Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba... and Then Lost It to the Revolution Reviews

• Livin' la vida loca not all that healthy.

  
  By A2IOQZR1KNFNJK on 2008-07-21
  I loved this book for a lot of reasons but it didn't make me want to take my clothes off and go dancin' in the rain. In fact, after reading this account of Havana I wonder when it was that Ricky Martin thought such frivolity would be a good idea. The history of the city and the lifestyle surrounding it's golden years seemed exciting but a little dangerous.
  
  Author T.J. English did a wonderful job of researching the happenings in Cuba in his non-fiction winner, "Havana Nocturne." I relish well- researched histories and with about 330 end notes, some 25 insider interviews, and 11 pages listing the books, articles, essays, transcripts, reports, documentaries, television programs, institutions, and FBI files that English relied on for his information, this book certainly qualifies.
  
  Usually that much research material produces a book with the trudging characteristics of a Russian epic that takes several years to read, but not Havana Nocturne. English has deftly woven the information into a tight record of a couple of decades of activity, and produced an entertaining account of what the Mob and the Cuban government was involved in, all the while naming those who participated in some highly nefarious schemes. All the familiar big-city Mafiosi characters are here, along with the hangers-on from Hollywood, Tampa, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas-- those who loved the glamour and excitement of a glittering Havana especially prepared to lure them in.
  
  Famous Americans such as John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Steve Allen, Lucille Ball, Marlon Brando, George Raft, Graham Greene, Errol Flynn, Dorothy Dandridge, Ava Gardner, Eartha Kitt, Ginger Rogers, Tony Martin, Johnny Mathis, Donald O'Conner, and Tyrone Power, among many others, became real aficionados of the wild Cuban lifestyle and spent a good deal of time sampling it. Give English credit. He's not a muckraker and lurid details of their visits are sparse, but their presence is acknowledged.
  
  Fulgencio Batista's turbulent career as dictator and his repressive regime through the 1950s is brilliantly chronicled as is his open-pocket acceptance of the Mob's movement into the biggest luxury hotels and gambling casinos in Havana. English parallels the lush life and Batista's corrupt governmental activities with the story of a young revolutionary named Fidel Castro who lives in the Cuban mountains, plotting to overthrow Batista and implement his own ideas for the Mob. The author tells of the Revolution, the ouster of Batista, and the double-cross Castro executes against the American mobsters, a move that virtually sent Cuba into an economic downward spiral from which it has never recovered.
  
  This book was a pleasure to read. The writing is taut: the activity is crisply presented. There are many characters involved but the author never loses the reader to the playbill. I haven't enjoyed a book this much for some time. I highly recommend it.
  
  
  

• The real Hyman Roth

  
  By A1650QCU3K5ALE on 2008-07-22
  The story of Meyer Lansky and his plans to make Cuba into a mobsters' dream: "90 miles from the United States with a friendly (i.e., corrupt and venal) government". Sound familiar? Then you've seen "Godfather II" as I have and believe you're familiar with this story. But there is so much more to it, and T. J. English writes with gusto, amusement and at times admiration at how the American mobsters, led by The Little Man, Jewish Meyer Lansky, dared to dream they could rule Havana aided and abetted by the amoral and corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista. They weren't counting on the Castro brothers and their compatriot, Che Guevera, who had a different vision for Cuba. They became increasingly disgusted at the exploitation of the Cuban people, particularly as sex workers, for the amusement of the gringo tourists. No one gets off easy here, not JFK, not Sinatra, not the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, all of whom were beneficiaries and abettors of the corruption of the Mob. A terrific read and a history lesson which goes down smoothly.
  
  

• RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "HE COULD SING... BUT HE COULDN'T FLY!"

  
  By A1623N94C3XATU on 2008-07-11
  This wonderfully researched book will be pleasing and enlightening to people who may have two completely differing reading interests. Any Mafia aficionado or student of the history of Cuba, ranging from Governmental corruption to the revolution will be equally mesmerized. The author deftly fits the two stories, which at times precede each other... and at other times post date each other... and of course at times overlap each other... together like a well thought out jigsaw puzzle.
  
  In the eleven years following World War II "direct U.S. business investments in Cuba grew from $142 million to $952 million." (In today's dollars that would be 5-10 times more.) The extent of American interest in Cuba, an island the size of the state of Tennessee, ranked in third place among the nations of the world receiving U.S. investments." The Havana mob which was comprised of American Mafia and their associates, included such historical underworld figures as Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, Albert Anastasia, and others. The author skillfully takes you back to Lucky and Meyer's childhood where they grew up together and forged a lifetime friendship and business relationship that eventually led to Meyer Lansky a Jew to be the actual de-facto leader of the mob's dream expansion into Cuba. In case the potential reader isn't aware of the fact; no person can become an official "made-man" unless he's one-hundred-percent Italian. The reader is adroitly taken back through Meyer's entire life, from his growing up tough, despite never rising past 5-feet-4-inches in height as an adult. His absolute love of gambling... but not needing to gamble... is what eventually made him the Mafia's architect in Las Vegas and Cuba. Meyer's idol as a young man was Arnold Rothstein, who was famous within mob circles for a number of things, but perhaps his biggest claim to fame was that; "HE WAS THE MAN WHO FIXED THE 1919 WORLD SERIES!" "From the beginning, Lansky understood that games of chance hit some men where they could not breathe. Gambling pulls at the core of a man, he once famously uttered. Most of his life would be spent profiting from the truth of this maxim". Along with Luciano, Ben "Bugsy" Siegel, was one of Lansky's best friend's since their teenage years, yet history credits (or fingers) Meyer for ordering the hit on Bugsy that entailed so many gunshots, that his "intact" eyeball was later found fourteen- feet away from his body. This murder, that was made famous in the Warren Beatty movie in later years, was ordered with the belief that Bugsy was "skimming" money from his mob brethren while overseeing the building of the Flamingo Hotel in Vegas.
  
  Assisting and making possible the mob's dream of a gaming and hotel jackpot in Cuba was Major General and later President Fulgencio Batista. Cuban corruption was not only rampant... and expected... but was part of Lansky's plan and budget. Once again the author brilliantly details the payoffs as well as the dishonest banks and businesses. The reader will also be educated on Fidel Castro's life from being a child of a well off family, to law student, to revolutionary leader. Included is his historically famous "HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME" speech.
  
  Intermixed with the gambling and Cuban government are riveting scenes of Frank Sinatra transporting millions of dollars in a suitcase from America to Cuba, acting as no more than a "bagman" for his pal Lucky Luciano. You'll feel like a fly on the wall as Sinatra and Lucky are involved in a wild orgy, which is interrupted, when security in the hotel mistakenly lets a nun and some girl scouts in to the room where the orgy is being held. You'll learn about Senator John F. Kennedy's orgy during a trip to Cuba in December 1957, paid for in full by a Mafia boss.
  
  The legendary "MURDER INCORPORATED" is dissected including the story of Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, "who was a "canary" who "sang like a bird". Before he was done singing "he had given details on some two-hundred murders, he had personally participated in or had intimate knowledge of, leading to forty-nine prosecutions. Several top killers went to the electric chair, including the murderous Louis Lepke."
  
  In 1941 "Kid Twist" "was still giving information and building cases for the Brooklyn D.A.'s office. "Next in line to be prosecuted was Albert Anastasia. The D.A.'s office announced that they were on the cusp of "the perfect case" against the feared BOSS of Murder Inc. The most prized informer in the history of organized crime was being held in a room at the Half Moon Hotel, on the boardwalk in Coney Island. He was guarded round the clock by a contingent of six cops, proud members of New York's finest. Somehow, "Kid Twist" took the plunge. The cops said they didn't know how it happened. They were dozing off when "Kid Twist" tried to escape and "fell" six stories to his death. Or maybe he tried to commit suicide. Forever after, some in the press and public believed that cops had been paid off and were part of the hit. "Kid Twist's" demise led to one of the more famous epitaphs in mob history:"
  
  ******* "HE COULD SING BUT HE COULDN'T FLY!" *******
  *****************************************************
  
  
  

• How Notorius Mobster Myer Lansky Misculated Fidel Castro and his cohorts

  
  By A1NOLOIB69PC2J on 2008-07-19
  Between 1952 and 1959 Havana was a city of spectacular growth with incredible casino and hotel development, tourist resorts, new highways and where the allure of organized gambling, fantastic nightclub acts and sexy beautiful women seduced many to invest, particularly the mob, which at the time was much under the influence of the notorious mobster Myer Lansky.
  
  It is against this backdrop that T.J. English's Havana Nocturne: How The Mob Owned Cuba...And The Lost It To The Revolution vividly captures the rhythm of a vulgar era when the mob thought they could do no wrong and that their dream of creating a gambling and tourist mecca would never be crushed. It was also a period in Cuba's history that witnessed the combination of Lansky and the dictator Batista assemble a financial universe that would change the course of the country's history. However, just a little digging below the surface would reveal that the wealth that was reaped from these ventures was not evenly spread around and was in the main used to fill the pocketbooks of corrupt politicians, the mob and their followers. The needs of the ordinary man on the street were never met and this ultimately was the recipe that proved to be the catalyst for revolution and, as we all know, Fidel Castro was able to cleverly capitalize on this discontent.
  
  The inspiration to create this decadent world was initiated with a December 1946 Mob conference in Havana attended by some two dozen of the most well known underworld bosses including Luciano, Trafficante, the Cellini brothers, and Vito Genovese, who would play a vital role in the development of Havana as a corrupt playground for those who could afford it over the next several years. The brains behind the meeting was, without doubt, Lansky who believed that there was enough for everyone and his idea was to coalesce as a behind-the-scenes force in Cuban affairs thus enabling the mob to carry on without intervention or intimidation.
  
  The result eventually led to Lansky becoming Batista`s gambling czar and he succeeded in overlooking a rapidly developing empire, dividing percentages and spreading the wealth, however, always with an eye toward peace and tranquility among the members. As noted in the book, representatives from New York, New Jersey, Miami, Tampa, Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Las Vegas, all received a piece of the action in Havana. Lansky was able to keep it all together and oversee the payouts with a minimum of discord. Nonetheless, there was some conflict with one of the members, Albert Anastasia, who eventually was brutally murdered. Until today, no one really knows who ordered his elimination.
  
  Unfortunately for Lansky and his gang all was not as rosy as it appeared due to the fact that he and Batista had miscalculated and underestimated Fidel Castro. This in turn would turn the Havana Mob on its head resulting in the loss of millions of dollars of their own investments and the demise of El Presidente who escaped just on time in the night to Portugal without any prior warning.
  
  Lansky never involved himself with Cuban politics nor did he understand the depth of disenchantment among the population. He always believed that no matter who was in power, and as long as payola would be a way of life, he and his underworld associates would still be permitted to continue business as usual. Castro had other plans.
  
  Combining extensive research with a poignant narrative, English has crafted a book that is both informative and entertaining. He neatly balances keen historical analysis, biographical detail, and journalistic insight resulting in a compelling work of non-fiction that throbs with the feeling that you are actually in the middle of all that was happening during these exciting years in Cuba.
  
  Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures
  
  

• A Myopic View

  
  By A3PCVBZBEKI2RY on 2008-08-03
  An interesting book, but alas, another attempt to romanticize the emerging organized crime fiefdom in Cuba. As one reviewer mentioned, the mob operated in Cuba at Batista's pleasure, not the other way around. Had that not been the case, the mob would have had a greater impact on the change in government in 1959, instead of losing their shirts. Cuba in the 40's and 50's was inundated with American investment - mostly from rapacious, "legitimate" US corporations. The big word missing in all these reviews is SUGAR. Cuba was and is a SUGAR island. The United Fruit Company, Hershey's, ITT, and other US companies were the primary players in Cuba's economy and Cuba had a sugar-based economy, with market prices artificially propped-up by the US government. The mob occupied a limited sphere in Havana. If you want to read the real Cuban story up to 1959, try the excellent scholarship by Hugh Thomas. His work "follows the money," which is the best way to understand any society.
  
  
• Havana Nocturne
  By A3HP5IAK8HFWFY on 2008-07-22
  Book gave an excellent description of life before and after Castro regarding the Mob. Enjoyed the book, a good read.
  
  
• Enjoyable, informative -- but I found the writing pretty poor.
  By A9BFPECWL9AZH on 2008-08-12
  Enjoyed the book, learned from it, buzzed through it pretty quickly. But I found some of the writing pretty poor:
  
  "He was like a Cheshire cat, his countenance without emotion" -- Though Lewis Carroll's cat didn't give away much, its predominant feature is a gigantic grin.
  
  "there is no known photo of Lansky and Batista together, or any documents signed jointly by them. Their partnership seems to have existed on a near mystical plane, with each man knowing intuitively what the other required to manipulate the levers of power and create opportunities for personal remuneration." But they are known to have spoken to each other, which makes the relationship a touch less mystical.
  
  
  "Lansky, age forty-four, was trim and tanned, as usual. His 5-foot-4-inch stature had earned him the nickname 'little man.' It was meant ironically: in his chosen profession as an underworld entrepreneur who specialized in gambling, Lansky was anything but little." but that's not really irony...
  
  "commonly known as gangsterismo (gangsterism)." -- yes, I could have figured that out myself.
  
  "When Batista heard this news, Smith detected a slight irregularity in his breathing, as if the Cuban dictator had been kicked in the testicles." What?
  
  I felt that I came across poor similes, awkward phrasing, overblown description, odd/unnecessary translation etc. every couple few pages. Still enjoyed the book, but wish that it had been worked on a little more.
  
  
• As a Cuban I'd like to clarify some issues
  By A10ARPP5YIQNKY on 2008-07-31
  Cuban born, and living in the Havana of the fifties during my teenage years, I find most of English's book to be factual, well researched and entertaining, but somewhat novelistic.
  From an eye witness point of view, I disagree with some of the 'facts' presented in "Havana Nocturne."
  For example, when Castro's revolutionaries were in the Sierra Maestra mountains fighting Batista, the Mafia to which the book refers, in order to be in good terms with the bloody dictator and at the same time with a potential Simon Bolivar, contributed (underhandedly of course)with thousands of dollars to Castro's revolution. Thus they were as responsible for their own demise, as most of us Cubans were.
  The book misrepresents Castro as the son of a wealthy family, instead of the bastard son of a wealthy man and one of the household maids. From there, the communist egomaniac's hatred for Cuba's wealthy and middle classes.
  Another book flaw is that Batista did not escape to Portugal but to the land of the chocolate soldier next door, Rafael L. Trujillo, owner and dictator of the Dominican Republic at the time.
  It's also worth mentioning that the reasons for Cuban and most Latin American dictators to thrive in those days were because of they were endorsed by the US Government to protect its financial interests, and on the dark side, those of the mafia as well.
  It's also important to note that historical ignorance, and the generalized apathy shown by the Cuban people toward government corruption
  for over fifty years was the main reason that caused our beautiful country to become the private farm of the brothers Castro for over fifty years...and still counting.
  Signed: Andrew Rodriguez, author of "Adios, Havana" a memoir.
  
  
  
• Cuba Libre? Fuhgedaboudit !
  By A3O42TFBT7KMGI on 2008-08-02
  T.J. English serves up a fascinating brew of Mob lore and Cuban history in this hard-to-believe, difficult-to-put-down account of wiseguys in a Caribbean paradise. Led by criminal mastermind Meyer Lansky, legendary goodfellas Lucky Luciano and Santo Trafficante swooped in on Cuba after WWII in an effort to transform the island, ruled by the corrupt right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista, into a fiefdom of La Cosa Nostra. Establishing a string of glamorous casinos on the Havana waterfront, the mobsters created a gambler's paradise and a money launderer's dream. For a while, the casinos with their often salacious nightlife attracted mainstream American politicians (look for a shocker about JFK's visit to the island), writers, great mambo musicians, and ordinary Americans looking for a good time, and generated millions for the bad guys. The men who ran organized crime did not imagine that a tiny, very disorganized group of ragtag intellectuals under Fidel Casto, who launched his small and seemingly ludicrous "July 26 Movement" by invading Cuba's Sierra Maestra in a leaky boat, could stop them. But stop them he did -- and here is the often grim, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately incredible story of how. Eminently readable and highly recommended.
  
  
  
• Two Visionaries On A Collision Course
  By A2838GZWXSF8KH on 2008-08-04
  As an historian, I have long been fascinated by the Cuba of the 1950's and the role the Mafia played in it--maybe because I was too young at the time to ever see it. However, I do remember, as a teen, Castro's rise and the revolution he brought to Cuba. Anyone who has seen "The Godfather Part II" has seen a Hollywood fictionalized version of how much of this happened.
  
  "Havana Nocturne" is a well researched, mostly gripping non fiction account of how two totally different philosophical and polictical forces regarding the destiny of Cuba emerged on a collison course that became history as we know it. In a sense, T.J. English provides the real story behind "The Godfather Part II".
  
  The background stories and factoids regarding the most infamous mafiosos of our time from Meyer Lansky to Bugsy Siegal to Lucky Luciano to Santo Trafficante, to Albert Anastasia are fascinating and addicting. Equally, tidbits and historical details of American celebrities from Sinatra to Lucille Ball, Tony Bennet, JFK, George Raft, Ginger Rogers, and many others who became involved in the Cuban expansion of the 1950's are especially entertaining.
  
  Two major storylines emerged for this reader. The first is the wonderment of the vision of the Jewish mob leader Meyer Lansky who envisioned one day controlling the entire Caribbean as a gambling, money laundering, economic arm of the Mafia--with Cuba as the foundation for this dream. Even though the dream was hatched in the 1920's, and put on hold due to the Great Depression and World War II, English explains that Lansky and Luciano never gave up the dream--they just deferred it.
  
  English details the corruption in Cuba that was rampant from its independence in 1898 and how the people docilely accepted strong man after strong man as leaders who most often were puppets or at least sympathetic to American economic interests in Cuba. This corruption of leadership was epitomized by Lansky and the mob controlling and supporting Fulgencia Batista through more than two decades in a partnership that resulted in unprecedented casino development, hotel building, and tourist expansion in Cuba's history.
  
  The second major storyline and most interesting to this reader was how the efforts of one genius, Lansky, ultimately entered on a collision course with the dreams of another visionary, Fidel Castro, as to what the future of Cuba would look like. English deftly interweaves the two stories of Lansky's empire building through corruption and graft with the slow starting but hard charging finish of Castro and his Revolution that ultimately changed Cuba, the mob, and world history to some extent.
  
  It is all depicted in "Havana Nocturne"...the dreams, the empire building, the corruption, the killings, the machinations of mob and governmental leaders, and the growth of a people's revolution that soon turned bad. All the dirty laundry of the time from gambling, cheating, sordid sex, drugs, murder for hire, and celebrity involvement in this cesspool of criminal corruption is revealed for the reader.
  
  Certainly of interest is how historically close Batista came to eliminating Castro forever and let the chance slip away along with the one significant miscalculation of Lansky and the mob that Castro could never gain power and if he did, he would continue the graft just as every other Cuban leader had.
  
  Although the pacing is uneven at times, the history in this book is fascinating to read. English has commendably researched the topic from lengthy interviews with survivors of the period, to well documented sourcing of biographies, news accounts, and hisories to bring the reader a wonderful account of what was and what might have been Cuba today. I recomend this to anyone interested in the era.
  
  
• (4.5) "The Little Man had gambled everything- and lost."
  By A2MF2QVSCUI27G on 2008-08-15
  
  
  English's Havana fairly reeks with the aroma of cigars, tropical perfume and the scent of money, mob figures from American crime families finally realizing their dream post-World War II, their heyday 1952-1959. All the swaggering figures are here; Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Albert Anastasia, Santo Trafficante, the tough guys who made their fortunes during Prohibition, breeding plans for wealth distribution based on the corruption of an island government, exploitation of union pension funds, public utilities and financial institutions, spreading the wealth among crime families, the emerging Havana Mob based in Cuba. But none of this would be possible without an insider to grease the way. Thus El Presidente Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar, a brutal, pragmatic dictator who gains control through a bloodless coup, becomes coconspirator in a grand adventure, at least for the mob and its beneficiaries, the cream of decadent society who harvest the fruits of criminal enterprise, gambling, narcotics and murder all dressed up in flamboyant hotels casinos, nightclub floor shows, resorts, fast cars and women.
  
  Celebrities flock to Cuba, beautiful women adorning the arms of hard-core murderers in expensive suits, the hypnotic beat of the mambo drowning out the cries of the poor and dispossessed. In the paradise English describes so beautifully, the images are stark, the glamour and glitter of money and excess contrasted with devastating poverty and neglected social programs endured by those Cubans not caught up in the magic of power and profit. Is there no one to speak for them? Of course there is: the revolutionary voice of Fidel Castro. The Havana Mob isn't the driving force behind Castro's revolutionary zeal, but it certainly offers fertile ground for discontent, an easy target for the rag-tag army determined to wrest their country back from a corrupt government and the American plunderers who dance under the stars, assassinating one another in the dark of night.
  
  Like moths to flame, enthusiastic celebrities gather to partake of Cuba's notorious nightlife, racetrack and gambling venues, George Raft, Errol Flynn, Eartha Kitt, Ava Gardner and mob sycophant Frank Sinatra. Even John F Kennedy enjoys a Havana romp, thanks to the generosity of the mob. Dressed to kill, the quasi-nobles of graft live out their dream, at least for a few lucrative years, the usual competition breeding discontent in an organization ruled by ambition and violence. English builds his case, a corrupt economy ultimately brought down by guerilla fervor, the glitter and beauty vanquished by rampaging crowds, crime bosses left bleeding in the streets, others scattering to rise another day in other locations, indestructible as roaches. Newly purified, Cuba incorporates remnants of the past, classic cars, a few still elegant hotels and a people's government that delivers a different kind of repression. The truth more fascinating than any movie's fictionalized account, the island comes to life in Havana Nocturne, if only for a while. Luan Gaines/ 2008.
  
  
  
• Excellent read but has it's limiiations
  By AY2EC9LG2P7IW on 2008-12-30
  This is a situation where this book deserves two ratings. One is a 5 for purely the writing, excitement, and entertainment value. it is extremely well written, reading more like a crime novel than a true historical account of the events leading up to the Cuban Revolution. Here lies the problem. As a historical account it has serious limitations. To be brief only a few examples will be given here.
  s
  1) English comes to general conclusions which simply don't fit the complexity of what happened in Cuba. One example is his bold statement that Castro became a Communist during his tenure in Mexico City. There is simply nothing that supports this assertion. Antonio de La Cova in "The Moncada Attack: Birth of the Cuban Revolution" (a much better historical account of the events that led to the Revolution and Castro himself) cites examples of Castro's day of imprisonment on the Isle of Pines that leads to the conclusion that his conversion to marxisim (if such a conversion actually existed) occurred much earlier. Nonetheless if English is correct it only shows once again that it is only myth that US policy turned Casto to Marxism. English does a good job of showing that the opposite is true. From Mathews article in the New York Times to Castro's fundraising visits to US cities, it is clear that Castro owes much of his success to the US.
  2) The greatest disappointment is that English falls into the trap of using tired and old cliches to describe the Cuban exile community. He seems to insinuate that the mass exodus that occurred in 59 and into the early 60s were primarily "Batistianos". Again, where is English getting his statistics from? Many of those that left Cuba during that time had supported the revolution and wanted Batista removed. They left because the biggest "deceiver" in this tragic story was Castro.
  
  English (again just an old cliche) refers to the pandering of the Cuban voting bloc. Perhaps we should also call then "pandering" when politicians from all persuasions look how best to serve the needs (votes?) of specific minority groups. English also mentions,"the celebration evoked the early days of 1959, when Cubans reveled over the fall of Batista" in referring to the festivities in Miami that followed the announcement that Castro was seriously ill. One can only conclude that English must be delusional on this subject to compare such completely different events. Again he then makes the general statement, without any backing, that "exiles, who continue to dream of the day when they would return to Cuba and reclaim all they had lost...". Let me remind Mr English, and others, that the revolution occurred 50 years ago this year. Can he explain to me which of those exiles is still living who dream of going back. Most of that generation is now gone, never having returned to their beloved island and extremely loyal to the United States. They have raised children that may or may not return, AS VISITORS, to the "Pearl of the Antilles". If they do it will not be to "reclaim all they had lost".
  
  3) That last example is Mr. English's statement that the average Cuban wage was 12 dollars a month. Again I have no idea where or how he came up with this figure.
  
  In summary, this is an excellent read, from a purely crime novel perspective. It should not be read as an accurate potrayal of the Cuban tragedy.
  
  
• fake news brings one to real "news"
  By ATXOLUY1FQNM8 on 2008-08-06
  Heard the author interviewed on the Colbert Report and was blown away.
  English illustrated why the book is a must read. Downplaying the JFK assertations the work is a through review of those "bury your head under the desk" years so many of us old people recall all too vividly.
  If you don't understand the Fidel dynamics after this read you are deluding yourself. One can see why FC has ruled for six decades.
  Kudos Mr. English
  
  
• Interesting, important, and overblown
  By A2Z4KA3EFQWZOX on 2008-08-07
  Everyone knows the mob was involved in Cuba if only because of The Godfather, Part II (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition). People also know that Kennedy and the CIA tried to use the mob, angry over losing Cuba, to kill CastroThe Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations in Cuba, 1959-1965. This book tries to take us back to the days just before the revolution and the Cuba 'that was' in order to reveal the immoral cesspool that sparked the revolution.
  
  The book focuses on Meyer Lansky, a brilliant mobster and his relationship with Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban leader, and how together with other mobsters they 'owned Cuba'. Indeed that was the perspective from Havana where the night life never ended and prostitution was rampent. It was no surprise that Castro declared a war on prostitution when he retook Havana, if only because he saw it as a form of racism with Cuban women being sold to the highest bidder from the U.S and Europe. The book gives many up close and personal looks at this underside. But the book inflates the role of the mob ot epic proportions, as has been done in movies, ignoring the rest of Cuba. Perhaps this was Batistas real crime, he ignored the rest of the country. But does this mean Cuba has deserved 50 years of dictatorship with the same isle of pines used for political prisoners? Prostitution is back today in Cuba with women traded themselves for cans of food from European foreigners. The real tragedy apparently was that Cuba could not have some in-between between Havana nights and the daily toil of the countryside.
  
  Seth J. Frantzman
  
  
  
  
  
• A Very Interesting Read
  By A32B5CK2UAFYVQ on 2008-08-26
  I'm an older person and remember reading about some of the details of the book when they happened, but this is a broad story and gives lots of inside facts that were not well-known, at least to me.
  
  Knowing how it all came out was not a hindrance at all, but made it all more engrossing to see how Fidel Castro gathered his men and overtook the opposition.
  
  The gambling details of the various casinos was also extremely interesting.
  
  I just loved this book.
  
  
• Novel subject Matter
  By A3EML2I3FFTDJV on 2008-08-26
  For those familiar with Godfather II, everybody, this is the actual story of what happened with the mob in Havana in the years after World War II and leading up to the Castro revolution. It's an absorbing read, and also reminds us how corrupt our own American government can be in readily recognizing, and supporting, dictators that are doing their bidding.
  
  
• Worth a read but don't buy it.
  By A2TXTIYYUUFNP1 on 2008-08-30
  This was a good book and pretty interesting. I think English did a good job of researching for the book and documenting things well. However, I guess I envisioned the story being more spectacular and riveting.
  
  It seemed like English may have made Meyer Lansky out to be a little too good but he did do a good job of showing what a fraud Che Guevara and Fidel Castro were.
  
  For all of their talk of being for the people, they were no different than the dictator they over-through. I will need to read more about these characters. I had assumed that maybe they had started out the revolution for the right reasons and then slowly devolved into dictators but it appeared from this book that they always intended to be a dictator.
  
  Overall, the book is worth reading but not worth buying. Check it out from your library or borrow it from a friend.
  
  
• A colorful account of Mob corruption in pre Castro Cuba
  By A6PGY3XAJSYH2 on 2008-08-31
  English employs his journalistic skills in describing casino corruption in Cuba before Fidel. Sparring no details or names, this experienced writer does not get bogged down in distractions. He writes swiftly with small cameos of various mobsters, Cuban political leaders and stars; all the time keeping focus on the gambling casinos, the machinations of the Mob, and the big time, long term aspirations of Lansky and Trafficante. Spicing his tale, his relish is large quantities of cash, a large dollop of sex and the arrival of Fidel and his motley crew. Garbage out, garbage in.
  
  
• havana nocturne
  By A3JIGHR6YULUPZ on 2008-08-05
  most interesting-I was in Cuba from time to time between 1956 and 1859 and stayed at the Havana Rivera hotel.
  
  
• Enjoyable but needs perspective
  By A3PF7KLW2ILCY2 on 2008-08-08
  This is an enjoyable and eye-opening book about the mob's presence in Havana's tourism and gambling operations that ended with the revolution. English has clearly done his homework on the mob and he has captured the characters and personalities of the mobsters; but at the same time the mob has captured English. He clearly has, to some degree, become enamored with their escapades and seems less skeptical than he should be about some of the stories they tell (for example, he expresses no doubts when some old mobsters infer that they assassinated JFK). As a result, he vastly overstates the importance of the mob in relationship to the Batista regime and downplays the importance of the other industrial enterprises in Cuba (for example, he doesn't make the obvious connection that the reason the revolution targeted sugar and petroleum rather than the casinos was that the former were far more important than the latter). But these are relatively small criticisms; the book is interesting throughout and brings to life a chapter in history that is now only remembered through the lens of Godfather II.
  
  
• Awakening of facts
  By A3Q4DXYFEFZ1ZB on 2008-08-20
  For those not aware of the relationships between The Mob and Batista, this book is an excellent account of the "two trains on a collition" where one of them would survive being the successful entry of the Revolution on January 1, 1959. The details of the Mob entry into Cuba gambling investements and control and the link to the corruption of Batista reflects the frustrations of the mayority of the Cuban people who desired a change from the dictatorship of Batista and the elimination of Cuba's 1940's constitution. At that time ANY new entry into the Cuban political scene removing Batista would have been a welcomed entry. Unfortunately Castro was not the promised savior from the Batista corruption that the Cubans had visioned and instead became another dictator wrapped in a then hidden cloth of Communism. The book is a never ending detail account of individuals from the 1940's to the first years of the 1960's ranging from The Mob, the Revolution individuals and Cuban and American political and entertainment figures who all provided wood for the burning fire of corruption, greed and abuse of the Cuban population only to serve the financial appetite of a select group consisting of all these groups. Although the outcome of the book story is well known, the paths leading to the culmination at the end kept this reader in full interest to the point of having read the book in less than a week utilizing any and all spare and available time.
  
  
• A great look at Havana before Castro-the golden days of the mob
  By AXV2BNW6MW8HA on 2008-08-23
  I always wondered what happened in Cuba before Castro, and this was a very enlightening story, written very exactly about the mobsters and the stars who were involved in making Cuba an early, "Las Vegas"-more of a dishonest one, albeit.
  I never knew who was involved nor the amount of money that was utilized and hidden in Cuba with the gangsters.
  The "what goes around comes around theory of life," holds true with many of these mobsters, though. Some died horrific deaths and some died penniless.
  I always thought Frank Sinatra had mafia connections and this confirmed it. If JFK was around today with the amount of facts reporters could dig out about his trips to Havana, he may have not made the White House.
  I liked the photos (a few gruesome)which helped to identify the players.
  I gave it to my dad and since he lived through that era, he really enjoyed it too.
  It's one of the best books I've read in a few months.
  
  
• Very good reading - Not even my normal type of book
  By A1EDMRD18FRNU7 on 2008-08-23
  Saw the author on the Daily Show. Ordered it for the Kindle. Once I got to it, couldn't stop reading it. It's one hell of a good read. Very interesting style he wrote it in, makes it read more like a story than a history of...
  
  Well worth the read. Was sorry to see it end.
  
  
• Interesting, easy read.
  By A3G4QGJHMMIO52 on 2008-08-25
  Gangsters, entertainers and politicians come alive as T.J. English presents a facinating account of life in Havana before Castro. Well researched, the book provides an insight into how and why it was possible for Fidel to succeed in bringing communism so close to U.S. soil.
  
  
• Love this book!
  By A1SFRC6XKYQBLP on 2008-08-29
  Thoroughly enjoyable read - all the way. He weaves in and out of time, connecting the historical dots. Fascinating, for both newcomers and old-hands at this period of cuban life.
  
  
• Great Book!
  By A2EN8GLK955VVM on 2008-08-29
  The book "Havana Nocturne" is a great book. It is well-written and well-documented and well worth the read.
  
  
• Good Read
  By ALF4D5QQOP8JE on 2008-09-22
  This is a great historical account of the Mob in Cuba. Their rise, the height of their power, and of course the fall. Complete with historical references and photos, it is great easy read. Entertaining and educational!
  
  
• An unexpected gem.
  By ATN1SSKTJD8Z8 on 2008-10-03
  I picked this book up in a situation where very little was available to me. It looked interesting, but wasn't something I'd have picked out from a larger selection. I'm really happy my selection was limited.
  
  It's great when a good author with solid research skills finds an undertold story and brings it to life. Such is the case with Havana Nocturne. English really brings to life the glory days of the Havana nightlife in the 1940s and 1950s and makes you wish you could experience it (or at least parts of it) for yourself. Beyond that, English really exposes pieces of history that you're unlikely to get in a traditional history education.
  
  One of my favorite parts of reading this book: I'd always heard stories that JFK and the CIA worked with the Mafia on plans to assassinate Fidel Castro; it sounded preposterous. After reading English's book, my thought has changed to, "well, that makes all the sense in the world."
  
  This book simply introduced me to a fascinating part of history that I'd never considered before. I highly recommend it for any fan of history, mob stories, or stories of revolution, it's got all three in spades.
  
  
• I never knew revolutions could be so boring.
  By A2BDI3L29V5EJV on 2008-11-16
  The author went into excruciating and often pointless details about every two-bit mobster in who ever set foot in Cuba, while telling us nearly nothing about the larger picture.
  
  
• A sure bet...
  By AITY0KWECVI2C on 2008-06-09
  Crime novels abound. There's no question that we enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction about the gangster element. This is one historical presentation that is certain to please readers.
  
  Unlike other books that often rehash well-known facts about criminals and their actions, Havana Nocturne is an entertaining review of the historical activities of the Mob in Cuba from the mid-1940s until the Castro revolution takeover in 1959. History has often avoided or ignored the Mafia's involvement in Cuba, forgetting that many of the activities there superceded or coincided with the development of Las Vegas.
  
  Rather than a presentation of repetitive facts, however, this book does an excellent job of condensing the political events of the time while also explaining the decades-old Mob interest in Cuba.
  
  Readers will find the story reading like a fantasy as they discover interesting facts surrounding the activities of Frank Sinatra, John F. Kennedy and the bawdy nightlife of the Caribbean.
  
  For those interested in understanding why the US has avoided involvement in Cuba for 50 years, how Batista ruled Cuba and Castro took control, and how the Mafia nearly rose to power internationally, I strongly recommend this book.
  
  

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