Castro's revolution : myths and realities /
Theodore Draper.
- New York, New York : Praeger, (c)1962, 1969.
- 211 pages ; 22 cm.
The two revolutions -- How not to overthrow Castro -- Castro and Communism -- Appendix two: A letter to the new left review -- Appendix two: An exchange of letters between Herbert L. Matthews and Theodore Draper -- Appendix three: L'Affaire Escalante.
"This is a lucid, brilliantly argued interpretation of the whole Fidel Castro phenomenon. With piercing documentation, it attacks those books and articles which have seen Castro as the leader of a peasant revolution whose seeming links with Russian Communism must be doubtfully regarded" (Newsweek). The mythmakers Theodore Draper examines include Jean-Paul Sartre, C. Wright Mills, Leo Huberman and Paul M. Sweezy, and Nathaniel Weyl. It is Mr. Draper's own view that the Cuban revolution is a peculiar "variant" in the "Communist family of revolutions." The second section focuses on the ill-fated invasion of April 1961. Tracing the factional struggles among both the Cuban refugees and the U.S. policy-makers, he illuminates the background and repercussions of the venture. In the final part, Mr. Draper appraises the present course of the revolution. Focusing on Castro's open avowal of "Marxism-Leninism," he analyzes the full text of this pivotal declaration.