http://www.writersvoice.net/2008/09/tj-english-havana-nocturne-and-marisa-silver-god-of-war/ A national radio show and podcast featuring author interviews, readings, and reviews. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:09:08 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://www.writersvoice.net/2008/09/tj-english-havana-nocturne-and-marisa-silver-god-of-war/comment-page-1/#comment-889 Weekend Bookchat « The Opinion Mill Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:07:33 +0000 http://www.writersvoice.net/?p=360#comment-889 [...] Fans of The Godfather, Part II probably have a vague idea that Cuba was used as a playground and offshore bank by mobsters in the 1950s. The fascinating details of how the Mob essentially bought itself an island with the complicity of a Cuban strongman, and then lost it to the revolution led by Fidel Castro, are revealed in Havana Nocturne, a fascinating new book by crime historian T.J. English. There’s plenty of salacious stuff about threesomes with John F. Kennedy and a pair of hookers, but there’s also plenty of convincing evidence that the Mob’s use of Havana as a giant casino and money-laundering operation, combined with the greed of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, fueled rage throughout Cuba that helped spark Castro’s revolution. Here’s a Daily Show interview with English and a Writer’s Voice podcast. [...] [...] Fans of The Godfather, Part II probably have a vague idea that Cuba was used as a playground and offshore bank by mobsters in the 1950s. The fascinating details of how the Mob essentially bought itself an island with the complicity of a Cuban strongman, and then lost it to the revolution led by Fidel Castro, are revealed in Havana Nocturne, a fascinating new book by crime historian T.J. English. There’s plenty of salacious stuff about threesomes with John F. Kennedy and a pair of hookers, but there’s also plenty of convincing evidence that the Mob’s use of Havana as a giant casino and money-laundering operation, combined with the greed of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, fueled rage throughout Cuba that helped spark Castro’s revolution. Here’s a Daily Show interview with English and a Writer’s Voice podcast. [...]

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