Memoirs of a Counter Revolutionary

Son of a Nicaraguan politician, the author served in Washington as diplomatic representative of the Sandinistas and later the contras , and was privy to their internal squabbling over political and military strategy, the issue and ramifications of U.S. support and sundry personal rivalries. Though readers may find his account disappointing and confusing, his report of Oliver North's United Nicaraguan Opposition (UNO) activities will interest followers of the Iran- contra affair. Cruz believes that North never intended UNO to get off the ground, but created it to satisfy the demands of Congress. The author argues that ``Americans enjoyed the spectacle of Nicaraguans feuding bitterly among themselves''; commenting on our ignorance of the Nicaraguan psyche, he writes, ``The American is rational, individualistic, self-responsible. We aren't.'' Of his affair with Fawn Hall, Cruz merely remarks that the two argued over whether the attraction was based on love or politics. (Oct.)