Author(s): Tom Gjelten

Society & Culture

In this widely hailed book, NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten fuses the story of the Bacardi family and their famous rum business with Cuba's tumultuous experience over the last 150 years to produce a deeply entertaining historical narrative. The company Facundo Bacardi launched in Cuba in 1862 brought worldwide fame to the island, and in the decades that followed his Bacardi descendants participated in every aspect of Cuban life. With his intimate account of their struggles and adventures across five generations, Gjelten brings to life the larger story of Cuba's fight for freedom, its tortured relationship with America, the rise of Fidel Castro, and the violent division of the Cuban nation. Review: aa]a fair, balanced, and yet extremely evocative portrait of the rum dynasty and its love-hate affairs with the Spanish Crown, Fidel Castro and the United States governmenta].Mr. Gjelten masterfully illuminates the biography of a cause personified by a proud family that pioneered a major business and shaped the recent past of Cubaa] a
a"New York Times"
aa]a gripping saga that tells us just as much about human nature and the struggle between power and freedom as it does about Bacardi's transformation from a fledgling business into the world's top family- owned distiller.a
a"The Wall Street Journal"
aAbsorbing familial and political historya]colorful family saga and a carefully researched corrective to caricatures of decadent pre-revolutionary Cuba and the 50-year disaster of Fidel Castro's rulea].The Bacardi liquor story is every bit as engaging as Cuba's tumultuous political history, and both narrative strands are inexorably intertwined.a
a"The Washington Post"
athorough reporting and an eye for rich, often quirky detaila]a
a"Chicago Tribune"
aa]an appealingly smooth and colorful historyathorough and open-minded... of a company that rose in step with Cuban nationalism.a
a"San Francisco Chronicle"
aan engaging portrait of a family squabble and a corrupt country.a
a"Miami Herald"
aa]Gjelten's narrative is detailed and compelling, delivering a vivid portrait of the family business and the family itselfa]a
a"Newsday"
aA refreshing history .a] solid, journalistic treatment of commercial and political historya] a
a"Kirkus"
aGjelten has concocted an interesting combination of corporate and political history.a
a"LibraryJournal"
aGjeltenas account of a liberal, progressive Cuban business clan complicates and enriches the conventional picture of a society torn between right and left dictatorships.a
a "Publishers Weekly"
aAnyone interested in post-Castro Cuba will be better informed by Gjeltenas rich history of the Bacardi family.a
a"Booklist"
aTom Gjelten traces the history of the Bacardi family, their business, and their involvement in Cuban history with consummate skill. This is a first-rate distillation, at once illuminating and entrancing; a sweeping narrative that rivals the best of historical novels. This book will definitely enhance the buzz in every Daiquiri and Mojito, and give added meaning to every Cuba Libre served anywhere in the worlda
aCarlos Eire, author of "Waiting for Snow in Havana," winner of the National Book Award
"With a novelist's sense of drama and a historian's understanding of the social forces that shape our lives, Tom Gjelten has captured vividly -- through the chronicle of a powerful family's fortunes -- one of the great political dramas of our time."
--Ronald Steel, author of "Walter Lippmann and the American Century"
aContained within family genealogy are often found profound insights into the history of an entire people. The BacardA-s represent one such family. Gjelten has fashioned a splendid prism through which to cast new light on the human dimensions of the Cuban past. The epochal transitions of Cuban national formation are experienced through successive generations of BacardA-s, revealing the complex ways that a people are overtaken by the forces of their own creation. Anyone with an interest in Cuban historyaand a fondness forCuban rumawill find the BacardA- family history irresistible.a
--Louis A. Perez, Jr., J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
a"Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba" explores and illuminates the story of our nearest and largest Caribbean island neighbor in an utterly unique and fundamentally revealing way. Tom Gjelten has written a book that is a amust reada for scholars, policy makers, and indeed anyone interested in the long, hard journey of Cuba -- and for what will happen there next. A brilliant job!"
--Admiral Jim Stavridis, U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Southern Command
"A marvelous blend of biography and vivid history. This book will surely become essential reading to understanding both Cubaas tragic past and the islandas post-Castro future. A stunning achievement from a versatile journalist."
--Kai Bird, co-author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning biography, "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,"
"Itas hard to imagine that any [Cuban history] is as enjoyable. [Gjeltenas] book is as smooth and refreshing as a well-made daiquiri."
-- Barry Gewen, "The New York Times"
"A pistol-packing salsa dance of modern history a] On one level, this book is the story of a great merchant family and its deeply intertwined relationship with a mysterious Cuban island nation. But it is also a story of the still resonating conflicts between capitalism and communism, nationalism and imperialism, and freedom and tyranny.a
-- Harry Hurt III, "New York Times" Business Section
"Exhaustively researched, succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of the company's early, scrappy years and itsprominent role in the fight against Spanish rule. Gjelten provides a fascinating look at how the company built itself into the multinational giant it has become."
-- Randy Kennedy, "New York Times" Sunday Book Review
"With its fabulous triumphs and poignant defeats, this stirring tale of rum, money, and revolutions has all the markings of a great epic movie."
-- Richard Feinberg, "Foreign Affairs"
"A gem .. Gjelten has managed to capture in a single book almost all that one needs to know of Cuban history.a -- Mirta Ojito, "Columbia Journalism Review"
BR> "With thorough reporting and an eye for rich, often quirky detail, Tom Gjelten traces the story of the Bacardi family, whose product helped shape Cuba's soul until Fidel Castro nationalized its company's facilities in 1960." -- Will Weissert, "Associated Press" Paperback 432pp h228mm x w152mm x s25mm 503g First published 2008.