Herman Portocarero

4 stars, not 5, because although fascinating, and although the style ALMOST works, the key word is 'almost'. This is almost what I'd call "flash history" and "flash essays" -- I don't think any chapter (if you can call them that) is longer than 3 pages, and it is a truly unvarnished take on Cuba throughout history, from the earliest conflicts with colonizers to the 'gilded age' that was so gilded it led directly to revolution, to a clear-eyed set of vignettes and contemporary discussions of post-Revolution from Castro's early defeats to Cuba after Fidel's death. Very much worth the read -- the only other caveat -- the author was the longtime Spanish ambassador to Cuba, then the EU Ambassador -- he's very masculine, even when taking on Cuban masculinity, and it struck the wrong note more than once, but not so often that I discarded it before finishing.… (meer)