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Fidel Castro Reader
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
524 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2006
11 people are currently reading
536 people want to read
About the author
Fidel Castro
571 books280 followersCuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959, established a Communist state, served as prime minister until 1976 and then as president of the government and first secretary of the party, in declining health passed control de facto in 2006 to Raúl Castro, his younger brother, and officially retired in 2008.
Fidel Castro led a revolutionary movement that overthrew corrupt authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar on New Year's Day, 1 January 1959.
Raúl Castro assisted Fidel Castro, his brother, in overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959.
United States in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro trained a force of 1,500 guerrilla troops, who landed at Bay of Pigs, the site, in an ill-fated invasion on 17 April 1961.
Castro, the illegitimate son of a wealthy farmer, adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics and meanwhile studied law at the University of Havana. He participated in rebellions against right wing in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, afterward failed in an attack on the barracks of Moncada, planned against the military junta, which the United States of America backed, and served imprisonment for a year in 1953. On release, he went to Mexico, formed the movement of 26 July as a group with Ernesto Guevara, his friend and doctor.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, a politician, also served as the commander in chief of the armed forces. This politically Marxist-Leninist administered the socialist republic. People nationalized industry and businesses and implemented socialist reforms in all parts of society. Castro returned, ousted rivals in 1959, and brought his own assumption of military and political power.
Credentials of Castro and cordial relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics alarmed the Administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who unsuccessfully attempted economic blockade, assassination, and even the invasion at Bay of Pigs of 1961 to remove him. In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of his administration under rule of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The press and suppression of internal dissent accompanied socialist reforms that introduced central economic planning and expanded care and education.
Castro countered these threats, formed an economic and military alliance with the Soviets, allowed them to place nuclear weapons on the island, and thus sparked sparking the missile crisis in 1962.
Internationally, Castro also served as general of the nonaligned movement from 1979 to 1983.
Abroad, Castro supported foreign groups in the expectation of toppling world capitalism, sent troops to fight in the wars of Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angola.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, Castro went into economic "special period" and afterward forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide, namely with Venezuela of Hugo Chávez, and joined the Bolivarian alliance in 2006.
Due to failing, Castro in 2006 transferred his responsibilities to his vice, who assumed in 2008.
Supporters lauded Castro, a controversial and divisive world figure, as a champion of socialism, humanitarianism, and environmentalism against imperialism; critics viewed him as a dictator, who oversaw multiple rights abuses, an exodus of more than a million persons, and the impoverishment of the economy of the country. Through actions and writings, he significantly influenced the politics of various individuals and groups across the world.
Fidel Castro led a revolutionary movement that overthrew corrupt authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar on New Year's Day, 1 January 1959.
Raúl Castro assisted Fidel Castro, his brother, in overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959.
United States in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro trained a force of 1,500 guerrilla troops, who landed at Bay of Pigs, the site, in an ill-fated invasion on 17 April 1961.
Castro, the illegitimate son of a wealthy farmer, adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics and meanwhile studied law at the University of Havana. He participated in rebellions against right wing in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, afterward failed in an attack on the barracks of Moncada, planned against the military junta, which the United States of America backed, and served imprisonment for a year in 1953. On release, he went to Mexico, formed the movement of 26 July as a group with Ernesto Guevara, his friend and doctor.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, a politician, also served as the commander in chief of the armed forces. This politically Marxist-Leninist administered the socialist republic. People nationalized industry and businesses and implemented socialist reforms in all parts of society. Castro returned, ousted rivals in 1959, and brought his own assumption of military and political power.
Credentials of Castro and cordial relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics alarmed the Administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who unsuccessfully attempted economic blockade, assassination, and even the invasion at Bay of Pigs of 1961 to remove him. In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of his administration under rule of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The press and suppression of internal dissent accompanied socialist reforms that introduced central economic planning and expanded care and education.
Castro countered these threats, formed an economic and military alliance with the Soviets, allowed them to place nuclear weapons on the island, and thus sparked sparking the missile crisis in 1962.
Internationally, Castro also served as general of the nonaligned movement from 1979 to 1983.
Abroad, Castro supported foreign groups in the expectation of toppling world capitalism, sent troops to fight in the wars of Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angola.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, Castro went into economic "special period" and afterward forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide, namely with Venezuela of Hugo Chávez, and joined the Bolivarian alliance in 2006.
Due to failing, Castro in 2006 transferred his responsibilities to his vice, who assumed in 2008.
Supporters lauded Castro, a controversial and divisive world figure, as a champion of socialism, humanitarianism, and environmentalism against imperialism; critics viewed him as a dictator, who oversaw multiple rights abuses, an exodus of more than a million persons, and the impoverishment of the economy of the country. Through actions and writings, he significantly influenced the politics of various individuals and groups across the world.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 1, 2022
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
December 17, 2014
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.
November 5, 2019
A collect of his speeches. If you ever want to understand socialism as it exists in Cuba this is the book for you
July 23, 2023
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.
March 23, 2025
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.
June 15, 2008
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."
October 3, 2014
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 ?
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 ?
March 31, 2017
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.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews