The double life of fidel castro review
gbweeks's review against another edition
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4.0
From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2015/04/juan-reinaldo-sanchezs-double-life-of.html
I read Juan Reinaldo Sanchez's The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years As Personal Bodyguard to El Líder Máximo (2015), which has been translated from the original Spanish (it was published in France). Coming from someone who was very close to Fidel, it provides a look into his personal life. As such, it's an entertaining and informative glimpse into Fidel's inner circle.
I kept thinking "L'état, c'est moi," in the sense that there is no line between his resources and the state treasury. He found a nice island, then ordered a massive amount of work to be done so he could travel there by helicopter, have people direct him to the fish, then help him catch them. He created a cow pasture in a building so he could do experiments to breed the best milk-producer. Is it crazy or extravagant? Either way, he did whatever he wanted, no matter the cost.
It can veer toward the gossipy. I'm not particularly interested in how Fidel juggled various women, for example. At the same time, it is interested to think about why his numerous children were not groomed for politics. Some of the gossip is funny, as when Sánchez walked around a North Korean hotel with a drunken Fidel trying to find him a softer mattress.
Sánchez seems to contradict the idea that the KGB built the Cuban intelligence apparatus. Sánchez talks about all the new exercises and plans he personally made, but did Cuba's security become famous through Cuban efforts alone? He suggests this on p. 104, scoffing at the KGB as low quality and saying Cuba took its model from the U.S., Israel, France, and Great Britain. None of those countries, of course, would've done any training.
Sánchez says he started to feel disillusioned after overhearing a conversation in 1988 confirming that Fidel Castro was directing a cocaine operation in the United States. Not long after, Castro executed several top lieutenants (especially Arnaldo Ochoa) for participation in an operation he claimed to know nothing about. All that has been reported before many times before, but Sánchez provides an insider's view. He also claims that Ochoa's death pushed Raúl Castro to drink so heavily that his wife feared he might be suicidal, and that Sánchez overheard Fidel reassure his brother that he wouldn't suffer Ochoa's fate. Sánchez was imprisoned for two years and tortured when members of his family emigrated, which put him under suspicion. He finally managed to leave Cuba in 2008.
One final point, from a research perspective. According to Sánchez, Fidel Castro saved voluminous files, from his daily calendar to recordings he made in meetings and phone calls. Given how extensive they are, is it likely they will all be destroyed? If not, once there is a transition we'll be reading some more very interesting books.
flaminaut's review against another edition
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2.0
2.5
The content is somehow intriguing and you learn a lot about the family life of the Castros, but other than that no ground breaking insights or something you wouldn’t expect. But it is still interesting to hear it from a somewhat reliable source. It is lacking structure and therefore feels repeating. The author is quite proud of his skills and you definitely feel that while reading the book. I cannot count how often I had to read that he has a black belt in several martial arts and is/was one of the best shooters and won competitions…
So if you are interested in fidel and mostly the author, go for it otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it.
aeroplanino's review against another edition
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4.0
I wanted to understand Fidel Castro better...
Through this book, I have discovered a strong chess player, maneuvering a country on the biggest chess table, without hesitating to sacrifice everything for power.
After growing with an ideal image of Fidel, the author dedicated to him the most important part of his life. However, the entire universe collapsed when secrets came out and when the author wanted to get out. This book is also his revenge.
In the end, my questions are:
- Did Fidel love his people? No, according to the author.
- If yes, did he intend to offer them a better life, out of poverty, with the available resources?
stastna_karolina's review
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4.0
★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
REVIEW ON YOUTUBE
In The Double Life of Fidel Castro, one of Castro's soldiers of 17 years breaks his silence and shares his memoir of years of service, and eventual imprisonment and torture for displeasing the notorious dictator, and his dramatic escape from Cuba.
There is not much information about the private life of Fidel Castro and his personality. His ex-bodyguard Juan Reinaldo Sánchez was responsible for Castro's protection and spent 17 years protecting his life but also made a voice recording of his meetings and wrote down each of his step into secret notebooks.
In his memoir, Sánchez gives us a glimpse into the life and psychological profile of a man who ruled Cuba for nearly six decades. In this book, we learn about dirty political practices, luxury mansions, yachts, his nine children, mistresses, secret foreign bank accounts and a private paradise island.
I respect the bravery to even write such a book and put your life to risk. (Sanchéz died in Miami one year after his book was published on lung cancer.)
GOOD: Given the circumstances, I appreciate the almost-objective style of writing. I mean, I would probably be much more critical if I would have served someone 17 years and as a "reward" I would end up in prison. I respect him for not having it break him and that after he served his stay in prison - and after 10 unsuccessful attempts that he finally left Cuba in 2008 and wrote this informative and interesting book.
VS BAD: As with all political books, one has to approach to them critically and filter all the information.
IS THIS A BOOK FOR YOU? If you are interested in politics, Cuba, dictators or Fidel Castro, I highly recommend reading it.
FAVORITE QUOTE: "...All this demonstrated one of the most striking features of Castrism: the obsessional perseverance of its head. Fidel Castro might have waited forty years to get Venezuela where he wanted it, but he succeeded in the end."
INSTAGRAM
PERSONAL INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
johannah's review
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1.0
I received this book from the First Reads program to read and review quite a while ago. I kept trying to read it - as the subject matter is fascinating. But I could never get past the second chapter. This book is very poorly organized - all over the pace with no focus on a topic. The writer is also very full of himself, and from what I read it was about him, not about Castro. I'd pass on it - there are many better bios out there.