A Review of:[The Cuban Revolution]Thomas, Hugh. The Cuban revolution. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers. 1971. (755 pages). Section I: This book is the second half of a larger work, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. The purpose of this larger work is to provide a detailed history of Cuba's struggle for freedom, beginning in 1762. This volume begins in 1952, with Batista's rise to power, and concludes in 1970, with the harvest of ten million tons. Thomas has attempted to write an encyclopedic and comprehensive history of the complex political struggles in Cuba. The book is organized in such a way that it can be used as a reference book or simply read straight through. The book is divided into five main sections: The Struggle, 1952-9; Vittoria: L'Illusion Lyrique, 1959; Old Cuba at sunset; The clash, 1959-62; and the epilogue. The Fight (section 1) is the longest and most detailed part, while the Victory (section 2) is the shortest. This reflects many factors, such as the length of each time period, the importance of events and circumstances during the period, and the information available about the time period. It may also reflect not only the author's interest in each stage of the story, but the reader's presumed interest. The book contains mainly text, but also some photographs, maps and statistical graphs. The maps are not detailed, just giving a general sense of the area, but the statistical tables are quite detailed. Overall, however, photographs are the most useful tool for illustrating and giving further depth to the text. Section II: The second chapter of the book describes Fidel Castro's childhood and youth. Describes Castro's father, Angel, and the influence he had on his son. One such influence was Angel's violent hatred of "The Monster from the North" (North America). Angel, who had served in the Spanish army, felt that the United States had cheated the Spanish in their victory over the Cuban rebels. He developed a deep resentment towards the United States and passed this feeling on to his children. Fidel Castro's childhood was one of comfort and privilege. As a young man, he was already on the path to becoming a revolutionary. At the age of thirteen he organized a strike against his father. But everything he did in his young life was also funded by his father.