The subtitle of this book is "How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It". Which is the Cliff Notes version of what the book covers. Organized crime made inroads into Cuba during Prohibition, but after World War II they opened casinos, attempting to do what eventually happened in Las Vegas. They went legit. In Havana they owned hotels and casinos, they had bars, and sex clubs, and every thing was above board. Unfortunately for them they were not well liked. The seamier side of human behavior that was being fomented in Havana did nothing to endear them to the locals, and if the powers that be were not bribable, it probably wouldn't have come off, and they certainly couldn't be protected after the revolution. They were in danger from each other to begin with, and Castro just made it impossible. But by that time they were headed elsewhere. The Nevada desert beckoned them, and they left Havana behind.
In all of my reading, I have yet to figure out what about this particular mix of location and the crossing of cultures that made Cuba what it is and was and gave to the world. But I am sure that it was not the mob. The mob recognized the zest for life the culture invited, but they did not add anything beneficial to that--they just brought Americans there--so we have a sense of the hedonism that could be supported there should man be left to his own devises. There is a lot of blood and gore, and some interesting history intertwined.
No comments:
Post a Comment