Written by a soldier who fought in the Cuban revolution, Victor Dreke's From The Escambray To The Congo is a personal memoir and first-hand testimony of the end of the Batista dictatorship and the attempts to create a better government in its place. An insert of black-and-white photographs adds a visual touch to the gripping experiences both on and off the battlefield described in this memorable, gut-wrenching, up close and personal account of the modern history of a nation. From The Escambray To The Congo is a welcome and much appreciated addition to the growing library of personal memoirs and eye-witness accounts of the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath.

In New Zealand, politicians, government agencies, and many businesses like to crow about how much they oppose discrimination of any kind. However, most working people who come up against racist practices know there is big gap between what these institutions say and do when it comes to dealing with instances of racism.

"From the Escambray to the Congo" is a powerfully account of how after the 1959 victory of Fidel Castro's 26 July movement over the Batista dictatorship in Cuba, the new revolutionary government set out close to gap between the word and the deed.

How the Cuban government went about eradicating Jim Crow type racism, is told through the words of Victor Dreke, a leading participant of Cuba's revolutionary movement for half a century. The capitalist foundations that propped up racism in Cuba collapsed under the weight of the hundreds of thousand workers, peasants and young people - both black and white - coming to the realisation that racism was incompatible with the new society they were fighting to transform.

As a young teenager Dreke was advised by his father to "Study and get an education and don't mess with strikes or any of that; it won't get you anywhere. Besides, that stuff's not for blacks." Fortunately Dreke did not follow his fathers advice and threw himself into revolutionary activity. Beginning as a high school activist, then Rebel Army fighter. He was a commander in the fight to root out the counterrevolutionary bands operating in central Cuba and has been an internationalist combatant and representative of the Cuban revolution in Africa.

What comes across strongly for me is how the Cuba's determination to end racism in it's own country was inextricably linked to the liberation of the Africa continent from imperialist exploitation

For the millions of young Victor Dreke's - male or female - in the mines, factories and on the high school and university campuses around the world - this book is for you.

Read this small book for a series of snapshots of what it was like to be a participant in the Cuban revolution that triumphed in January 1959. From a high school activist under the Batista dictatorship, Victor Dreke joined the Rebel Army and fought in many campaigns. The Escambray mountains in central Cuba were the scene of a bloody five-year-long attempt by Washington-organized groups to undermine the new regime. Like the Contras in Nicaragua 20 years later, these 'Bandidos' murdered literacy volunteers, health workers, and peasants who backed the revolutionary government. Dreke was a leader in the military and militia campaigns that wiped them out. His description of the Cuban mid-1960s contingent to aid revolutionary fighters in the Congo complements Che Guevara's own recently published account of this. Dreke notes how the Congo campaign, though not a success at the time, paved the way for critically important Cuban efforts to aid African liberation struggles, such as the decisive victory at Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, against South African forces in 1988. As with all Pathfinder titles, the well-thought-out maps, footnotes and glossary in this book help the reader with unfamiliar names and events. Numerous photos bring Dreke's story even more to life.

submitted for my friend Katy L. . . .
Forthright...gripping...delightful. Reading this book-length interview with Victor Dreke is like sitting down for a chat with a favourite uncle and being totally mesmerized by the story of his life -- which is part of yours, too. Completely uncomplicatedly, he tells of young rebels going on missions with guns that jammed at the crucial moment never-to-be-forgotten lesson on the discipline of weapons-cleaning!); being in Africa with Che Guevara (the beginning of a chain of events that eventually led to Namibian independence and the release of Nelson Mandela); and being an Afro-Cuban at the very beginning of the revolution (he was sent to a town where the rope separating Blacks from whites at Saturday night dances had only been taken down days before -- by a white Rebel Army officer). He describes the thrill in 1953 of hearing that Fidel Castro had stormed the Moncada Barracks. The action went down to military defeat -- but it was a sign that there were people who would never waver, and Dreke responded. Gives you total confidence that human beings can learn how to fight and win. Also paints a convincing picture of why Cuba is part of Africa.

A través de la vida del compañero Dreke vemos y comprendemos los avances del la revolución cubana.

Aunque aquí en el mundo regido por el capital nos alimentan con cuentos del corte "de mendigo a príncipe", hay más provecho en una historia verdadero de una persona verdadera que nació negro -segregado y negado lo mas básico de la civilización- que ha llegado a ser dirigente de revoluciones en dos continentes.

Trazando su vida en este volumen vemos muchos capítulos de la revolución pocos conocidos fuera de Cuba. De Dreke aprendemos la resistencia a las violentas contrarrevoluciones en Cuba mismo y en muchos países de África central.

Los conocedores de la editorial Pathfinder a veces le llamamos "la editorial de los mártires" porque tantos de sus libros más populares dan voz a generaciones pasadas. Sin embargo, los casos como Dreke y Fidel Castro Ruiz nos presta el honor de contar con ejemplares vivos bajo esta imprenta.

¡Hasta la victoria siempre!

Aqui` es la historia de la campan~a de la revolucio`n cubana en contra las bandas terroristas contrarrevoulcionarias en las montan~as del Escambray, suministrado del gobierno yanqui, y la missio`n internacionalista dirigida del Che en el Congo.Victor Dreke fue comandante en ambos dos campan~nas , tambie`n peleo` en contra la dictadura Batista apoyado del gobierno E.U. Fue gente ordinario - trabajadores, campesinos, tenderos, vendedores de calle, estudiantes - que derrocarron el dictador Batista, y hicieron la primera revolucio`n socialista en las Ame`ricas.Mientras hicieron la revolucio`n, ellos se cambiaron a ellos mismos.Victor Dreke fue uno de ellos , despue`s el fue uno de los muchos dirigentes del proceso.El cuenta su historia : la historia del heroismo poco comu`n de la gente ' ordinario'. Nosotros los trabajadores ,campesinos, agricoltores pequen~os, estudiantes y jovenes luchadores por un mejor mundo vamos necestiar estudiar esta historia conjuntos preparar y participar en las luchas que el capitalismo esta` fuerzando a nosotros.

The author writes well, and explains well in her writing. I could actually picture myself in numerouse places which she had explained. From The war time, to her weding day, to what she went through during her sisters death.

...a truly excellent real-life story of tragedy and love.

The amazing things that the author went through throughout her life were very uplifting. I laughed and cried throughout. The author's experiences were vividly captured on the pages of the book. I was caught up in the horrific imagery of the war that was described, but also the beauty of her family relationships as well as her love for her country of birth. I recommed this book highly, but be prepared for an emotional roller coaster.

Filled with excerpts from Che's own Congo diary and replete with insights into the failures of the Cuban backed People's Liberation Army. A haunting look at some of the same failures that would befall Che and lead to his capture and execution in Bolivia. A great read!

A great and detailed account of Che's not so famous campaign in Africa. Well written; you can actually capture Che's philosophy and lifestyle.

adress:av. getulio vargas, 1351/607 - porto alegre-rs-brasil - cep; 90150-005

A good read but an even better document to the pursuit of dreams (well, maybe not dreams, but dinosaurs) by an adventurer. I couldn't help but think of Indiana Jones, except with a lot of modern red tape and government bureaucracy. Just being able to go after the dinosaur is a miracle, and Nugent paints a great picture for me. So many modern "adventures" are media-hyped, corporate events that pass as "sports" but this guy goes into the dark of the Congo and no one seems to care except the people he has to bribe and barter with along the way. Definitely check this one out.

A truly great book for anyone yearning for adventure! Nugent brings the wilds of the Congo into startling clarity. So vibrant are his descriptions, so compelling his pacing, that I couldn't put this book down for a moment once I began reading. I was so moved and inspired by Mr. Nugent's adventure looking for the Mokele-mbembe, that I spent a year searching for Bigfoot in the forests of the Pacific Northwest! Very few books have ever had such an impact on my life. I loved it.

The author has an amazing account to tell and he does it with great skill -- drawing his reader into the world, not only of primeval jungle and native folklore, but of the vibrant social structure of African life, where a visitor's knowledge of American television shows becomes a better item for trade than a pocketful of gold. As I finished the last, breathtaking chapter (it took every ounce of willpower not to peek ahead to it), I was ready to quit my job, pack up my bags, and set sail to Congo to go looking for the legendary beast myself. What a great read

This book was truly fascinating. I read it shortly after reading The Poisonwood Bible, which had sparked my curiousity about central Africa. The author and her boyfriend set out on a trip across Zaire with no real idea of how they would get to their destination, and ended up dealing with situations that were so far beyond my frame of reference that I could scarcely imagine them. The author generally writes well and conveys a good sense of the tribulations and frustrations - as well as some moments of optimism - they encountered along the way as they got an unusually close-up view of the people and culture of the country. My only quibble with the book has to do with the inordinate number of typos.

"East Along the Equator: A Journey Up the Congo and into Zaire" is an excellent account of a journey across Central Africa (in what was then Zaire) in the early 1980s. Winternitz and her companion traveled by river barge along the entire navigable portion of the Congo river, from Kinshasa to Kisangani. The Congo river barges are legendary among 'extreme' travelers. The end of Belgian colonization of the Congo meant the end of roads, making the river the only practical way to travel between Kinshasa and Kisangani. These river barges are (were?) floating villages, complete with markets and nightclubs populated by traders who make their livelihood onboard, as well as travelers going from place to place. From Kisangani the journey continues overland, to an eventual return to Kinshasa by air. In Kinshasa the pair are arrested and interrogated by the secret police after interviewing a politician opposed to president Moubutu. Winternitz gives an even-handed and interesting account of the journey, along with relevant history and background information. The book contains a good bibliography. This book was journalism when it was first published, and it is still worth reading today, as a document of the Congo under Moubutu.

"East Along the Equator: A Journey Up the Congo and into Zaire" is an excellent account of a journey across Central Africa (in what was then Zaire) in the early 1980s. Winternitz and her companion traveled by river barge along the entire navigable portion of the Congo river, from Kinshasa to Kisangani. The Congo river barges are legendary among 'extreme' travelers. The end of Belgian colonization of the Congo meant the end of roads, making the river the only practical way to travel between Kinshasa and Kisangani. These river barges are (were?) floating villages, complete with markets and nightclubs populated by traders who make their livelihood onboard, as well as travelers going from place to place. From Kisangani the journey continues overland, to an eventual return to Kinshasa by air. In Kinshasa the pair are arrested and interrogated by the secret police after interviewing a politician opposed to president Moubutu. Winternitz gives an even-handed and interesting account of the journey, along with relevant history and background information. The book contains a good bibliography. This book was journalism when it was first published, and it is still worth reading today, as a document of the Congo under Moubutu.

My main complaint with "A Doctor's Life: Unique Stories" is that I wish there was more. In this book Dr. Close shares many unique and moving stories from his medical practice in New York, Congo/Zaire, and Wyoming. His stories from his time in Africa are especially interesting to me. In the pre-independence Belgian Congo he worked first as a hospital surgeon in Kinshasa, then in independent Zaire, as President Mobutu's personal physician. From his perspective as a physician he sees the end of colonialism in central Africa, and the beginning of the chaos of independent Zaire. One very touching story is that of his domestic security guard, an elderly veteran of WWII, whose wish is for a doctor to see his dying wife, just so he can tell his grandchildren that she was seen by a doctor before she died. The chapters about Mobutu depict a man very different than is typically seen in print; apparently even dictators have their good side. This book is recommended to anyone who is interested in medicine or Africa. [Note: most of this book is the same as the out-of-print "A Doctor's Story"; the newer version has two new chapters and photographs.]

In A Doctor's Life: Unique Stories, Dr. William Close draws upon his many years of practice to present the reader with invaluable insights into compassionate care giving in today's high-tech world of medicine. A medical memoir sharing cameos drawn from fifty years as a practicing physician and surgeon in New York's "Hell's Kitchen", sixteen years in Africa's brutal and chaotic Congo, and as a country doctor in rural Wyoming, these vignettes and observations include a broad spectrum of patients and notable characters ranging from African leaders to oil field roustabouts, casualties of civil war in the Congo to older people in rural Wyoming reaching the end of their lives at home. A Doctor's Life is highly recommended reading as both an autobiography and as a persuasive testament that compassion and courtesy are as important as scientific excellent when working for the benefit of patients and the advancement of the medical profession.

An elephant in the maternity ward? A carpenter's brace and bit to drill a hole in the cranium? The "Urine Man" at the Presbyterian Home for Women? Oh, and much more! Here is the story of a doctor who, using the most primitive of equipment, performed a host of procedures in this African outback so far removed from high tech medicine as most of us know it today. From the often violent, always political machinations of civil authorities in the African Congo to the quiet complacency of a small Wyoming community . . . from the hectic internship in New York to the broad expanse of the western plains . . . it's all there. A Doctor's Life is the embodiment of the tragic, the hilarious, the truly compassionate. This is a trilogy in one book: New York, Africa, Wyoming -- an exciting, wonderfully human account of Dr. William Close and his keen insight into, not just the world of medicine, but the human condition -- witty, inspiring and stunningly true to life.

Tayler's ability to capture the full flavor of Africa while giving the reader room to make an assesment of this often violent culture attests to his flare and careful attention to the human experience. Tayler never forgets that he is traveling this river looking at its inhabitants with Western lenses. For the reader looking for adventure, this book is full-flavored. For a fellow and perhaps struggling writer, Tayler's words speak a priceless and empathetic language. But what makes the book most successful is that it speaks to anyone who has lived, loved, and searched for that missing piece, realizing it can always be found in the journey. It is travel writing at its best, full of observations and rhetorical questions presented to the reader as writing's greatest gift.

A great read for anyone interested in adventure travel or Central Africa. Tayler chronicles his travels along the 1,100 plus mile Congo river in Zaire, and his personal journey to find meaning in his existence.

Demonstrating laudatory courage, Tayler navigates the dangers of the Congo (e.g., weather, disease, beasts, banditry, corruption, etc.), first up-river as passenger on a barge, and then down-river along with two Zairean companions in his pirogue (a small wooden canoe) - a trip no mondele (i.e., white man) may have completed since the explorer Stanley (many of the several who have tried did not survive). The result is a compelling tale that provides a glimpse into Tayler's inner soul and the people of Central Africa, while also indirectly shedding light on political, economic and social issues regarding the developed and undeveloped world.

An eminently enjoyable read that you are not likely to be able to put down, and one which may cause you to contemplate planning your own existential journey.

Part travelogue, part memoir, Jeffrey Tayler's Facing The Congo takes the reader on a memorable and fascinating journey into sub-Saharan Africa's crocodile waters and lush jungles, lush jungles, and a spectacular variety of merchants, deckhands, prostitutes, mothers, spiritual followers, fishermen, children, and many other assorted charecters. From lively marketplace banter to cramped, mosquito infested sleeping spaces, Facing The Congo is the story of Tayler's trip up and down the legendary Congo River complete with fog covered backwaters, hostile tribes, and true-life high adventure. Facing The Congo is thoroughly satisfying, enthusiastically recommended reading for the armchair traveler.

Three Crichton novels done an enormous disservice by the silver screen. CONGO is a great variation on his recurring theme of technology run amok. EATERS OF THE DEAD, unjustly ignored for many years, is a rip-roaring retelling of Beowulf. SPHERE is a taut and engrossing thriller that grabs you till the very last line. Oddly enough, these three works actually require LESS intellectual gymnastics than his more lucrative works-- these function quite well as adventure/thriller yarns. If you want to go digging for thoughtful nuggest, they're there, but these are three novels that work very nicely as summer beach reading. Getting all three in one volume is an especially tasty deal.

it's a great deal to have three of his best novels in one book. a great value for the money, highly recommended! thrill a page.

This collection houses three excellent Crichton novels: Sphere, Congo, and Eaters of The Dead. This volume is definately worth buying if you haven't already read these books. Sphere is one of his best books, the best in this collection. It is old-school science fiction with a modern twist! A must read. Also, Eaters of the Dead is an overlooked item in the Crichton canon, very different from his other books, but any MC fan will like it. It is a new reading of Beowulf (if you're into that). Congo is his classic novel celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. All three books are must reads. That is, if you don't already have them. If you do, then there's no reason to buy this collection, as it offers basically nothing new. A must if you haven't though!

"Swimming in the Congo" by Margaret Meyers is a very good novel that reads like a collection of short stories. It is told in the first-person by a girl, daughter of missionary parents, growing up in the Belgian Congo, circa 1960. The stories are focused on the narrator and her memories of her parents and the local people (Congolese and ex-pats) in and near missionary communities. Issues the seven-year narrator deals with include the mix of American Protestant and African traditional beliefs she encounters; the meaning of the equator and scientific reality; and White racism towards the Congolese. Meyers' writing reads well and is easy to like. It would be interesting to see her story continued.

Margaret Meyers, the daughter of a missionary family, grew up in The Congo in the 1960s, and this 1995 collection of short stories was part of her later MFA Thesis at the University of Virginia. Through them, she introduces her lead character, Grace, who views the world with the freshness of childhood and shares her experiences with the reader. Her father tells her the equator goes right through their property and, at the age of six, she searches for it as if it would be a clearly marked path. Her favorite pastime is swimming in the river, a river she will miss terribly when she is sent off to boarding school a few years later. Her protestant Christianity is unquestioned and she's always exploring her own spirituality as well as making keen observations about the people around her. There are some memorable characters here, from her loving parents to the native Congolese who laugh at the foibles of the missionary families. There are the two spinster women with a secret, an unhappy former ballerina who has trouble adapting to her life in Africa, and a Frenchman who loves his garden almost as much as he loves his constantly changing women. Through Grace's young eyes we see the cruelty of racism and the stirrings of independence as political changes are happening in the country.

At 261 pages this is a fast and enjoyable read, one that I gobbled up in two sittings, letting myself travel to the lush world of Grace's Congo and view it through her child's eyes. Mainly, it's about the people and she stays away from political analysis. She tells her stories simply and creates an atmosphere, and brings the reader right into her world. If I have any criticism at all, it is that some of the characters appear in just one of the short stories and I wanted to hear more about them as the book went on. But, alas, this is a book of stories, not a novel. I loved this book; it was a small trip into a world that is now gone and which I will never get to know except for my reading. And it sure was an enjoyable journey. Recommended.

... you'll love SWIMMING IN THE CONGO! This is a collection of short stories that reads like a novel. In it, young Grace Birggen, the daughter of an agricultural missionary to the Congo in the 1960's, comes of age along the banks of the Congo River in what is now Zaire. The stories are beautifully written and the descriptions of her childhood in an emerging third-world nation are compelling. It is POISONWOOD without the poison. Yes, there are incidents of imperialism and racism, but those incidents are filtered through Grace's eyes, in much the same way that Scout narrates Boo Radley's and Tom Robinson's stories in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and so will you.