Mr. Matthews’ Small Assist

The main themes labored and belabored by Herbert L. Matthews in The Cuban Story are: 1) That he was right in his original appraisal of Fidel Castro as an idealist dedicated to the principles of liberty and democracy. 2) That Castro wasn’t, isn’t, and probably never will be, a Communist. 3) That his anti-American attitude is entirely due to the mistakes made by the United States Government in its handling of the Cuban situation.

Matthews repeats these themes, with a few variations, over and over to the point of making his book very dull reading indeed. There is nothing new in it, no fresh background material, no answers to the questions that continue to puzzle observers of the Cuban revolution and which he, as Castro’s great chum, should have been able to provide. Where, for instance, did the money come from for the revolution? How was it possible for a small band of guerrillas to win out against Batista’s army? In the days of continual disorder in Mexico it was possible for a rebel leader to get a major revolt under way because communications were so bad that the army couldn’t get at him in time to stop his progress. As soon as roads were built, the revolutions stopped. The same should have been true in Cuba.

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The main themes labored and belabored by Herbert L. Matthews in The Cuban Story are: 1) That he was right in his original appraisal of Fidel Castro as an idealist dedicated to the principles of liberty and democracy. 2) That Castro wasn’t, isn’t, and probably never will be, a Communist. 3) That his anti-American attitude is entirely due to the mistakes made by the United States Government in its handling of the Cuban situation.

Matthews repeats these themes, with a few variations, over and over to the point of making his book very dull reading indeed. There is nothing new in it, no fresh background material, no answers to the questions that continue to puzzle observers of the Cuban revolution and which he, as Castro’s great chum, should have been able to provide. Where, for instance, did the money come from for the revolution? How was it possible for a small band of guerrillas to win out against Batista’s army? In the days of continual disorder in Mexico it was possible for a rebel leader to get a major revolt under way because communications were so bad that the army couldn’t get at him in time to stop his progress. As soon as roads were built, the revolutions stopped. The same should have been true in Cuba.