The Winds of December

This book (my edition is) Dorschner, John and Roberto Fabricio 1980 The Winds of December: The Cuban Revolution of 1958. Coward, McCann & Geoghegen, New York ISBN 0698109937 Here the significant and prolonged action at Guisa (approximately November 20 to November 30th, 1958) is described in rare detail on pages 41-47, 81-8. As the authors state, this action can be considered the turning point of the War Against Batista, and it in my view more significant than the actions in the middle provinces in December of that year. I find it the most complete description to date of those events yet found in my researches. Oddly enough the authors mention but do not name Teófilo Espinosa's store on the southern side of the square in the middle of Guisa (adjacent to the ruined church destroyed by General Garcia's forces after taking that strategic town in November 1897 during the last Cuban War of Independence) nor the house of Senator Ramon Corona somewhat to the west of the town, beyond the hills on the road to Santa Barbara where Castro had his headquarters before moving to the Caves of Santa Barbara. And yet the name of the madam of a house of tolerance is given and brave Lieutenant Blanco's actions are described in most clear detail. The authors are commended for describing make and model of the armor used by the Batista forces and make distinctions between the various kinds of armored cars; this detail is often confused when other authors depend too heavily on Castro headquarter reports. At present I am using this valuable volume to supplement details from personal memory of the action, and assorted other sources for my book of memories (in advanced preparation 2-26-07) "Narrations of War in Cuba."

The authors did an excellent job documenting the events surrounding the Cuban Revolution of the 1950's. If there was a strong bias, I certainly didn't notice it. The authors thread together many different events and stories to create a compelling work and they seem to do it with a high level of professionalism and fairness. At times, I found it to be a little overwhelming. New individuals are introduced quickly and sometimes it is hard to keep up with the flow as the authors quickly switch between narratives. But even with that fault, I give it 5 stars because it is a surpurb book. This book avoids abstractions and and avoids the temptation to over-focus on broad ideologies, and therefore is able to deliver a potent survey of what exactly was going on amoung Cubans when the revolution was fomenting and occuring. It is detail oriented, and hones down right to each important player in the revolution.

Being the son of one of the authors may bias my opinion, regardless I found Winds of December to both extremely informative and quite entertaining.

"The Winds of December" is an excellent journalistic account of Castro's takeover of Cuba. Focussing in on the final month before the fall, this book is indispensible for anyone who wants to understand how it happened.

The drama of the Cuban revolution comes vividly to life in this accurate and expertly-researched account of the last days of 1958 when dictator Fulgencio Batista reluctantly yields power to Fidel Castro. As New Year's Eve chicken and rice is being served at Batista's home, he and his supporters are scrambling for a seat on the planes leaving the island. Meanwhile, there's a frantic search for his constitutional successor. The senior member of the Cuban Supreme Court is shocked and horrified to find out he's "Mr. President" now. This history-in-the-making book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the bittersweet relationship between the United States and Cuba.