Short Synopsis
Based on over 100 hours of interviews with Fidel Castro conducted over three years, Fidel Castro: My Life is as close to a memoir as we will ever get from the Cuban leader. Here Castro speaks with raw frankness about the events of his extraordinary life and the legacy he hopes to leave behind.

Full Synopsis
For decades, people have tried to persuade the leader of the Cuban Revolution to tell his own life story. Ignacio Ramonet, the celebrated editor in chief of Le Monde diplomatique, has finally succeeded. For the first time, in a series of extensive and probing interviews, Fidel Castro describes his life from the 1950s to the present day. In frank and compelling detail, he discusses his parents and his childhood, his earliest influences, the beginnings of the revolution, his relationship with Che Guevara, the drama of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Jimmy Carter years, Cuban migration to the United States, his dealings with successive American presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush, and his relationship with such controversial leaders as Saddam Hussein and Hugo Chavez. Along the way, Ramonet challenges Castro to discuss his views on a number of controversial questions, from human rights and freedom of the press to the repression of homosexuality and the survival of the death penalty in Cuba. This book will stand as the definitive record of an extraordinary life lived in turbulent times.

"Todd McLaren and Patrick Lawlor skillfully hold our interest throughout, almost persuading us that we are actually hearing Castro and Ramonet speak. Highly recommended." ---Library Journal Starred Audio Review

"Enormously fascinating" ---Booklist Starred Review

"Castro's first attempt to tell his complete story provides an engaging perspective on the man and the world he helped shape." ---Publishers Weekly

"A book of great importance to anyone interested in contemporary history and current events." ---Kirkus

Library Journal Audio

Booklist Review

Library Journal Bestseller

Booklist Bestseller