Our Man Down in Havana: The Story Behind Graham Greene's Cold

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Our Man Down in Havana: The Story Behind Graham Greene's Cold War Spy Novel

Exploring the backstory that led to the writing of Graham Greene's beloved satirical spy novel, Our Man Down in Havana evokes this pivotal time and place in the author's life.
When U.S. immigration authorities deported Graham Greene from Puerto Rico in 1954, the British author made an unplanned visit to Havana and discovered that â€œevery vice was permissible and every trade possibleâ€ in a Caribbean fleshpot of mafia-run casinos and nude revues. The former MI6 officer had stumbled upon the ideal setting for a comic espionage story. Three years later, he returned in the midst of Fidel Castroâ€™s guerrilla insurgency against a U.S.-backed dictator to begin writing his iconic novel Our Man in Havana. Twelve weeks after its publication, the Cuban Revolution triumphed in January 1959, soon transforming a capitalist playground into a communist stronghold.

Combining biography, history, and politics,Â Our Man Down in Havana investigates the real story behind Greeneâ€™s fictional one. This includes his many visits to a pleasure island that became a revolutionary island, turning his chance involvement into a political commitment. His Cuban novel describes an amateur agent who dupes his intelligence chiefs with invented reports about â€œconcrete platforms and unidentifiable pieces of giant machinery.â€ With eerie prescience, Greeneâ€™s satirical tale had foretold the Cold Warâ€™s most perilous episode, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Exploiting a wealth of archival material and interviews with key protagonists,Â Our Man Down in HavanaÂ delves into the story behind and beyond the authorâ€™s prophetic Cuban tale, focusing on one slice of Greeneâ€™s manic life: a single novel and its complex history. 16 pages of photographs and 2 maps
Country USA
Brand Pegasus Books
Manufacturer Pegasus Books
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 9781643130187
ReleaseDate 2019-03-05
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781643130187

Country	USA
Brand	Pegasus Books
Manufacturer	Pegasus Books
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	9781643130187
ReleaseDate	2019-03-05
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781643130187

Our Man Down in Havana: The Story Behind Graham Greene's Cold War Spy Novel

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