Few political figures of the modern age have been so vilified as Fidel Castro, and both the vilification and worship generated by the Cuban leader have combined to distort the true image of Castro. The baseball myths attached to Fidel have loomed every bit as large as the skewed political notions that surround him. Castro was never a major league pitching prospect, nor did he destroy the Cuban national pastime in 1962. In Fidel Castro and Baseball: The Untold Story, Peter C. Bjarkman dispels numerous myths about the Cuban leader and his association with baseball. In this groundbreaking study, Bjarkman establishes how Fidel constructed, rather than dismantled, Cuba’s true baseball Golden Age―one that followed rather than preceded the 1959 revolution. Bjarkman also demonstrates that Fidel was not at all unique in “politicizing” baseball as often maintained, since the island sport traces its roots to the 19th-century revolution. Fidel’s avowed devotion to a non-materialist society would ultimately sow the seeds of collapse for the baseball empire he built over more than a half-century, just as the same obsession would finally dismantle the larger social revolution he had painstakingly authored. A fascinating look at a controversial figure and his impact on a major sport, this volume reveals many intriguing insights about Castro and how his love of the game was tied to Cuba’s identity. Fidel Castro and Baseball will appeal to fans of the sport as well as to those interested in Cuba’s enduring association with baseball. “In this thorough history, Bjarkman examines Cuba’s baseball leagues after Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959, . . . Bjarkman’s insightful survey of Castro-era baseball deserves a broad audience.” ― Publishers Weekly “Bjarkman’s exhaustive research paints a detailed history of baseball on the island after the revolution in 1959 and delves into the politicization of the wildly popular game and diplomatic relations with baseball and government in America . . . Bjarkman’s rich history is a grand slam addition to Cuban and baseball history.” ― Library Journal “This book contextualizes the historical, social, political, and cultural effects of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution on the development of modern nonprofit professional baseball. Bjarkman organizes his book into three major critical sections; they focus on the US political and social myths surrounding Cuban baseball, the sport's social and cultural transformation, the sports legacy of Fidel Castro, and the making of modern Cuban baseball. This scholarship challenges US perspectives on the foundation of nonprofit professional Cuban baseball and the role Fidel Castro played. An independent scholar, Bjarkman provides an in-depth review and analysis of this critical subject; his findings are based on historical accounts, oral interviews, and primary materials, which add to the book's credibility. This is the first text that examines the historical and cultural foundation of Cuban baseball and the ideological role Fidel Castro had in the making of nonprofit professional sports in Cuba. As such, it represents a major contribution and invites future research and scholarship in an understudied area. Every library should obtain a copy for its Latin American, sports, and history collections.” ― Choice Reviews “[Thi] well researched and knowledgeable volume . . . should be treasured by baseball historians and students of international relations, as well as, anyone interested in baseball, Cuba, and American foreign policy.”” ― New York Journal of Books “Peter Bjarkman is by far the number one American authority on Cuban baseball and the Cuban government's role in it. When I want to know something about Cuban baseball, he is the first, and only person, I call. As in all his previous works about Cuban baseball, Bjarkman dispels long-held myths. Whether or not you agree with his take on Castro's role in the development of Cuban baseball, you will find this a fascinating read.” ―Eric Nadel, Texas Rangers Radio Announcer, 2014 Winner Ford C. Frick Award, National Baseball Hall of Fame “Peter Bjarkman deserves the largest hurrah for his exceptional research, analysis, and captivating writing style in detaching myth from reality, debunking long established political and sporting biases, and ultimately detailing the extraordinary story of Fidel Castro and baseball. It would have been easy to accept past reporting follies, or to reduce diplomatic matters to good and bad guys, and even turn a complex individual like Castro into a cartoon character. Fortunately he avoids this trap by choosing the much harder route of examining motives and “paths not taken” with a critical but often sympathetic eye. We the reader are the wiser and better served by a book in which the conflicted nature of major league baseball’s interests and those of the Cuban baseball establishment operate within the larger arena of history’s judgment.” ―William Humber, baseball hi