Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Pay and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba,New

Product DescriptionFrom the Pulitzer Prizewinning Washington Post reporter David E. Hoffman comes the riveting biography of Oswaldo Pay, a dissident who dared to defy Fidel Castro, inspiring thousands of Cubans to fight for democracy.Oswaldo Pay was seven years old when Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, promising to create a free, democratic, and just Cuba. But Castro instead created an authoritarian regime with little tolerance of free speech or thought. His secret police were trained to crush dissent by East Germanys ruthless Stasi.Throughout Cubas 20th century history, the dream of democracy was often just within reach, only to be dashed by dictatorship and revived again by a new generation. Pay inherited this dream and it became his lifes work. As a teenager in Communist Cuba, he led a protest against the Sovietled shattering of the Prague Spring. Before long, he was sent to Castros forced labor camps. Pay later became a leading voice of opposition and formed a prodemocracy movement. A devoted Catholic, he championed a simple, bedrock belief that rights are bestowed by God, and not the state. Every day, he witnessed these rights trampled in Cuba. He could not stay silent.Pays most daring challenge to the Cuban government was the Varela Project, a onepage citizen petition demanding free speech, a free press, freedom of association, freedom of belief, private enterprise, free elections, and freedom for political prisoners. More than 35,000 people signed the Varela Project, an extraordinary outpouring of protestwith nothing more than pen and paperagainst Castros decades of despotism. The regime responded by ignoring the petition, arresting dozens of Pays followers, and sending them to prison for many years. After receiving multiple death threats, Pay was killed in a suspicious car wreck on a remote country road.Pulitzer Prizewinning reporter David E. Hoffman returns with an epic portrait of a lone individual who had the courage, faith, and persistence to struggle for democracy against an unforgiving dictator. At its heart, Give Me Liberty is a sweeping account of one countrys tragic and continuing struggle for its freedom.Review'This is a splendid book, recounting the tragedy of a Cuban, Oswaldo Pay, who dared to oppose Fidel Castro in communist Cuba, and paid dearly for it. Hoffman's research is magnificent and his biography reads like a great novel.' Mario Vargas Llosa, Winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in LiteratureDavid Hoffman has written a penetrating account of Cuban history, highlighting the true nature of the Castro regime and the courage of one man who became a threat to it. Through this extraordinary book, the world can now learn the story of Oswaldo Pay and understand why my friend Vaclav Havel nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Madeleine K. Albright, United States Secretary of State, 19972001With his signature flair for joining whiteknuckle narrative to meticulous journalism, Hoffman brings us a groundbreaking biography. Hoffman's portrait of Pay offers a sweeping panorama of Castro's Cuba, from its glimmers of promise to its devastating plunge into authoritarianism. Marie Arana, author, Bolvar: American Liberator and Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American StoryA pioneering achievement. With seductive and precise prose, Hoffman reveals not only the extent of Pay's personal sacrifice in the struggle for change, but he resurrects the forgotten, traumatic history of Cuban society. Give me Liberty is a gift to all Cubans everywhere. Lillian Guerra, Professor of Cuban and Caribbean History, University of Florida, and author of Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 19591971An exhaustively researched and beautifully written exploration of a hero who gave his life to the cause of freedom. A riveting account of courage and perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds. Kenneth Wollack, Cha