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Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba.and Then Lost It to the Revolution |  | Author: T. J. English
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $15.99
Buy Used: $4.98
as of 11/21/2009 13:16 CST details
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New (41) Used (30) from $4.98
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Seller: williamthomasmoore
Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 18554
Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061712744
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN: 9780061712746
ASIN: 0061712744
Publication Date: June 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
To underworld kingpins Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Cuba was the greatest hope for the future of American organized crime in the post-Prohibition years. In the 1950s, the Mob—with the corrupt, repressive government of brutal Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in its pocket—owned Havana's biggest luxury hotels and casinos, launching an unprecedented tourism boom complete with the most lavish entertainment, top-drawer celebrities, gorgeous women, and gambling galore. But Mob dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others who would lead an uprising of the country's disenfranchised against Batista's hated government and its foreign partners—an epic cultural battle that bestselling author T. J. English captures here in all its sexy, decadent, ugly glory.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
 It wasn't all Fidel's fault November 9, 2009
John J. Mcguire
This book is a thoroughly researched and documented history of the mob in pre-Castro Cuba, laced with numerous interesting details about Cuban history. It is also a reminder that the Batista Regime was ripe for overthrow, and if it had not been by the Castro Revolution, sooner or later, it would have been some other organized attempt.
The mob was a huge stain on the Cuban nation and the Cuban people and needed to be destroyed.
A World Apart from Cuba Today October 29, 2009
Sturmey Archer
What if the mafia had a nation at its disposal? Where its activities were not only tolerated, but sanctioned, financed, and promoted? That was Cuba in the 1950's. Run by the mob, Havana was a tropical playground that seems so remote from the Cuba of my lifetime that this story seems like a fictional invention. But, it's true.
"...over here there's something for everybody. You want opera, they have opera. You want baseball, they have baseball. You want ballroom dancing, they have ballroom dancing. And, if you want live sex shows, they have live sex shows. That's what makes this place so great."
With the mob running hotels, clubs, and especially casinos, Cuba became a center of hedonistic pleasure. One question it raises though is: at what point is organized crime no longer criminal? In Havana, the mob's activities seemed almost legitimate. The book doesn't really address the issue of whether the mob's Cuban endeavors were wrong, legally or morally. That's an important point, because if there was no wrongdoing, then a lot of the appeal of the story disappears since it just becomes the tale of some businessmen doing legitimate business in Cuba, albeit greased by substantial payoffs to local politicians.
The Cuban people clearly saw something wrong and revolted against it. It seems rather surprising a popular revolt would succeed when the country was enjoying financial prosperity, but succeed it did. And the personalities and events make a riveting story.
"The defining feature of a Cuban is a person who will do just about anything for a minute of pleasure."
The meticulous research and adept writing style make for a great read. This book is a glimpse into a fascinating world so close to our shores in the USA, but so far from today's island nation that is hidden from view by embargoes.
A Mafia tale that's better than fiction October 2, 2009
Milo Ippolito (Atlanta)
The lives of Lucky Luciano, Fidel Castro, JFK and Frank Sinatra intersect in steamy Havana. Front and center is the mysterious Meyer Lansky - the real life Hyman Roth from The Godfather II. This book offers a detailed character study of Lansky, showing him as one of the most powerful figures in the Mafia era. With intertwining plots and colorful descriptions, this is a history book that reads like a novel. - Milo Ippolito
 Two serious flaws September 29, 2009
David Graulich (Sacramento, California)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
HAVANA NOCTURE is diminished by two serious flaws.
First, the author has a romanticized and unrealistic view of Fidel Castro, who is depicted in heroic terms through most of the book. Indeed, the book (until its final pages) could serve as a state-approved biography of Castro -- the descriptions of his career and lengthy quotes from his writings are laudatory to the point of hagiography. It is true that, near the end, Mr. English describes Castro as a deceiver and briefly acknowledges the lack of elections and some of the repression. But Mr. English glosses over, or doesn't mention, the exporting of armed revolutionaries to other countries such as Angola, the jailings and executions of opponents, shut-down of the independent press, building of a personality cult, and other acts of a total autocrat. Che Guevara, another murderer and ruthless criminal, also gets favorable treatment.
While Mr. English professes concern for Cubans of African ancestry, he fails to observe that Castro and his ruling clique are whites (blancos) of European lineage. Simply put, Castro runs a racist regime that entrenches power with a small group of white people, but you wouldn't know it from this book. It is unbalanced journalism to portray Batista as a thug and a kleptocrat -- which he was -- while glossing lightly over Castro. For most Cubans, Castro's "revolution" was merely an exchange of one group of gangsters for another group of gangsters, with Castro's group assuming an ideological halo and winning the support of gringo liberals.
The second flaw is Mr. English's tone. He affects a narrative tone of arch, ironic humor. Rather than being entertaining, the writing style becomes tiresome and distracting. The author conveys an attitude that he is pretty darn impressed with himself and the cool book he has written. He deserves credit for his extensive research and documentation; all the same, I wish he had let the facts tell the story and toned down his 'tude.
Summary: Worth reading for those interested in organized crime and pre-revolutionary Cuba, but falls short of the excellent book it might have been.
Havana Nocturne September 12, 2009
Suzie Acres
This book was one of the best I have ever read. I learned so much about the mob and Cuba. I definitely would recommend this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 71
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