Fidel Castro Reader

by David Deutschmann (Editor), David Deutschmann (Editor), Deborah Shnookal (Editor)

An outstanding new anthology by one of history's greatest orators. Here, at last, is a comprehensive anthology presenting the voice of one of history’s greatest orators, Fidel Castro. Love him or hate him, there is no denying he is a “master of the spoken word,” as Gabriel García Márquez has described him. Emerging in the 1960s as a leading voice in support of Third World anticolonial struggles and continuing to play a role in the antiglobalization movement of today, Fidel Castro remains an articulate and penetrating—if controversial—political thinker and leader, who has outlasted ten hostile US presidents. His direct, forthright approach, his incredible grasp of diverse economic, historical, and cultural topics, and his idealism stand in stark contrast against the spin and superficiality of most political leaders. Covering five decades of Fidel’s speeches, this selection begins with his famous courtroom defense (“History will Absolve Me”), and also includes his speech on learning of Che Guevara’s death in Bolivia, his analysis of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and his response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. With his declining health and the emergence of new leaders such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia, this book sheds light not just on Castro’s mighty role in Latin America’s immediate past, but also on his legacy for the future. The Fidel Castro Reader includes a chronology of the Cuban Revolution, an extensive glossary and index as well as 24 pages of photos. As the first anthology of Castro’s speeches to be published in English since the 1960s, this is an essential resource for both scholars and general readers. “Fidel’s devotion to the word is almost magical.” — Gabriel García Márquez “Fidel is the leader of one of the smallest countries in the world, but he has helped to shape the destinies of millions of people across the globe.” — Angela Davis “Fidel Castro is a man of the masses… The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people.” — Nelson Mandela “Fidel’s is a singing and dancing intellect.” — Alice Walker “[The editors] have done an admirable, even heroic, job of editing and excerpting this reader [which] serves a purpose for both historians and politicos.”  — Foreword Magazine

Genres: History, Politics, Biography, Nonfiction, Theory

525 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Australian editor

Reviews

[Vic u · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few people in history have the charisma, flow, intelligence, dedication, and revolutionary optimism that Castro does. Regardless of your opinions of him, the role he played in history should be studied and appreciated. His speeches and writings will leave you questioning all you’ve been told to think about Castro and Cuba. There is a reason why the leaders of developing nations viewed Castro as a hero and why the United States attempted to assassinate him over 600 times. “In short, some countries possess abundant resources, others have nothing. What is their fate? To starve? To be eternally poor? Why then civilization? Why then the conscience of humanity? Why then the United Nations? Why then the world?” - Fidel Castro

[Kallebe Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been doing a project where I read one book from each country in the world, alphabetically.

For each country I read its wikipedia article in order to learn more about it and then I search for a book made by someone from that country.

When I got to Cuba, I decided that it would be better to read writings from Fidel Castro, the leader of the cuban revolution, in order to learn more about this country.

So I got this book which compiles a lot of speeches made by Fidel throughout his life, starting from when he got arrested on the first failed revolution in 1953 up until about 2005. When we live in the western hemisphere, the image that is painted of Fidel Castro is a lot different than what you get from hearing (in this case reading) his own words, and you quickly realize that he is much more intelligent, human, sensible and profound than we might think. You get to read his ideas, of what he wants for humanity, and you expand your consciousness in a very profound way. Here is a man who has a rare combination of intelligence, charisma, sense of justice that is very difficult to find.

I did not know about how much Cuba was worse off before the Revolution, of how much exploitation the US had over this tiny island, and this made me realize this same exploitation happens around the world, without too much of a resistance over that. We are told it is just the way things are, that this is just "freedom" and if you oppose that you are out of your mind.

What we get from hearing Fidel speak is hope. It is the idea that we can do things in a different and better way. We need to stand in solidarity with oppressed and exploited people around the world, fight agains this exploitation and we cannot just give up on that and live our lives in an egotistical way.

It is immoral that so few people have so much while so many people are struggling to even have food or shelter. We need to create social consciousness and thrive for a better humanity. This is what I get from this book. I feel inspired to learn more about the collective possibilities of humanity and try to make it better for everyone. The revolution needs to start inside our own minds.

[Baris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selection of Fidel Castro's various speeches and writings from early 1950s to 2000s. It provides good insights for his understanding of revolution, socialist ethics, politics together with some of his disappointments.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collect of his speeches. If you ever want to understand socialism as it exists in Cuba this is the book for you

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me long enough but I finally made it through this collection which was a great survey of Castro's thought/speech, Cuban/Latin American political history, and revolutionary socialist verve.

[Nick Licata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well curated selection of his speeches that proved to me just how great of an orator he was, and how much wisdom he had on all manners of domestic and international issues for his country.

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

He refers to the American Government as “Yankee Imperialism” throughout this books. You know what though? He’s right and I’m going to use that now.

[Orion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Castro is a good writer but I was not interested in what he has to say. Too bad there is no category "couldn't read."

[Samvid Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

USA is quite a whore.

Castro is the fucking man.

But then again, he had the power to influence a nation and arguably the world, why wouldn't I succumb ?

[Tom Oman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fidel was undoubtedly a great orator, and held great influence over his followers and those who witnessed him speak. He is certainly a very intellectual guy with an ability to drive a point home, however his ideas are so typical of that communist anti-elitist rhetoric. I'm sure at the time it was fresh and inspiring, but in modern times, it is rather tragic to see how such a fallacious theory was able to motivate so many people to strive headlong for disaster. After a trip to Cuba, I wanted to allow Fidel a chance to defend himself in his own words, but sadly he is yet another ego driven maniac with delusions of grandeur. Very unfortunate for the Cuban people. And the book itself, really not worth reading, unless you have no background in communist history.