Hansen brings imposing research and notable erudition to this account of Fidel Castro’s early life ... we learn much that we haven’t known before about the privileged young man who became a revolutionary ... We are left still uncertain exactly how Castro turned from the 'liberal nationalist' he was as a youth to what he became after 1959. Still, this is a gripping and edifying narrative.

... a portrait of Castro through the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959 that is measured and occasionally indulgent, meticulous and readable at the same time ... Hansen’s deep dive into Castro family history is particularly helpful and full of irony ... scholars and Cuban expatriates will quibble with Hansen’s characterization of the revolution’s radical turn ... The biggest question of the book, however, is its framing. In the wake of Castro’s death, what does it mean to read a biography that deals only with his youth? What are the consequences of skirting his nearly five controversial decades as Cuba’s commander in chief? ... Hansen is not a hagiographer, and parts of the book are unflattering and depart from official Cuban lore. But the decision to emphasize Castro’s original idealism is nonetheless striking, as it resonates in many ways with the efforts of Cuban institutions since his retirement in 2006, and especially since his death in 2016, to do the same. By contrast, Castro’s personal life after coming to power, together with many things about the government he led, remains a secret of state. Who knows how future biographers’ appraisals may change if those archives — assuming they even exist — ever open their doors?

The material is old hat, except for love letters written from prison and details contradicting established belief ... Hansen doesn’t bother with the bigger picture. He mentions, repeatedly, the goal for 'Cuba Libre' and independence. But he doesn’t explain the intellectual, cultural and historical context energizing that goal and making it believable, impossible though it seemed ... Hansen says Castro loved only one thing: the Revolution. He didn’t love Mirta, or Fidelito, or even Celia Sánchez ... For Castro’s quirks, the explanation is 'mood swings.' The century and a half of re-envisioning the human world is missing ... missed opportunity. Hansen makes the mistake of many otherwise well-intentioned academics in the North: They assume that only the North produces ideas that energize and transform, motivating sacrifice, driving dynamic creation not just of politics but of the vision that explains it ... Hansen’s flippant speculation is boring at best, but with the privileged access he had to Cuban documents, it is irresponsible.

In many ways, the most memorable impression is of a serious, passionate, constantly evolving man; even in his formative years, Hansen’s Castro is an impressive combination of revolutionary zeal and common-folk compassion ... Likewise Hansen gives his readers a global thinker, someone who realized, from early in the consolidation of power on his tiny island, that he would need to step warily onto the world stage ... in addition to being exhaustively thorough and gripping, Young Castro is also remorselessly sympathetic ... Nowhere in Hansen’s pages is the impulsive, autocratic oaf seen by many of Castro’s critics. The serial womanizer is largely absent from these pages as well. Young Castro gives no hint of the dictator who would run his country into the ground and make it a pariah state. Here we get the newly minted revolutionary, with the future unwritten before him.

Hansen (Guantánamo: An American History) consulted a wide array of Castro associates and the Castro archives to produce this skillful volume, which serves as a corrective to caricatures ... The narrative picks up—with courtroom drama and military action aplenty—as Castro becomes politically active ... Quotes from family (including Fidel’s brother Raúl), friends, revolutionaries (such as Che Guevara), and rivals enrich the portrait. This is sure to become the standard on Castro’s early life.

A sympathetic portrait of the younger years of the quixotic Cuban 'liberal nationalist' ... While the early period of Castro’s life is not the most exciting, the details in the makeup of the man come together for an engaging, astute character study. A welcome addition to the literature of Castro and Cuba.