{"product_id":"the-real-fidel-castro-9780300101881","title":"The Real Fidel Castro","description":"\u003cp\u003eLeycester Coltman  British ambassador to Cuba in the early 1990s  came as close to personal friendship with Castro as any foreigner was permitted. With frequent contact and regular conversations  Coltman was in a unique position to observe the dictators personality in both public and private situations. Here he presents a close-up view of the man who  for half a century  has been loved  admired  feared and hated  but seldom really understood. Coltman chronicles the events of Castros extraordinary life from the political activism of his university days in Havana to periods of exile  imprisonment and guerilla warfare alongside Che Guevera  to the uncertainties of his old age. The book illuminates Castros shift from rebel to national leader  from soldier to diplomat  and from nationalist to Communist  focusing particular attention on the period during and immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Drawing on his own observations of Castros moods  tactics and motivations  and on sources uncovered within Cuba and in British Foreign Office archives  Coltman offers a unique insight into the complicated man behind the consummate actor who continues to play a crucial role on the international stage.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67944806940725,"sku":"ByrdShop_0300101880","price":39.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-real-fidel-castro-9780300101881","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}