-
See Our Best Book
Club Books of 2026!
Fighting with Castro for Cuba's Freedom
by Aran Shetterly
At age twenty-nine, William Morgan left Toledo, Ohio, and traveled to Cuba to fight alongside Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in the revolution that would expel the corrupt president Batista from the Cuban government. At first, the Cubans were distrustful of el Americano, but Morgan's dedication and passion, his military skill and charisma, led him to become a chief comandante of the Revolution, the only foreigner to hold such a rank with the exception of Che.
After working at first for Castro, and then perhaps against him when it became clear that Castro had no intention of setting up a democracy ,Morgan was executed by firing squad at the dictator's hands. To this day, Morgan is considered a traitor by some Cubans, a hero by others.
By interviewing Morgan's friends and family and former Cuban Rebels, and examining FBI documents, what Aran Shetterly found were stories from an era when democracy could have flourished in Cuba and the true tale of how a young man who never fit in finally found his place in the world by fighting another country's war.
Starred Review. "Issues of nationalism and the role of journalism play a large role in the book, turning the intriguing story of one man into a thoughtful examination of 20th-century Cuban history." - PW
This information about The Americano was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Sister's Curse
by Nicola Solvinic
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
by Chanel Cleeton
The Vanishing Place
by Zoë Rankin
 (1).gif)
To win without risk is to triumph without glory
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
