Both
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara have become important figures in the history of
Cuba, and in the case of Che, his likeness can be seen on 50 percent of
songtaews, obviously having appealed to the taxi drivers in some way.
Fidel and Che, A Revolutionary Friendship (ISBN
978-0-340-92346-7, Hodder and Stoughton, Sceptre paperbacks, author Simon
Reid-Henry, 2009) follows the path of the two revolutionaries and examines
their influence on Cuba and the world.
Author Reid-Henry is a prizewinning scholar of the Cuban
revolution and the minutiae of detail is a reflection of this. However, he
writes of the machinations, the wheeling and dealing in the style of a
thriller, and a thriller it is. Whilst most of us have heard of the two
featured players, very few of us know the fine details of their lives, and
how their lives actually crossed. With Fidel Castro being a Cuban lawyer and
Che Guevara being a doctor from the Argentine, theirs would appear a most
unlikely partnership.
It becomes very obvious, right from the outset, that
Fidel Castro was the principal combatant in the fight for the Cuban nation.
An erudite and very clever man who knew how to sway public opinion, and even
how to influence a hostile judiciary. In comparison, Che Guevara comes
across as someone who really fit into the ‘rebel without a cause’ mold.
Rebellious all his life, it was finally left to Fidel Castro to give him
that cause, even though the fight was not really Che’s. For Castro, the
meeting with Che “provided him with some early encouragement in exile and
perhaps also a framework for his revolution,” writes Reid-Henry.
As Castro moved on with his revolution, it was not merely
an academic exercise or polemics, but was becoming more and more
bloodthirsty. Summary executions were carried out to emphasize just who was
the leader. His guile was also evident when he managed to get the government
to bomb one of its own positions by using a hoax radio transmission.
Once his revolution was in place, Castro continued to
confound America, in particular, and gradually introduced the Soviets. When
America decreased its importing of Cuban sugar, Russia stepped in and took
the remaining tonnage, thus demonstrating that America was shooting itself
in its foot. Other moves by the US in attempting to condemn Castro did
nothing to improve relations and Yanqui Go Home was the result.
At times, the sheer number of players brought into the
scene makes the reader feel he or she is reading the Havana telephone book,
and whilst this is obviously done for the sake of completeness, I was left
wondering why some characters were introduced at all.
There are two groups of photographs included in the body
of the book, with some being very revealing of the close nature of their
relationship.
A heavy book as far as content is concerned, but one that
will teach and enlighten the younger members of the society for whom Fidel
Castro is merely a name, and Che Guevara is merely a face. At B. 430 it is a
cheap education.
