Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington

by Ann Louise Bardach

From the award-winning reporter and go-to source on Cuban-Miami politics Ann Louise Bardach comes a riveting, eye-opening account of the last chapter in the life of Fidel his near death and marathon finale, his enemies and their fifty-year failed battle to eliminate him, and the carefully planned succession and early reign of his brother Raúl.

Ann Louise Bardach offers a spellbinding chronicle of the Havana-Washington political showdown, drawing on nearly two decades of reporting and countless interviews with everyone from the Comandante himself, his co-ruler and brother Raúl, and other family members, to ordinary Cubans as well as officials and politicos in Miami, Havana, and Washington. The result is an unforgettable dual portrait of Fidel and Raúl Castro -- arguably the most successful and enduring political brother team in history.

Since 1959, Fidel Castro has been the supreme leader of Cuba, deftly checkmating his foes, both from within and abroad; confronting eleven American presidents; and outfoxing dozens of assassination attempts, vanquished only by collapsing health.

As night descends on Castro's extraordinary fifty-year reign, Miami, Havana, and Washington are abuzz with anxious What led to the lightning-bolt purge of key Cuban officials in March 2009? Who will be Raúl's heir? Will the U.S. embargo end now?

Bardach offers profound and surprising answers to these questions as she meticulously chronicles Castro's protracted farewell and assesses his transformative impact on the world stage and the complex legacy that will long outlive him. She reports from three distinct vantage In Miami, where more than one million Cubans have fled, she interviews scores of exiles including Castro's would-be assassins Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles; in Washington, DC, she reports on the Obama administration's struggle to formulate a post-Castro strategy; in Havanah she permeates the bubble around the fiercely private and officially retired Castro to ascertain the extent of his undisclosed medical condition.

Bardach delivers a compelling meditation on one of the most controversial, combative, and charismatic rulers in history. Without Fidel includes never-before-published reporting on Castro, his family, and his half-century grip on the largest country in the Caribbean while assessing how his departure will forever transform politics and policy in the Western Hemisphere -- and the world.

Genres: History, Biography

352 pages, Hardcover

First published December 30, 2008

Reviews

[Alexw]

What I learned from this book was that Fidel Castro had 5 mistresses & 5 children from them. Forbes magazine rated his wealth at $900 million which prompted the George Orwell spot on saying, "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others."
What I wanted to learn was more about the Bay of Pigs invasion which received no air support & left the US backed troops on the beach to die, the hairbrained Keystone Cop like attempts by the CIA to kill Castro which consisted of putting tuberculosis germs in his diving suit & poisoning his cigars & the Cuban missile crisis which was resolved only when Kennedy secretly agreed to remove all nuclear missiles in Turkey which is what Khruschev wanted in the first place. Khruschev was not to launch a nuclear missile for Cuba which he considered a third world parasite on Russia's economy.
Amazingly, none of these events were barely mentioned except that Kennedy & Khruschev ignored all of Castro's input on the Cuban missile crisis which left Castro despondent. In excruciating detail was the dying of Fidel which started in 2006 & lasted until 2016. He would be deathly sick, rally & his doctors would say he was fine, relapse & his doctors would say he needed his rest & this went on for 1o years-boring.
The rest of the book was when his brother Raul took over & Russia quit giving them aid, several hurricanes devastated Cuba & their economy collapsed.

[MikeFromQueens]

Not a bad read - some exhaustive details that can be thought of as thorough coverage, but it bogged down progress at times. Was this a family dispute between Castro and Bush? I got the feeling that A. Bardach intended readers to guess.

[Rick Rapp]

Extremely well-researched and eye-opening book by noted Cuban scholar and journalist Ann Bardach. This books sheds a lot of light on the counter-revolutionary activities in and by the United States and Cuban refugees and much of it is less than complimentary. Of particular interest was the explanation for the virulence of the Bush family against Castro's Cuba. It turns out that the Bush family lost considerable money and property when Batista's regime collapsed. The have neither forgotten nor forgiven Castro for this. The only drawback of the book is the lengthy list of characters (particularly among the counter-revolutionaries) and it gets challenging to wade through some of that. But for anyone interested in a detailed and intelligent account of Castro's waning years and the reactions of the US and the Miami community, this book is a must read.

[Stephanie LGW]

Long read, very detailed. At times, you can get bogged down or even lost in the political back-and-forth. But overall, it was very informative.

[LA]

Very good, well written, well researched. Wanders a bit in the middle, but a worthwhile read.

[Bronwyn]

This book has a lot of details about the Castro brothers, Revolutionary History and Miami politics. Sometimes the detail was too much but overall it was a very informative book. The author obviously has a lot of sources and access to Cuban figures and it was interesting reading about her interactions with Fidel and Raul.

[Miguel Trujano]

Mucho Rollo, se podrían saltar muchas cosas...

[Waika Ivelisse]

Resumen general historica Familiar de la familia castro. Interesante pero nada nuevo.

[Catherine]

Probably a great resource when it was written (2009), but pretty outdated at this point. Intel about the long-term conflicts between the Bushes and Castros was interesting, but vague.