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 enlarge | Author: T. J. English
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $14.99
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Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 8966
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061147710
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.106097291
EAN: 9780061147715
ASIN: 0061147710
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
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Condition: BRAND NEW, IN-HOUSE READY TO SHIP!!! NOT A BARGAIN, REMAINDER OR BOOKCLUB BOOK!!! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Very good reading - Not even my normal type of book August 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
A great look at Havana before Castro-the golden days of the mob August 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Awakening of facts August 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
(4.5) "The Little Man had gambled everything- and lost." August 15, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
 Enjoyable, informative -- but I found the writing pretty poor. August 12, 2008
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
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.
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