The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five
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The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Fernando Morais (Author), Robert Ballantyne (Author), Alex Olegnowicz (Author),
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 59 ratings
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Here is the story of political prisoners finally freed in December 2014, after being held captive by the United States since the late 1990s.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, violent anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out hundreds of military attacks on Cuba, bombing hotels and shooting up Cuban beaches with machine guns. The Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network - a dozen men and two women - sent to infiltrate those organizations.

The Last Soldiers of the Cold War tells the story of those unlikely Cuban spies and their eventual unmasking and prosecution by US authorities. Five of the Cubans received long or life prison terms on charges of espionage and murder. Global best-selling Brazilian author Fernando Morais narrates the riveting tale of the Cuban Five in vivid, pause resisting detail, delving into the decades-long conflict between Cuba and the US, the growth of the powerful Cuban exile community in Florida, and a trial that eight Nobel Prize winners condemned as a travesty of justice.

The Last Soldiers of the Cold War is both a real-life spy thriller and a searching examination of the Cold War's legacy.

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  1. Listening Length
    10 hours and 9 minutes
  2. Author
    Fernando Morais, see all
  3. Narrator
    René Ruiz
  4. Audible release date
    March 10, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B084RF46KM
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 10 hours and 9 minutes
Author Fernando Morais, Robert Ballantyne, Alex Olegnowicz
Narrator René Ruiz
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 10, 2020
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B084RF46KM
Best Sellers Rank #330,624 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#105 in Caribbean & West Indies History
#474 in Intelligence & Espionage (Audible Books & Originals)
#598 in History of Cuba (Books)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
59 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ValAnn
5.0 out of 5 stars gift
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2021
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this was a gift and the person I bought it for liked it
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Matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2015
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This book grabs you right from the beginning. It is a masterful mix of historically important events and characters who drive the story. It kept me turning the pages from right off. As I got deeper into the plot, I found myself enjoying the book more and more. It leads you through not only the past happenings, and policies of the Cold War, but brings it into the current era. Cuban/American relations have been strained for so long, many in my generation have just accepted this as the way things are, however, reading this book shone a whole new light on policies and principles of choices made by both governments. Overall, this is a very intriguing book and really made me think, but in an enjoyable way.
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JEDrury
4.0 out of 5 stars read with an open mind
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2015
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
The 2015 English publication of Fernando Morais’ 2011 “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War” conveniently coincides with the December 2014 swap of the incarcerated “Cuban Five” for an American jailed in Cuba.

He admits access and reliance on Cuban government resources to describe the questioned “espionage” activities of the five Cuban agents in the United States, in characterizing the secret war between anti Castro organizations in the Miami area and the Cuban government, and the involvement of the United States government, especially the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in prosecuting these admitted “foreign” agents and others (who “turned” and were then placed in the witness protection program). The details of their activities and lives in the United States is quite clearly based on Morias’ in-depth examination of the intelligence files of the Castro government; his account is humane and personal, adding an intimacy to his book.

The seven (7) month trial in November 2000 is regrettably compressed in a few chapters, it seems one sided; Morias’ unfamiliarity with American jury trials is conclusory and apparent. However, in the face of these weaknesses, Agence France Presse’s query, after months of litigation, on the central issue at the end of the trial is telling and causes pause in any reader; “are these people dangerous spies who tried to penetrate American military installations, or merely infiltrators of Florida’s anti-Castroist organizations?”

This is an unwieldy book with too many names, too many incidents, some jumbled (although his recounting of the bombing incidents in Havana are seemingly factual and tense) brought in by the author to advance his pro Castro point of view. But then again for an American reader two important questions linger; should the book not be read with an “open mind” free of Castro bias, and, why were these Cuban government files not used in defending these five Cuban agents at the time of the trial years ago ?
3 people found this helpful
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Michael Griswold
3.0 out of 5 stars The Spy Game Cuba-US style
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Fernando Morais has written a very complex tale of a dual game between anti-Castro organizations based in Miami who flew hundreds of missions over Cuba throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s and the Wasp Network that infiltrated these organizations and passed intelligence to the Cuban government, while creating a feeling of mistrust within the anti-Castro organizations. While it passes as a tale of espionage and intrigue with intelligence agencies and investigators in pursuit that divides loyalties and friendships, there is an issue with this work.

I found myself unsure of who exactly the author was referencing and what side of the ledger they were on at various points. It often took several pages into each new chapter before I got fully acclimated. While I understand that this is a very complex web to unravel, the author could do a better job of differentiating between men. I also tend to think that this book may be timed to coincide with the thaw in US-Cuban relations because it doesn’t sound like this particularly successful spy game since the FBI and others were on the Wasp Network quickly, but authors use colorful language all the time, so no penalty there.

An interesting though confused tail of spy craft that might be oversold a bit.
3 people found this helpful
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scesq
4.0 out of 5 stars This Is Especially Relevant With The Recent Move Toward Normalizing Relations With Cuba
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This is a part of American history I know little about. The book focuses on five Cubans who allegedly committed espionage and murder and were convicted of these crimes. The author looks at the Cuban exile community in the United States as well as relations between Cuba and the United States. This book is especially relevant with the recent move by President Obama toward normalizing relations with Cuba and the opposition it has created.

I was expecting a spy thriller type of historical fiction but found the book hard to follow at times. The author did a lot of research and at times I got lost in all the names and places mentioned. The author does seem to have a bias in favor of Cuba and the Cuban five.

I feel the book suffers from the fact that it was translated into English by two people. I found the flow of the book off at times and do think the fact that it was translated into English played a part in this.

Despite all this the author does a great job in exploring a period of American history and politics with which I was not familiar. I have read about the rise of Castro, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I have read about Cubans fleeing their country on rafts in an attempt to come to the United States. I am aware of a Cuban exile in community in Florida but I knew little about it until I read this book. This book has taught me much about this community which has a real voice in American politics.

I am glad I read this book. I learned about aspects of American History and current American politics about which I knew and know little. This book is especially relevant with the recent move toward normalizing relations with Cuba and the opposition it has created.
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Top reviews from other countries

Maceo
5.0 out of 5 stars A Gripping Tale of Terrorism and Espionage
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed this book and read it all in one go. A fascinating insight into the political machinations of the Cuban exiles in Miami. Looking forward to seeing the film now!
One person found this helpful
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