A unique history of Cuba, captured in the life and times of the famous rum dynasty The Bacardis of Cuba, builders of a rum distillery and a worldwide brand, came of age with their nation and helped define what it meant to be Cuban. Across five generations, the Bacardi family has held fast to its Cuban identity, even in exile from the country for whose freedom they once fought. Now National Public Radio correspondent Tom Gjelten tells the dramatic story of one family, its business, and its nation, a 150-year tale with the sweep and power of an epic. The Bacardi clan--patriots and bon vivants, entrepreneurs and intellectuals--provided an example of business and civic leadership in its homeland for nearly a century. From the fight for Cuban independence from Spain in the 1860s to the rise of Fidel Castro and beyond, there is no chapter in Cuban history in which the Bacardis have not played a role. In chronicling the saga of this remarkable family and the company that bears its name, Tom Gjelten describes the intersection of business and power, family and politics, community and exile."With a novelist's sense of drama and a historian's understanding of the social forces that shape our lives, Tom Gjelten has captured vividly -- through the chronicle of a powerful family's fortunes -- one of the great political dramas of our time." --Ronald Steel, author of Walter Lippmann and the American Century Contained within family genealogy are often found profound insights into the history of an entire people. The Bacards represent one such family. Gjelten has fashioned a splendid prism through which to cast new light on the human dimensions of the Cuban past. The epochal transitions of Cuban national formation are experienced through successive generations of Bacards, revealing the complex ways that a people are overtaken by the forces of their own creation. Anyone with an interest in Cuban historyand a fondness for Cuban rumwill find the Bacard family history irresistible. --Louis A. Perez, Jr., J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cubaexplores and illuminates the story of our nearest and largest Caribbean island neighbor in an utterly unique and fundamentally revealing way. Tom Gjelten has written a book that is a must read for scholars, policy makers, and indeed anyone interested in the long, hard journey of Cuba -- and for what will happen there next. A brilliant job!" --Admiral Jim Stavridis, U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Southern Command "A marvelous blend of biography and vivid history. This book will surely become essential reading to understanding both Cubas tragic past and the islands post-Castro future. A stunning achievement from a versatile journalist." --Kai Bird, co-author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer."In 1862, a businessman in Cuba with scant experience in rum making took a gamble on a small distillery, hoping to tame a drink that until then was fit only for sailors and laborers. He soon devised a formula that made his rum the favored drink of the sun-washed Caribbean island. The company Facundo Bacardi launched brought worldwide fame to Cuba, and his Bacardi descendants were associated forevermore with the Cuban nation." "In the decades that followed, the Bacardi Rum Company participated in every aspect of Cuban social, political, and economic life. Patriots and partyers, entrepreneurs and intellectuals, the Bacardis provided an example of business and civic leadership in Cuba for nearly a century and helped define what it meant to be Cuban, even after being driven into exile." "The Bacardis are now ready to play a new role in post-Fidel Cuba. Tom Gjelten's remarkable book combines biography, history, and business themes in a single dramatic tale - a revelatory account of Cuba's national struggle."--BOOK JACKET.a fair, balanced, and yet extremely evocative portrait of the rum dynasty and its love-hate affairs with the Spanish Crown, Fidel Castro and the United States government.Mr. Gjelten masterfully illuminates the biography of a cause personified by a proud family that pioneered a major business and shaped the recent past of Cuba New York Times a gripping saga that tells us just as much about human nature and the struggle between power and freedom as it does about Bacardi's transformation from a fledgling business into the world's top family- owned distiller. The Wall Street Journal Absorbing familial and political historycolorful family saga and a carefully researched corrective to caricatures of decadent pre-revolutionary Cuba and the 50-year disaster of Fidel Castro's rule.The Bacardi liquor story is every bit as engaging as Cuba's tumultuous political history, and both narrative strands are inexorably intertwined. The Washington Post thorough reporting and an eye for rich, often quirky detail Chicago Tribune an appealingly smooth and colorful historythorough and open-minded... of a company that rose in step with Cuban nationalism. San Francisco Chronicle an engaging portrait of a family squabble and a corrupt country. Miami Herald Gjelten's narrative is detailed and compelling, delivering a vivid portrait of the family business and the family itself Newsday A refreshing history . solid, journalistic treatment of commercial and political history Kirkus Gjelten has concocted an interesting combination of corporate and political history. Library Journal Gjeltens account of a liberal, progressive Cuban business clan complicates and enriches the conventional picture of a society torn between right and left dictatorships. Publishers Weekly Anyone interested in post-Castro Cuba will be better informed by Gjeltens rich history of the Bacardi family. Booklist Tom Gjelten traces the history of the Bacardi family, their business, and their involvement in Cuban history with consummate skill. This is a first-rate distillation, at once illuminating and entrancing; a sweeping narrative that rivals the best of historical novels. This book will definitely enhance the buzz in every Daiquiri and Mojito, and give added meaning to every Cuba Libre served anywhere in the world Carlos Eire, author of Waiting for Snow in Havana, winner of the National Book Award "With a novelist's sense of drama and a historian's understanding of the social forces that shape our lives, Tom Gjelten has captured vividly -- through the chronicle of a powerful family's fortunes -- one of the great political dramas of our time." --Ronald Steel, author of Walter Lippmann and the American Century Contained within family genealogy are often found profound insights into the history of an entire people. The Bacards represent one such family. Gjelten has fashioned a splendid prism through which to cast new light on the human dimensions of the Cuban past. The epochal transitions of Cuban national formation are experienced through successive generations of Bacards, revealing the complex ways that a people are overtaken by the forces of their own creation. Anyone with an interest in Cuban historyand a fondness for Cuban rumwill find the Bacard family history irresistible. --Louis A. Perez, Jr., J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cubaexplores and illuminates the story of our nearest and large