Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean

Brief Description: The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are revealed as never before in this riveting story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the brazen daring of the mavericks who took them on. Biographical Note: Alex von Tunzelmann is the author of "Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean" and "Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire." She was educated at Oxford and lives in London. Brief Description: The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are presented in this story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the brazen daring of the mavericks who took them on. During the period of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, the United States and the Soviet Union acted out the world's tensions on three important island nations, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, the leaders of these nations--the charismatic Fidel Castro and his mysterious brother Raaaul; the ideologue Che Guevara; the capricious psychopath Rafael Trujillo; and Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, a buttoned-down doctor with interests in Vodou, embezzlement and torture--had ambitions of their own. The superpowers thought they could use Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic as puppets, but what neither bargained on was that their puppets would come to life. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann's narrative follows these five rivals and accomplices from the beginning of the Cold War to its end.--From publisher description. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [479]-487) and index.; The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are presented in this story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the brazen daring of the mavericks who took them on. During the period of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson, the United States and the Soviet Union acted out the world's tensions on three important island nations, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, the leaders of these nations--the charismatic Fidel Castro and his mysterious brother Raaul;the ideologue Che Guevara;the capricious psychopath Rafael Trujillo;and Fran cois Papa Doc Duvalier, a buttoned-down doctor with interests in Vodou, embezzlement and torture--had ambitions of their own. The superpowers thought they could use Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic as puppets, but what neither bargained on was that their puppets would come to life. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann's narrative follows these five rivals and accomplices from the beginning of the Cold War to its end.--From publisher description. Table of Contents: Map -- The Secret War -- I. In Search of Monsters to Destroy -- 1. The Entrails -- 2. Good Neighbors -- 3. Quacking Like a Duck -- 4. Comrades -- II. Cuba Libre -- 5. A Lot of Fuss by a Bunch of Communists -- 6. The Minds of Unsophisticated Peoples -- 7. Not Red, But Olive Green -- 8. Our Real Friends -- 9. A Crusade to Save Free Enterprise -- III. Cockfight -- 10. Regime Change -- 11. One of the Most Ridiculous Things That Has Ever Occurred in the History of the United States -- 12. The Death of the Goat -- 13. Throwing a Hedgehog Down Uncle Sams Pants -- 14. Apocalypse Now? -- IV. Fallout -- 15. Papadocracy -- 16. Bad News -- 17. Another Cuba -- 18. Zombies -- A Note on Names -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index."Review Quotes: "Depicts the swaggering, corrupt, erratic, and often violent years of rule by Fidel Castro of Cuba, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, and Francois Duvalier of Haiti. Suitcases full of cash, torture chambers, gunboats, coups, dictatorship, and revolutionary fervor spill out of these pages.... Captures the missile crisis as a frightening and real dance of knives in a dusty Caribbean cockfighting square." --David E. Hoffman, "The Washington Post ""Deftly juggles the stories of three countries---Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic---and their relationships with the superpowers, where things were not as they seemed... Von Tunzelmann tells stories so bizarre as to be beyond any but the most grotesque horror films.... It is good to see this tale, so often seen in world terms, as part of a contiguous regional story." --"The Guardian" (London) "A sweeping history... Von Tunzelmann writes with the same verve and range of material she deployed in "Indian Summer," a praised treatment of the end of the [Indian] British Empire." --"Financial Times" (London) "A mesmerizing, Conradian tale where the truth is almost too dark to bear. A remarkably gripping popular history." --"Kirkus Reviews ""Von Tunzelmann's diligent work will widen the eyes of cold war buffs." --"Booklist"Praise for "Indian Summer""Irresistible . . . A fascinating book that may well change how we look on the benighted world in which we live today." --"Los Angeles Times ""Stirring . . . Von Tunzelmann's brisk narrative is propelled forward by the personalities of five memorable individuals who all wanted and worked for independence. . . . Absorbingly readable." --"Fortune ""["Red""Heat"] removes the veil from the colorful personalities and events behind India's independence and partition with Pakistan. . . . Von Tunzelmann writes with authority and confidence." --"The Washington Post ""[A] captivating group portrait, pulling forth the most telling details of each figure's inner life . . . To have turned an era of such significance and continuing relevance into a page-turner, to both entertain and educate, is an admirable accomplishment." --"San Francisco Chronicle ""This brilliantly written, dramatic, and at times controversial account of empire in India is almost impossible to put down. With it, von Tunzelmann has proven herself a force with which to be reckoned, both as a writer and as an historian." --Caroline Elkins, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya ""A brilliantly vivid page-turner that captures the backstage dramas raging on the eve of India's independence." --Tina Brown Review Citations:

Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2013 pg. 1428 (EAN 9781429966733, Open Ebook)

Booklist 03/01/2011 pg. 16 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover)

New York Times Book Review 03/27/2011 pg. 18 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover)

Library Journal Prepub Alert 11/01/2010 pg. 48 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover)

Library Journal 11/01/2010 pg. 48 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2011 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2013 pg. 1428 (EAN 9780805090673, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Von Tunzelmann, Alex Alex von Tunzelmann is the author of "Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean" and "Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire". She was educated at Oxford and lives in London.