Sunday, September 14, 2008

Book Review: 'Havana Nocturne' details how mobster Meyer Lansky turned Cuba into a gambling mecca in the 1950s

T.J. English explores the dream of the underworld entrepreneur that ended with Fidel Castro's revolution

The Oregonian/September 05, 2008

" ... While the Mob was exploiting the country, Castro and a rag-tag band of rebels were winning hearts and minds in part by exploiting resentment against the corruption and vice in Havana. English does a nice job of putting Castro's actions in context and showing how the revolution succeeded because Cubans wanted it to succeed. When Havana fell, the casinos were trashed as a symbol of foreign excess, and Castro rebuffed efforts by the Mob to cut a new deal. ... "

No comments: