By: Hal Klepak

Hardcover

Click on the Google Preview image above to read some pages of this book!

Ra£l Castro and Cuba tells the story of the military life of the longest serving minister of defense of any country in recent times. While the picture that often emerges of Ra£l Castro is that of a colorless younger brother of Fidel-a product essentially of that grander figure-this book analyzes Ra£l Castro as a man of his own, a politician and an impressive military commander and organizer, as well as a highly original thinker on both military matters and wider national issues that have faced the Cuban state for more than half a century. Filling a gap in recent scholarship, it demonstrates that the government he has put into place in Cuba in the last four years is very much his, and is not, as some believe, a mere shadow of his brother's.

"Hal Klepak's most recent book is an excellent primer for understanding Cuba in the last five years. It is obviously a helpful study of the character of President Raul Castro, and by extension, of the extremely important role of the armed forces (which he commands) in Cuba, but it also helps to explain the fundamental dynamics in place since Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother in 2006. During this time, Cuba has changed more than in the past quarter-century, and it continues to do so. Absolutely essential reading for anybody interested in the approach implemented by the Cuban government in recent years."

- John Kirk, Dalhousie University, Canada

Youth, Soldier, Officer, First Command Minister but Nonetheless a Soldier We'll Have to Think Again: the '80s and the Weakening of the Soviet Connection The Special Period for Raul, the FAR and Cuba Partial Recuperation and Last Years as Minister A Military Man as President A Revolutionary Soldier and 'His' Revolutionary Defense System Conclusions

ISBN: 9780230340749
ISBN-10: 0230340741
Series: Studies of the Americas
Audience: Tertiary; University or College
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 182
Published: 17th July 2012
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Dimensions (cm): 22.3 x 14.3  x 1.5
Weight (kg): 0.336