The World's First Mafia State (2009-06-27)
This was fascinating and informative. I learned about how then-Senator John F. Kennedy had a Mob-arranged sexual encounter with three female sex workers in Havana, the entire episode viewed through a two-way mirror by one of the major mobsters. The services rendered to crime bosses by Frank Sinatra and the actor George Raft, among others, did not surprise me; that comedian and TV host Steve Allen had a week-long broadcast from one of the major Mob-owned casinos was news to me...and so forth.

The mixture of music, prostitution, and gambling was the gasoline to the criminal engine of Batista-ruled Cuba, and the background of all the major players is laid out for the reader. The author does a good job of showing parallel developments that ultimately joined--and exploded--in the form of the criminal enterprise that was Cuba's government, and the fledgling insurrection organized by Castro and the rest of his originally small band. The mobsters who were actively building their own version of "the shining castle on the hill" did so largely unaware of the growing social storm around them. They were insulated from the reality of life for most of Cuba's people, as was the Cuban government itself. The US government is accurately shown as being entirely supportive and sympathetic to Batista, though less ignorant than the mobsters of rebellion that was growing across the island.

There is a good deal of historical background provided, but it is never academic or tedious; I learned a good bit about how organized crime nurtured the growth of jazz in America, and how this in turn cross-fertilized the Afro-Cuban music that was burgeoning in the nightclubs and other venues across Havana. Enough of the personal lives of the various figures is provided so that the reader does not get just a cartoon view of the various "businessmen," entertainers, politicians, and others who made the history covered in these pages.

I recommend this as a lively, highly readable, and obviously well-researched book that does justice to its subject.

A inside look how powerful was the Mafia in Havana before Castro (2009-06-10)
Really gives a inside look into the Mob control of Havana nightlife with Casinos, Cabarets,and Prostiution. Amazing how powerful and controling the Mob was and how they lost everything during the Cuban revolution.
Also helps one understand "if there would be no Batista there would be no Castro" A must read for everyone who is interested in what happened to Cuba

A Readable Disappointment (2009-05-05)
"Havana Nocturne" focuses on the American mob's casino operations in Cuba. It was an easy read and I learned about Fidel, Battista and key mob figures like Meyer Lansky. But I wanted more than that.

So we learn that the mob, the American government and Battista were all allies against the rebels but why? The book never explains how these divergent interests came together over the running of Cuba. Even more importantly, did these interests; the American government, the mafia and Battista actually produce Castro or was did they just make it easier for him to gain power?

A big problem in the book is that it tells rather than shows. For example, when discussing what made Lansky such a successful mobster, English tells us that he was a master of the "fix" which involved paying off government officials. But he doesn't show us how he selected the right people, who they were, why they were susceptible and what kept him from getting caught. This would have fleshed Lansky out as a man, would have made us understand how he operated within the mob structure.

Lansky is the heart and soul of this book. Battista and Castro are plot devices; the first how Lansky gained power and wealth in Cuba and the latter how he lost it. Lucky Luciano and the other mobsters are really peripheral figures to the story yet all of them take up many pages. The book should have focused on Lansky and his drive to make Cuba into a classy, latino Monte Carlo.

The most interesting character moment in the book comes near the end when Lansky tries to get his driver, someone he had grown close to, to leave Cuba with him once Castro is in power. English explains that Castro and his ilk are anathema to Meyer because Lansky was in "the thrall of bourgeoisie." Lansky sees in Cuba a chance for him to become respectable, to bring to the island sophistication and class and for that stardust to fall onto the mob as well.

A great page turner of a history book (2009-04-16)
Something for everyone here... the author interweaves the stories of Castro, the mob, and the former president Batista in a seamless format. Of the three, probably the story of Castro is the least interesting, as other books, documentaries, etc. have tread that ground over and over again about how the revolution came about. The interaction between the mob and Batista, as well as the various interventions and mostly non-interventions of the US government. I personally learned a lot about how the mob operated and created a Havana culture of profits and pushed the boundaries of human behavior.
The book itself is a page turner and flows nicely. Only towards the end does the author start to repeat himself. The book is well-referenced, especially for a book mostly about the mob. Well worth your time and effort.

Not all true (2009-03-30)
Although this book has some extensive and interesting information regarding Cuba's capitalistic days, and mostly, Havana's touristic boom during the 1940/50s, the claim that the mob owned Cuba is more than an exaggeration, it is a LIE. Owning four nightclubs and hotels in Havana is not owning Cuba. This has been a lie divulged mostly by the communists to morally adorn their disastrous presence over Cuba and by foreigners who throwout the years have made ample echo of the superficial claim. The reality is one, the mafia owned 1950's New York City, USA a thousand times more than what they ever did Cuba, for a simple reason, Cuba was in the hands of a dictator, not a restraining and easily mockable legal system the ones of which the mafia has always found as shelter. Although very far from totalitarian, and simply authoritarian, Batista nonetheless was Cuba's last word. That meant, the leader of the military (who put him there) and the police. The mafia paid Batista to operate in Cuba under his eye, not the other way around.

A point must be cleared, mobsters can't operate too well under dictatorships unless those dictators allow them to, under their terms. Batista allowed them because he wanted to develop Cuba's tourism industry, he knew making Havana the Monte Carlo of America was a goldmine, and for such, these particular mobsters (the same brains behind the Las Vegas Strip) found a safe haven by operating in, and from, Cuba. To legitimately develop Cuba's tourist industry a la Las Vegas next to a president who was helping them with very favorable loans for big projects, was a comfort and a goldmine they had never seen before.

In contrast, during the same years if New York's mafia, who was robbing cargo, wanted to close the NYC port as reprisal for legal pressures, they could, they controlled the port unions. This was something that not even the NYC mayor could do and these were criminals the American police could not stop without "sufficient legal evidence". In Cuba, Batista knew who they were and he never needed "sufficient legal evidence" to eliminate them out of the Cuban picture if they ever hit below the belt. It was this legality and openness that made the mafia's presence in Cuba very different from that of Chicago and New York and at the same time less criminal in nature. In Cuba, these mafiosos were not sucking on Havana like parasites, hiding from the authorities, playing with the law, stealing cars, loan sharking, stealing cargo, controlling unions, etc. They were comfortably investing on a legitimate business the way they did in Las Vegas. Yet, by the same token it would be absurd to say they owned the state of Nevada. In Nevada, like in Cuba, they were in check, as investors of legal businesses. Under such reality, in Havana like in Vegas, acting the same way the mob acted in NYC or Chicago would have been counterproductive and short lived.

In conclusion, by 1958 Cuba had the largest middle class per-capita in Latin America and Havana was a developed capitalistic metropolis unlike any other in the Caribbean (and in a long radios). Tourism and top of the line gambling was just a part of Havana's economy, it was a vivid and complex city like many others who's vices were just more extrovertive than that of others but never the core of it's existence. Havana was an artistic, historical, and affluent city who for such reasons also developed into a tourist mecca. Sadly that Havana, like that Cuba, no longer exists. Today Cuba is a destroyed, lifeless, and slaved nation in vast decay who's only attraction are the remaining old Cadillacs and pre-communism architectural streets, that despite being in ruin, serve as a shadow to the nation it once was and after half a century of such communist cancer is very unlikely from ever again being. Cuba is today a vegetable yet loved and remembered, ironically (and shamelessly) now turned into a pathetic tourist spectacle by those who killed it. I much prefer (and recommend) the book "Havana Before Castro" by Peter Moruzzi.

The World's First Mafia State (2009-06-27)
This was fascinating and informative. I learned about how then-Senator John F. Kennedy had a Mob-arranged sexual encounter with three female sex workers in Havana, the entire episode viewed through a two-way mirror by one of the major mobsters. The services rendered to crime bosses by Frank Sinatra and the actor George Raft, among others, did not surprise me; that comedian and TV host Steve Allen had a week-long broadcast from one of the major Mob-owned casinos was news to me...and so forth.

The mixture of music, prostitution, and gambling was the gasoline to the criminal engine of Batista-ruled Cuba, and the background of all the major players is laid out for the reader. The author does a good job of showing parallel developments that ultimately joined--and exploded--in the form of the criminal enterprise that was Cuba's government, and the fledgling insurrection organized by Castro and the rest of his originally small band. The mobsters who were actively building their own version of "the shining castle on the hill" did so largely unaware of the growing social storm around them. They were insulated from the reality of life for most of Cuba's people, as was the Cuban government itself. The US government is accurately shown as being entirely supportive and sympathetic to Batista, though less ignorant than the mobsters of rebellion that was growing across the island.

There is a good deal of historical background provided, but it is never academic or tedious; I learned a good bit about how organized crime nurtured the growth of jazz in America, and how this in turn cross-fertilized the Afro-Cuban music that was burgeoning in the nightclubs and other venues across Havana. Enough of the personal lives of the various figures is provided so that the reader does not get just a cartoon view of the various "businessmen," entertainers, politicians, and others who made the history covered in these pages.

I recommend this as a lively, highly readable, and obviously well-researched book that does justice to its subject.

A inside look how powerful was the Mafia in Havana before Castro (2009-06-10)
Really gives a inside look into the Mob control of Havana nightlife with Casinos, Cabarets,and Prostiution. Amazing how powerful and controling the Mob was and how they lost everything during the Cuban revolution.
Also helps one understand "if there would be no Batista there would be no Castro" A must read for everyone who is interested in what happened to Cuba

A Readable Disappointment (2009-05-05)
"Havana Nocturne" focuses on the American mob's casino operations in Cuba. It was an easy read and I learned about Fidel, Battista and key mob figures like Meyer Lansky. But I wanted more than that.

So we learn that the mob, the American government and Battista were all allies against the rebels but why? The book never explains how these divergent interests came together over the running of Cuba. Even more importantly, did these interests; the American government, the mafia and Battista actually produce Castro or was did they just make it easier for him to gain power?

A big problem in the book is that it tells rather than shows. For example, when discussing what made Lansky such a successful mobster, English tells us that he was a master of the "fix" which involved paying off government officials. But he doesn't show us how he selected the right people, who they were, why they were susceptible and what kept him from getting caught. This would have fleshed Lansky out as a man, would have made us understand how he operated within the mob structure.

Lansky is the heart and soul of this book. Battista and Castro are plot devices; the first how Lansky gained power and wealth in Cuba and the latter how he lost it. Lucky Luciano and the other mobsters are really peripheral figures to the story yet all of them take up many pages. The book should have focused on Lansky and his drive to make Cuba into a classy, latino Monte Carlo.

The most interesting character moment in the book comes near the end when Lansky tries to get his driver, someone he had grown close to, to leave Cuba with him once Castro is in power. English explains that Castro and his ilk are anathema to Meyer because Lansky was in "the thrall of bourgeoisie." Lansky sees in Cuba a chance for him to become respectable, to bring to the island sophistication and class and for that stardust to fall onto the mob as well.

A great page turner of a history book (2009-04-16)
Something for everyone here... the author interweaves the stories of Castro, the mob, and the former president Batista in a seamless format. Of the three, probably the story of Castro is the least interesting, as other books, documentaries, etc. have tread that ground over and over again about how the revolution came about. The interaction between the mob and Batista, as well as the various interventions and mostly non-interventions of the US government. I personally learned a lot about how the mob operated and created a Havana culture of profits and pushed the boundaries of human behavior.
The book itself is a page turner and flows nicely. Only towards the end does the author start to repeat himself. The book is well-referenced, especially for a book mostly about the mob. Well worth your time and effort.

Not all true (2009-03-30)
Although this book has some extensive and interesting information regarding Cuba's capitalistic days, and mostly, Havana's touristic boom during the 1940/50s, the claim that the mob owned Cuba is more than an exaggeration, it is a LIE. Owning four nightclubs and hotels in Havana is not owning Cuba. This has been a lie divulged mostly by the communists to morally adorn their disastrous presence over Cuba and by foreigners who throwout the years have made ample echo of the superficial claim. The reality is one, the mafia owned 1950's New York City, USA a thousand times more than what they ever did Cuba, for a simple reason, Cuba was in the hands of a dictator, not a restraining and easily mockable legal system the ones of which the mafia has always found as shelter. Although very far from totalitarian, and simply authoritarian, Batista nonetheless was Cuba's last word. That meant, the leader of the military (who put him there) and the police. The mafia paid Batista to operate in Cuba under his eye, not the other way around.

A point must be cleared, mobsters can't operate too well under dictatorships unless those dictators allow them to, under their terms. Batista allowed them because he wanted to develop Cuba's tourism industry, he knew making Havana the Monte Carlo of America was a goldmine, and for such, these particular mobsters (the same brains behind the Las Vegas Strip) found a safe haven by operating in, and from, Cuba. To legitimately develop Cuba's tourist industry a la Las Vegas next to a president who was helping them with very favorable loans for big projects, was a comfort and a goldmine they had never seen before.

In contrast, during the same years if New York's mafia, who was robbing cargo, wanted to close the NYC port as reprisal for legal pressures, they could, they controlled the port unions. This was something that not even the NYC mayor could do and these were criminals the American police could not stop without "sufficient legal evidence". In Cuba, Batista knew who they were and he never needed "sufficient legal evidence" to eliminate them out of the Cuban picture if they ever hit below the belt. It was this legality and openness that made the mafia's presence in Cuba very different from that of Chicago and New York and at the same time less criminal in nature. In Cuba, these mafiosos were not sucking on Havana like parasites, hiding from the authorities, playing with the law, stealing cars, loan sharking, stealing cargo, controlling unions, etc. They were comfortably investing on a legitimate business the way they did in Las Vegas. Yet, by the same token it would be absurd to say they owned the state of Nevada. In Nevada, like in Cuba, they were in check, as investors of legal businesses. Under such reality, in Havana like in Vegas, acting the same way the mob acted in NYC or Chicago would have been counterproductive and short lived.

In conclusion, by 1958 Cuba had the largest middle class per-capita in Latin America and Havana was a developed capitalistic metropolis unlike any other in the Caribbean (and in a long radios). Tourism and top of the line gambling was just a part of Havana's economy, it was a vivid and complex city like many others who's vices were just more extrovertive than that of others but never the core of it's existence. Havana was an artistic, historical, and affluent city who for such reasons also developed into a tourist mecca. Sadly that Havana, like that Cuba, no longer exists. Today Cuba is a destroyed, lifeless, and slaved nation in vast decay who's only attraction are the remaining old Cadillacs and pre-communism architectural streets, that despite being in ruin, serve as a shadow to the nation it once was and after half a century of such communist cancer is very unlikely from ever again being. Cuba is today a vegetable yet loved and remembered, ironically (and shamelessly) now turned into a pathetic tourist spectacle by those who killed it. I much prefer (and recommend) the book "Havana Before Castro" by Peter Moruzzi.