Castro's Cuba. 1959-1969

The real Fidel: A unique and telling portrait of Cuba and its enigmatic leader

“Holds many surprises for the reader who has seen the Cuban reality...only through the distorting prism of propaganda.”-The New York Times Book Review, 1967

On December 31, 1958, Lee Lockwood, then a young photojournalist, went to Cuba to cover what looked to be the end of Batista's regime. He arrived the day before Fidel Castro took power and spent a week canvassing the island before finally coming into contact with the victorious leader. Castro immediately took to Lockwood and over the next decade invited him back many times, granting him special access to his inner circle and free reign to explore the island without the usual restrictions imposed upon American journalists.