Schweid, who worked on the Oscar-nominated documentary Balseros
, about Cuban refugees, continues to demonstrate his keen understanding of Cuban culture with this unusual book. He uses the American car industry as a theme to dramatize Fulgencio Batista's and Castro's Cuba. He places heroes of the Cuban revolution into two categories: flesh and blood patriots, like Camilo Cienfuegos and Abel Santamaria, and unsung North American heroes such as Ford, Chevrolet, Studebaker, Chrysler and others that carry the loads and transport the people. Schweid explains that Cubans adore and depend on American cars, and when Castro's restrictions made these vehicles unavailable, Cubans made them last indefinitely by repeatedly fixing them, despite their resemblance to aging citizens with "liver spots of discolored paint, an inability to retain their fluids, and a coughing ignition...." Through car-related anecdotes, the story incorporates viewpoints from musicians, painters, plumbers and mechanics, with the image of an old car effectively defining the country's economic and social status. The book has a neatly structured, often dryly factual tone, and some of the details will appeal more to auto aficionados than general readers. However, the photos—featuring such subjects as Batista and son in the younger Batista's 1956 Corvette, or Che Guevara driving a Studebaker, with his second wife, Aleida March—add supplemental force to Schweid's knowledgeable text. Photos, map. (Sept. 29)
