The Great American

William Morgan in life was even greater than this fiction. However, fiction allows for greater speculation. Perhaps the real Morgan was CIA, perhaps he was Mafia, perhaps he may have been inside the Palace as a defender not attacker; perhaps he was the "American telephone operator. Morgan was a brave skilled warrior, with special martial arts skills, thus I think he fought at the palace that day. Some of the scenes in the novel are a little bit too lurid, still they have a certain truth to them in their excess. I enjoyed the novel as a novel and appreciate how the author worked hard at the details. I liked the placement of Marquitos the communist traitor in José Antonio Echevarría car. The details of the bus seem authentic. Will have to wait until the complete scholarly history comes out.....

David Lehman's 'Great American Prose Poems' gives an interesting and insightful look into the world of the questionable - yet undeniably fascinating - genre of prose poetry. First providing the reader with an engaging introduction on the origins and essentials of prose poetry, Lehman proceeds to include a good basic range of authors. Gertrude Stein has a particularly impressive contribution, as do several others. This is a thought-provoking and highly recommended read for anyone interested in learning about the basics of prose poetry -- my only real annoyance was the absence of Leonard Cohen: while he is not American, he is Canadian, like several others featured in Lehman's collection, and (as an example) his work 'How to Speak Poetry' is utterly classic.

A canny introduction ushers the reader into this hybrid art form. The examples illuminate the form's history and variety. Most of the prose poems are superb; only a few disappoint. And readers previously unfamiliar with the genre (like myself) will likely be introduced to established but little-known writers of tremendous depth, beauty and originality, like Lyn Hejinian and Fanny Howe. I highly recommend this collection.

Like any developing nation whose history is partly shaped by the secret agencies of more powerful countries, the history of Cuba, from the controversial sinking of the USS Maine onward, is more myth than historical fact. It is therefore fitting that Alex Abella should use fiction as a means of chronicling this shadowy episode of Cuban history leading up to and immediately following the Cuban Revolution. With it, he probably reveals more about the deeply buried facts than any history text. He also brings it to life with vivid images -from the grotesque terror of Batista's police to a bizarre scene in which the dictator is being scorned by Chango, a Santeria god, during a ceremony in the basement of the Presidential Palace. At times Abella can be a little too whimsical as when a visiting American senator called John F. Kennedy inadvertently gets his head in the way of the assassin's crosshairs during an attempt on Batista, thus foiling a better moment to get rid of the tyrant and might not have saddled Cuba with yet another one. Of course, most Cuban-Americans are prepared to blame the Kennedys for every misfortune short of hurricane season. Elsewhere, though, the format allows for some interesting historical theses to be advanced. This includes the possiblity of a Soviet mole within the C.I.A. thus compromising its ambitious agenda to back all the players on the premise that they would then control the entire chess board. Indeed it is historical fact that the American mission underwent a thorough changing of the guard about a year before the Revolution, documented evidence reflecting suspicions of some sort. It does explain why the Soviets who had an apparent absence from the scene in the early stages of the game wound up with such important political prize. As a rule these things don't just happen. True or not, this is both an entertaining and provocative read from a very talented writer.

As a Cuban born after the revolution I was taught many lies in Cuban schools as to the events that transpire during those years of the revolution. My parents told me otherwise, they said the truth to me about those events that transpire so long ago. Mr. Abella's recounting,though fictionalized, are as true as what my parents and friends narrated to me. This book is an educational tool for those that wish to know what turmoils Cubans(Communist or not) went through during that period. The hero, William Morgan, a real life ex-marine, through the eyes of a naive foreigner, later becomes a true Cuban leader whose desire is to rid Cuba of an oppressor. In the end, he realizes that a worse oppressor has arrived, and he tries to correct a wrong. Being a Cuban-American himself Alex can truly relate to the people in the story, the Cuban personality comes alive in this story. A must read for those who wish to know about my people and their struggle for a Cuba Libre.