowned radical writer and activist Tariq Ali provides a searing analysis of the relevance of Castro's message today. Includes an exclusive additional introduction by Tariq Ali.

This timely book provides a balanced, deeply knowledgeable introduction to Cuba since 1492. Tracing the island's history over 500 years, the authors provide an incisive overview for anyone interested in exploring beyond the enduring stereotypes.

Chávez is one of the most divisive and controversial political figures in Latin American history. He has been in power since 1999 and is South America's longest serving head of state. The leader of the movement towards 21st century socialism, Chávez has sought to bring socialist reform to Venezuela through what he calls the Bolivarian Revolution. His goal has been to shift power from the nation's traditional oligarchy to the neglected poor.

On an October morning in 1935, the streets of Río Piedras erupted into violence that would change Puerto Rican history forever. Blood on the Streets plunges readers into the heart of a pivotal moment, when four Nationalists were gunned down near the University of Puerto Rico in what became known as the Río Piedras massacre. Through gripping narrative and meticulous research, Alex Alicea uncovers the political tensions, colonial oppression, and social unrest that led to this deadly clash. He traces the rise of the Nationalist movement, the fiery leadership of Pedro Albizu Campos, and the ...

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known to the world as Che, has led two lives. In the first of these lives, the Argentine-born revolutionary was a remarkable and flawed doctor-turned-guerilla who left behind a highly controversial political legacy. In the second, he was - and is - first and foremost an image. Specifically, he is one particular image in which he appears as a wavy-haired, bearded young man with a beret and an intense gaze.

Rebellion has always been in the O'Reilly family's blood. So when faced with the tragic death of her brother during Northern Ireland's infamous Troubles, a teenage Nora joined the IRA to fight for her country's freedom. Now, more than a decade later, Nora is haunted by both her past and vivid dreams of a man she has never met. When she is given a relic belonging to Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of Ireland, the mystical artifact transports her back eighty years - to the height of Ireland's brutal civil war.

Carol Andreas was a traditional 1950s housewife from a small Mennonite town in central Kansas who became a radical feminist and Marxist revolutionary. From the late sixties to the early eighties, she went through multiple husbands and countless lovers while living in three states and five countries. She took her youngest son, Peter, with her wherever she went, even kidnapping him and running off to South America after his straitlaced father won a long and bitter custody fight.

In the early 19th century, the United States turned its idealistic gaze southward, imagining a legacy of revolution and republicanism it hoped would dominate the American hemisphere. From pulsing port cities to Midwestern farms and Southern plantations, an adolescent nation hailed Latin America's independence movements as glorious tropical reprises of 1776.

Rasta Man: Love, Music, and Revolution take listeners on a captivating journey through the tumultuous lives of Elijah, a charismatic reggae musician and revolutionary leader, and Janelle, the woman who stands by his side through thick and thin. Set against the backdrop of Jamaica’s political unrest and the ever-evolving world of reggae music, their story is one of passion, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between two souls destined to be together. Elijah, known to his fans as the Rasta Man, has become a symbol of hope for the people of Jamaica.

The year is 1967. Vietnam is in flames, and few realize that a firefight on a jungle road in Latin America is the beginning of a new and secret war. In Bolivia, international revolutionary Ché Guevara leads a band of guerillas determined to liberate a continent. Paul Hoyle, a CIA paramilitary officer, joins a team of operatives sent to crush the Bolivian insurgency. When a recovered backpack reveals that Ché Guevara is in command of the rebels, the stage is set for a duel between world ideologies.

El indeleble recuento del Che de la guerra revolucionaria cubana.

This book tells the story, for the first time, of the United States government's response to Guevara's ill-starred insurgency in Bolivia in 1967. Henry Butterfield Ryan argues that Guevara's life must be re-evaluated in light of secret documents only recently released by the CIA, the State Department, the Pentagon, and the National Security Council.

Fidel Castro is one of the most influential and controversial men of the last 50 years, equally revered and reviled by people across the globe. To the West Castro has long been one of the prominent faces of Communism and the main reason Cuba has been ostracized by many liberal democracies, particularly the United States.

Published in 1791, Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man defended the French Revolution’s values of freedom, equality, and brotherhood. He argued that a government based on justice ought to support mankind’s civil rights relating to security and protection, as well as the natural rights to life, liberty, and freedom of conscience. He also proposed plans for universal education, pensions, poverty relief, and social welfare in this classic work that was widely read across the West.

Ernesto Che Guevara fue un viajero - y por lo tanto un escritor de cartas - a lo largo de su vida de adulto. Las cartas coleccionadas aquí incluyen un amplio rango, de cartas a sus padres durante su viaje en motocicleta a la extensiva carta a Fidel luego del éxito de la revolución cubana a comienzos de 1959, de lo más personal a lo intensamente político, revelando a alguien que no solo ahondaba a través del pensamiento en todo lo que encontraba, pero para quien el proceso de transformación social fue un compañero constante desde su juventud hasta poco antes de su muerte.