The Moncada Attack: Birth of the Cuban Revolution
On July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro, then a lawyer and staunch opponent of the Batista dictatorship, led a group of followers in an attack on the Cuban army garrisons at Moncada and Bayamo. The attacks were poorly planned and executed and ended in disastrous failure. Castro, who later surrendered, displayed a remarkable ability to manipulate public perceptions. At his trial and famous history will absolve me speech, he painted the attack as a ringing success in the opening struggle against tyranny. Today, of course, the attack is celebrated across Cuba as the beginning of the revolution. De la Cova is a native of Havana and an assistant professor of Latino studies at Indiana University. He has provided a systematic and scrupulously balanced study of the attacks and their aftermath that serves to dispel many of the myths that have been propagated and accepted for decades. Previous accounts were overly dependent on official versions, but the author has utilized extensive interviews with survivors from both sides. This is a valuable reexamination of a pivotal event. Freeman, JayCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved