“Sánchez's nonstop revelations, energetic voice, & cognitive dissonance are liable to entertain and intrigue almost any audience.” - Library Journal
“In The Double Life of Fidel Castro, one of Castro's soldiers of 17 years breaks his silence and shares his memoir of years of service, and eventual imprisonment and torture for displeasing the notorious dictator, and his dramatic escape from Cuba.
Responsible for protecting the former Prime Minister of Cuba for two decades, Juan Reinaldo Sánchez was party to Castro’s secret life. From the ghost town in which guerrillas from several continents were trained, to his immense personal fortune—including a huge property portfolio, a secret paradise island, and seizure of public money—as well as his relationship with his family and his nine children from five different partners.
Sanchez's tell-all expose reveals countless state secrets and the many sides of the Cuban monarch: genius war leader in Nicaragua and Angola, paranoid autocrat at home, master spy, Machiavellian diplomat, and accomplice to drug traffickers. This extraordinary testimony makes us re-examine everything we thought we knew about the Cuban story and Fidel Castro.”
(Group read suggestion from Beth McCrea, book club co-founder.)