Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution | 
 enlarge | Author: T J English
Publisher: Tantor Media
Category: Book
List Price: $75.99
Buy New: $43.39
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Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 2126981
Format: Audiobook, Cd, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Library ed. Unabridged
Number Of Items: 11
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 6.5 x 1
ISBN: 1400137691
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.106097291
EAN: 9781400137695
ASIN: 1400137691
Publication Date: July 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
An award-winning journalist, screenwriter, and historian offers the complete story of how the mob infiltrated Havana in the 1950s, made a fortune, and then lost it all to Fidel Castro.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Maybe the mob wasn't so bad after all... November 22, 2008
And, then there was my neighbor Mrs. Brown who sat mesmerized before her television-they had antennas back then- rejoicing that Castro put bad folks against the wall and shot them..until she discovered he was a dogless communist and reversed her opinion. English frames the story left out of your No Child Left Behind histories suggesting maybe the Mafia, that J. Edgar Hoover said did not exist, was not involved in prostitution and drugs in Cuba and that gambling was the real mother lode. This revelation would make them as morally swell as say the governor of the Land of Taxes. Maybe the same good fellows whacked the Kennedys. Maybe most of them lost it all when Castro took down gambling. Maybe the U.S. government enlisted their aid in plots to assassinate Fidel. Over all, an interesting account of Cuba as a U.S. fiefdom, organized crime's collusion with Bastita, capitalism run wild, the fruits of colonialism, and a really entertaining tourist trade. Complete with an extensive bibliography and index.
 I never knew revolutions could be so boring. November 16, 2008
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.
 Caribbean Nights October 27, 2008
`Havana Nocturne' by T.J. English
In his latest installment, `Havana Nocturne', T.J. English, author of `The Westies' brings us the true story of the Havana Mob. This is the tale of the underworlds influence on Cuba, Havana specifically, in the pre-revolutionary days. You're introduced to all the main players: Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro, et al. The level of corruption at all levels, be it social or political, is examined thoroughly and connections between the American mob and the Cuban government are laid bare for the reader.
Mr. English's easy reading, gritty writing style only enhance this sordid tale of deception, influence peddling and societal depravity. However, the ease with which this book is read should not be confused with a lack of intelligent subject matter; this work is extremely well researched, never tendentious, provocative and extremely important historically. The Havana Mob may not have been the reason for the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro, however, English demonstrates that the two were certainly not mutually exclusive.
This is an extremely enjoyable, romping time of a read. I definitely recommend anyone interested Latin American, American history or true crime to grab `Havana Nocturne'. I'm already looking forward to the authors next installment.
Living history October 20, 2008
Reads like the very best fiction! If this book didn't contain some bawdy passages, I'd recommend it for high school history classes!
Most reviewers have covered the Hollywood/mob names involved in this book but little has been noted of Fidel Castro as a young, rabble-rousing college student and how the Cuban & US governments, as well as the mob, grossly mis-judged this man's zeal & appeal. (I was particularly struck by the fact Fidel & Che began with only a couple of dozen followers.) Cuba's government just threw the lot in jail rather than deal w/them
in a way that might have staved off the revolution to come. This tale is so well-written and researched that you can feel yourself walking through the cane fields with this little army. Of all the stories told in "Havana Nocturne," the story of Fidel Castro is the one most notable, more than anything else due to its being the only one not born out of greed.
This book is a quick read, perhaps because you can't put it down once you start, and one I heartily recommend. You will be talking about it for days and you certainly won't forget it!
Great Look into Meyer Lansky and the Havana Mob October 13, 2008
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - great insight into Havana prior to Castro and the inner workings of the mob (New York, Tampa, Las Vegas).
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