| | |  | Books | Home » » » Havana Before Castro: When Cuba was a Tropical Playground | | | | | | | Description: | | Through vintage and contemporary photographs, brochures, postcards, and artifacts evocative of time and place, Havana Before Castro tells the story of the city that was the most popular exotic destination for Americans during the forty years between World War I and Castro's revolution.
See how Havana evolved from America's Prohibition haven and rich man's playground to a heady blend of glittering nightclubs, outrageous cabarets, all-night bars, and backstreet brothels.
Visit Havana's seamy Shanghai Theatre as well as its glamorous Tropicana, Montmartre, and Sans Souci nightclubs.
Linger at La Floridita -- the cradle of the daiquiri cocktail (one of Hemingway's favorite watering holes) -- rub elbows with Frank Sinatra at Sloppy Joe's Bar, and learn why Cuban cigars remain the world's most highly prized.
Follow the parade of corrupt presidents who, along with American mobsters such a Meyer Lansky, welcomed the mass tourism that led to Havana becoming a tropical Vegas swirling in a haze of rum and cigars, backed by a conga beat.
(20080515) | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Peter Moruzzi | | Perfect Paperback:
| 256 pages | | Publisher:
| Gibbs Smith | | Publication Date:
| August 01, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1423603672 | | Product Width:
| 2.75 centimeters | | Product Height:
| 2.25 centimeters | | Product Weight:
| 0.03 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 3.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 19 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 19 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 Nostalgia at its best!Jul 31, 2008
By Andrew J. Rodriguez
My wife and I escaped Cuba during the early sixties. Almost certain that we might be returning within a month or two (50 years ago) we did not bring along photographs, memories, or keepsakes of any kind.
"Havana Before Castro" is the best collection of memorabilia ever to touch my hands.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've made my day!
Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 Havana Before CastroOct 07, 2008
By Jose A. Herrera
Very informative with wonderful before and after photos, I am Cuban and remember some of the places in the photos. Would highly recommend it to my friends.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
wonderful bookFeb 13, 2009
By A. Senalle
This is a wonderful book that describes Havana in the same way that my parents have always told me they remember. I lived in Cuba until the age of thirteen and in many parts of Havana i could see remains of what once was a grandiose city. This city is now converted into a total ruin. With regards to the writer "formoso" , he believes all the comunist propaganda written by the so called revolution. I imagine he believes that today's cuba is a paradise where everybody lives better.......how come all cubans want to leave that paradise?.........
12 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Great illustrations; Surprisingly good readNov 24, 2008
By Jesus Mendez
"history lover"
With a profusion of exquisite illustrations, "Havana Before Castro" is also a suprisingly well-balanced, perceptively written historical work. While one good picture is certainly worth a thousand words,this book goes beyond the typical illustrated book genre to recapture also in text a Havana which vividly lives in the memory of those of us lucky enough to have experienced it first hand and, now, in the memory of those who read this book.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Any library strong in Cuban history and culture must have thisAug 10, 2009
By Midwest Book Review
Color and vintage black and white photos abound in HAVANA BEFORE CASTRO: WHEN CUBA WAS A TROPICAL PLAYGROUND. It re-creates an era when the city was a popular destination for Americans between World War I and Castro's revolution, packing over 500 color and black and white images into a 'then and now' recreation contrasting past and present. Any library strong in Cuban history and culture must have this.
See all 19 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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