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Fidel Castro Releases Excerpts of New Book
 Tom Leonard - Telegraph UK
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August 06, 2010
| | A photo of the book cover of "La Victoria Estrategica" or "The Strategic Victory" by Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. Castro presented his new book at a closed-door ceremony Monday, a work he says contains an autobiographical section and details of the major military victory that sped his rise to power in 1959. (AP/Javier Galeano) | |
Fidel Castro has released excerpts of a book about the Cuban revolution ahead of publication.
However, the 833-page The Strategic Victory fail to reveal any new information, with the Cuban leader writing long-windedly about his childhood, university years and his life in his twenties.
The book is not meant to be a memoir but it contains an autobiographical section in the introduction.
The son of a wealthy landowner who educated his son at Roman Catholic schools, Castro writes that he had no choice but to carry a gun as a student when he joined a radical group while studying law at the University of Havana.
The group launched an ill-fated attack on a Cuban barracks in which nearly all his comrades were killed or captured.
Castro was eventually freed and exiled to Cuba but he returned and began a guerilla war in the Sierra Maestra mountains that eventually ousted the Batista regime.
He has written numerous books but publishers have apparently been keen to print his complete memoirs.
The book has 25 chapters and features maps, photos and illustrations of the weapons that his small band of rebels used in their fight.
Castro will turn 84 next week and, while he has not been seen publicly with his brother, Raul, the new president, he makes occasional appearances at events ranging from a meeting with ambassadors to a dolphin show at Havana's aquarium.
He appeared at the book launch in Havana's convention centre wearing a red-sleeved shirt and appearing relaxed. He took some questions from the crowd and then signed copies of the book. |
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