Summary: "The Bacardis of Cuba, builders of a rum distillery and a worldwide brand, came of age with their nation and helped define what it meant to be Cuban. Across five generations, the Bacardi family has held fast to its Cuban identity, even in exile from the country for whose freedom they once fought. The Bacardi clan--patriots and bon vivants, entrepreneurs and intellectuals--provided an example of business and civic leadership in its homeland for nearly a century. From the fight for Cuban independence from Spain in the 1860s to the rise of Fidel Castro and beyond, there is no chapter in Cuban history in which the Bacardis have not played a role. Here journalist Tom Gjelten tells the 150-year epic tale of this family, its business, and its nation, describing the intersection of business and power, family and politics, community and exile."--From publisher description.
Booklist Reviews
Reflecting Cuban history in that of the Bacardi rum company, NPR reporter Gjelten covers the business and political activities of the firm's leaders. Starting with its 1862 founding by Facundo Bacardi, Gjelten describes how this family-owned enterprise operated through Cuba's volatile sequence of wars with Spain, U.S. occupation, unstable governments, and, finally, expropriation by the Castro regime. Run by a succession of savvy autocrats, the Bacardi company met with initial success with its formula for rum and, over time, capitalized on a successful identification of its product including its black-bat trademark with Cuban patriotism. Recounting the involvement of Bacardi descendants and their in-laws with Cuban politics, Gjelten paints a picture of their fondness for their country but wariness of its governments. In retrospect, expanding Bacardi operations to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. proved to be the company's salvation. The book concludes with the Communist confiscation of Bacardi's Cuban assets and the claim on them that the company has not relinquished. Anyone interested in post-Castro Cuba will be better informed by Gjelten's rich history of the Bacardi family. Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.
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