From the Escambray to the Congo: In the Whirlwind of the Cuban Revolution - Softcover

Víctor Dreke; Mary-Alice Waters

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0873489470 ISBN 13: 9780873489478

Publisher: Pathfinder Press (NY), 2002

Synopsis

The author describes how easy it became after the Cuban Revolution to take down a rope segregating blacks from whites in the town square, yet how enormous was the battle to transform social relations underlying all the "ropes" inherited from capitalism and Yankee domination. Dreke, second in command of the internationalist column in the Congo led by Che Guevara in 1965, recounts the creative joy with which working people have defended their revolutionary course--from Cuba's Escambray mountains to Africa and beyond.

This book is part of a series, The Cuban Revolution in World Politics by Pathfinder Press.

Introduction by Mary-Alice Waters, 24-page photo section and other photos, maps, glossary, index Paper, 182 pages

Also available in: Spanish

About this title

Review:

“ Víctor Dreke, second in command to Guevara in the Congo, relates ... a rich assortment of ... remembrances of Guevara ... as well efforts to dismantle racial discrimination in [Cuba].... [He] presents the steps a young revolution took to ... lift a semicolonial nation from under the brutal Batista dictatorship into the Cuba of today.” --Black Scholar

“These books are the kind of books historians are always hoping for, but that very rarely see the light of day. Their value for average readers and for scholars cannot be overstressed, for several reasons, the most important being the historical process of reconnecting Cuba and Africa at a time when such reconnecting continues to be fiercely discouraged by the powers-that-be ... a first-hand account by Che’s most trusted aide during their seven months in the Congo ... the reader gets a clear glimpse of some of the principles that allowed Cuba to do so much in the face of such constant threats to its own survival.... In a subdued, almost humble, way, these books can be seen as collective praise for what Cuba has been able to do, not just for specific African countries, but for the majority of humanity resisting the unrelenting assaults of the capitalist system” --Jacques Depelchin writing in African Studies Review on From the Escambray to the Congo and Our History Is Still Being Written.

"First-hand testimony of the end of the Batista dictatorship and the attempts to create a better government in its place. An insert of black-and-white photographs adds a visual touch to the gripping experiences.... A welcome and much appreciated addition." --Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Pathfinder Press (NY)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0873489470
• ISBN 13: 9780873489478
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 182
• Editor: Mary-Alice Waters