Peter Pavia, The Cuba Project

The Cuba Project

Peter Pavia

Palgrave, March 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 1403966036

This is an interesting though biased account of American-Cuban relations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administration. This non-fiction work digs deep into Havana when American mobsters ran casinos in the 1950's, as Hollywood stars loved pre-Castro Cuba as a playground in which they could buy anything, including items illegal in the States. The odd events take a twist with the formation of the FBI Tamale Squad (don't ask why), as an anti communists move loaded with plenty of money and easy for Castro to place moles inside it. Looking back, Castro was the moralist kicking out a hedonistic dictator, gangsters and depraved wealthy Americans. Though lacking the points of view of Castro and his loyalists, Peter Pavia has written an intriguing look from the perspective of the Cuban exile and American participants (including the CIA) in their efforts to remove Castro from power circa 1959-1963, especially with the Bay of Pugs fiasco. THE CUBA PROJECT is also much more, as Mr. Pavia also presents a cautionary undertone that leads readers to ponder perhaps America is repeating many of the same errors today.