My Early Years

This book is a compilation of interviews and speeches by Fidel concerning his early childhood and youth. Although most of the selections have been published previously in other books and periodicals, they have never before been brought together in one volume. Introduction by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

An interview with Fidel by Colombian journalist Arturo Alape is published here in English for the first time. The book also contains excerpts from a discussion with a Brazilian priest, Frei Netto, which was previously published by Ocean Press under the title “Fidel and Religion.”

The time period explored in the book ranges from Fidel’s childhood to 1952, when Gen. Batista took over the Cuban government in a coup and Castro launched the July 26 Movement, with plans to spark a popular uprising against the dictator. Along the way, it deals with Fidel’s university years, his training in the liberation movement for the Dominican Republic, his political activities in Colombia, and his first study of Marxism.