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Gangsterismo
- The United States, Cuba and the Mafia, 1933 to 1966
- Narrated by: Steve Coulter
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
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Gangsterismo
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Summary
Gangsterismo is an extraordinary accomplishment, the most comprehensive history yet of the clash of epic forces over several decades in Cuba. It is a chronicle that touches upon deep and ongoing themes in the history of the Americas, and more specifically of the United States government, Cuba before and after the revolution, and the criminal networks known as the Mafia.
The result of 18 years’ research at national archives and presidential libraries in Kansas, Maryland, Texas, and Massachusetts, here is the story of the making and unmaking of a gangster state in Cuba. In the early 1930s, mobster Meyer Lansky sowed the seeds of gangsterismo when he won Cuban strongman Fulgencio Batista’s support for a mutually beneficial arrangement: the North American Mafia were to share the profits from a future colony of casinos, hotels, and nightclubs with Batista, his inner circle, and senior Cuban Army and police officers. In return, Cuban authorities allowed the Mafia to operate its establishments without interference. Over the next twenty-five years, a gangster state took root in Cuba as Batista, other corrupt Cuban politicians, and senior Cuban army and police officers got rich. All was going swimmingly until a handful of revolutionaries upended the neat arrangement: And the CIA, Cuban counterrevolutionaries, and the Mafia joined forces to attempt the overthrow of Castro.
Gangsterismo is unique in the literature on Cuba, and establishes for the first time the integral, extensive role of mobsters in the Cuban exile movement. The narrative unfolds against a broader historical backdrop of which it was a part: The confrontation between the United States and the Cuban revolution, which turned Cuba into one of the most perilous battlegrounds of the Cold War.
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What listeners say about Gangsterismo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-04-18
Gangsterismo?
Mentions the influence of the mafia at the beginning of the book but then the next 70% of the book is US/Cuban/Soviet politics with no mention of the mafia until shoe-horned in a final paragraph at the end.
Bizarre title.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- wordparty
- 14-09-15
Terrific book. Misleading title.
This is a fascinating, in depth look at the Cuban revolution and its effects in the mid 20th. century. It deals comprehensively with the the guerrilla war, the Bay of Pigs, the missile crisis, the Kennedys, Kruschev, the CIA and its relations with the mafia, the many assassination plots on Castro, the attacks by the exiled Cubans, the hypocrisy of politics, and more and more and more.
The account of the build up and culmination of the missile crisis is truly gripping, and there are intriguing stories of minor characters - such as Jack Ruby - and major ones such as the dictator Battista and his greed and tyranny.
The book's title is very odd though. Gangsterismo is certainly one theme, but I wouldn't call it the major one. The Mafia features, as does its influence in pre-revolutionary Cuba and its later involvement in trying to kill Castro, but this is not a book primarily about The Mob. It is about the drama and complex politics surrounding the revolution - and how close to the apocalypse we came...
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 20-02-22
The Rev Spooner would be so proud
Brilliant story spoiled by the narrators inability to get one name right. Shame nobody proof listened to this before publishing
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