CUBA LIBRE

Elmore Leonard, highly acclaimed for his crime fiction, returns to the genre in which he began: Westerns. Leonard's bank-robbing cowboy, Ben Tyler, leaves jail to become a gunrunner to insurgent Cubans, who have blown up the U.S.S. MAINE in Havana's harbor. George Guidall narrates masterfully from American, Spanish and Cuban-accented perspectives amidst gunfights galore. Guidall's pacing reflects the difference in personalities, keeping us involved with the individuals, rather than engulfed by the action. He gracefully relays the history and politics of 1898 Cuba. Guidall is Leonard's perfect match to mix genres so appealingly. R.N. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 00]