Red Heat

Following on the success of her , British author von Tunzelmann captures like no other the volatile Caribbean island nations of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba during the Cold War. Although some may challenge her bold assertions (e.g., President Kennedy's heavy drug dependence at the 1961 Vienna summit with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev), few will argue with her vivid depictions of the triad of Caribbean strongmen—François Duvalier, Rafael Trujillo, and Fidel Castro—and leaders of the Kennedy administration's anti-Communist brain trust. Her documenting of the Cuban Missile Crisis alone is worth the price of admission. All three nations, whose powerful leaders were the focus of obsessive assassination plotting during the Cold War, each was the subject of U.S. military interference in the early 20th century. The author accurately concludes that these Caribbean "wars" were the prolog to American interventions worldwide, from Vietnam to Iraq, machinations that would alter the course of world history. Von Tunzelmann's lively text and engaging style make her book suitable for all readers, scholars included. Highly recommended for all.—Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

In the Fifties and Sixties, both U.S. Presidents and Soviet strongmen thought they could use the Caribbean for their own purposes. But they were proved wrong by Cuba's Fidel and Raúl Castro, Haiti's "Papa Doc" Duvalier, and the Dominican Republic's Rafael Trujillo—with a little help from Che Guevara. British historian von Tunzelmann made a name for herself with 2007's Indian Summer; watch this one.