T. J. English

I enjoy non fiction stories of gangsters and heard of this book on a 3 week trip riding a bike from one end of Cuba to the other, from one of the other riders. We ended in Havana staying near the Hotel Nacional de Cuba; the same hotel in Godfather II, which included the scene in 1946 when America's gangsters convened a summit there to plan their business in Cuba. How could I not read it?

As with so much else you'll enjoy it if as I do you like the subject matter. It is well written but it would help if you'd like to read about pre Castro Cuba and what came just prior to his revolution.… (more)

Such a great book and so eye-opening about the intersecting worlds of jazz and the Mafia. I had no idea. There were rumors of Frank Sinatra's involvement with the Mob and Mob Bosses, but the work done by this author brings so much more to light about these two worlds.

In short, the Mafia had the money and they were active during Prohibition, while they also ran the speakeasy's as a chief source of income. And they were familiar with the burgeoning jazz musicians who were willing to play in those same clubs as a way to make a living.

Then once Prohibition ended, these same Mafia bosses had to find a way to keep their income coming in and boy did they. From New York's famed
Cotton Club to Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, and Miami, the jazz clubs sprang up, the musicians played, big band music became the new thing, and the money rolled in. Mostly to the mobsters as one would expect.

Very many aspects of the intertwining of jazz and the Mafia are put into history, including the increased use of heroin and the musicians who got hooked, the violence that happened if anyone tried to switch clubs or bands, and the "plantation mentality" of black musicians, white audience till the 60's and early 70's. Also detailed are the years that Havana was a jazz-and-Mob jewel and how Las Vegas came to exist.

Highly recommend this book for music fans and readers interested in 20th century American history.… (more)

Havana Nocturne by T. J. English

This is a fascinating look at Cuba just before Castro rose to power.

Havana in the 1950s was a steamy, beautiful, sexy city. Batista was in control of Cuba and the mob was in control of Havana with intentions of turning it into a Monte Carlo-like playground just off America's shore. This book brings 1950s and '60s American and Cuban politics to life but reads like great crime fiction. I couldn't put it down. The author explains how the mob came to build great, glittering casinos in Havana and writes about the movie stars and American politicians who befriended the mobsters and frequented those casinos. The wild nightlife of Havana is sharply contrasted with a poorer Cuba outside the city where we learn of the rise of Castro and his revolutionaries and their many attempts to come to power.

I knew little about Cuba and its history before reading Havana Nocturne. However, this book piqued my interest in this neighboring island that the US still blockades. If you liked The Godfather, I think you'll love this true story and learn some history in the process. I highly recommend it.
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