The Cuban Connection

June 3, 2013
Turner (Hockey Mom: Sarah Palin's Shot at Glory), an FBI agent turned investigative reporter, draws on decades of experience, first-hand interviews, and in-depth research to paint a thorough picture of the complicated relationship between Cuba and the United States. While his main focus is the volatile era following Castro's rise to power, he branches out, examining previous Cuban presidents Prio and Batista, the influence of the National Crime Syndicate, and the wild card that was Richard Nixon. Turner's approach is free-wheeling yet insightful, illuminating a series of pivotal moments as he aims to provide "a shot over the bow of American foreign policy in the Caribbean region." His examination of Castro's 1959 visit to America, and how a less-than-satisfactory reception by Nixon forever tanked US-Cuban relations, is both damning and eye-opening. An extensive look at the CIA's many attempts to kill or discredit Castro reads like Cold War slapstick; backed up by nearly 100 pages of declassified documents regarding CIA plots, it's a fascinating series of revelations. Turner draws together crime, politics, revolutions, assassinations, and conspiracies to make this a fascinating read. The more controversial elements can be taken with a grain of salt, but the underlying narrative remains solid.

May 15, 2013
Turner, a former FBI agent, assisted Jim Garrison in his dramatic prosecution of Clay Shaw for the murder of JFK and claimed RFK was murdered as part of a conspiracy. So his credibility as an objective journalist is questionable. Here Turner examines the meeting of Fidel Castro with Vice President Nixon in April 1959. According to Turner, Castro came to the meeting wary but hoping to establish good relations with the U.S. But Castro felt snubbed by President Eisenhower and found Nixon hostile. Of course, that directly contradicts other accounts of the meeting, and it also suggests Castro developed his anti-American crusade because his feelings were hurt. Turner also takes some Olympian leaps in connecting Nixon directly with Mob figures. This book will be red meat for conspiracy-mongers and blame-America enthusiasts, but it isn't serious history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)