Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR18
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • 2026 Registration
    • Suggest a Review
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba & Then Lost it to the Revolution by T.J. English

June 1, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

No doubt about it: T.J. English is one of our great gangster chroniclers. Here he takes on a crime story with an added degree of difficulty: the mob’s role in Cuba’s casinos just as Fidel Castro was ascending to power, changing the island (and, frankly, American politics) forever. I know next-to-nothing about the Cuban Revolution so take that for what it’s worth; my competency in fact checking English’s work here is not up to a high standard. Still, I felt like English did a great […]

https://cannonballread.com/2022/06/havana-nocturne-how-the-mob-owned-cuba-then-lost-it-to-the-revolution-jake/

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #history, Cuba, cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista, Havana, Havana Nocturne, mafia, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, T.J. English, true crime

Jake's CBR14 Review No:96 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: #history, Cuba, cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista, Havana, Havana Nocturne, mafia, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, T.J. English, true crime ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Soldier For Fortune

Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler and the Making and Breaking of the American Empire by Jonathan M. Katz

April 26, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

An excellent read and an infuriating read. Worth all five stars. And like Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction and Ackerman’s Reign of Terror, you’re guaranteed to be peeved on every page. I knew the United States had a colonizing history dating back, well really to its foundation through the US-Mexican War of the 1840s, but more specifically from the end of the 19th century onwards. I knew that we captured many islands in the Caribbean and Pacific respectively, even if I didn’t know the hows-and-whys. Jonathan M. Katz does […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: China, Colombia, colonization, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gangsters of Capitalism, Haiti, Jonathan M. Katz, Marines, mexico, Panama, Panama Canal, Philippines, Smedley Butler, United States, war

Jake's CBR14 Review No:57 · Genres: History · Tags: China, Colombia, colonization, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gangsters of Capitalism, Haiti, Jonathan M. Katz, Marines, mexico, Panama, Panama Canal, Philippines, Smedley Butler, United States, war ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Love was the last thing on their minds

Destiny's Captive by Beverly Jenkins

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

December 21, 2020 by teresaelectro 6 Comments

Romance has been a great salve for the general pandemic malaise. I’ve been loving own voices books featuring Black protagonists finding love, even when it was absolutely the last thing on their minds. These three novels all written by Black women were refreshing and reminded me why I love this genre. I absolutely love reading about an independent woman who falls in love with a sexy man who has his act together. I picked up Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins from the library. I had […]

Filed Under: Romance Tagged With: Beverly Jenkins, Contemporary Romance, Cuba, destinys captive, enemies to lovers, Farrah Rochon, historical romance, jasmine guillory, Office Romance, pirates, The Boyfriend Project, The Proposal

teresaelectro's CBR12 Review No:26 · Genres: Romance · Tags: Beverly Jenkins, Contemporary Romance, Cuba, destinys captive, enemies to lovers, Farrah Rochon, historical romance, jasmine guillory, Office Romance, pirates, The Boyfriend Project, The Proposal ·
Rating:
· 6 Comments

I’m a fountain of blood in the shape of a girl…

February 11, 2017 by pluiedenovembre 1 Comment

Patricia Engel has published two other books, the short story collection Vida and the novel It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris. Even though I haven’t read either of those books, I felt that I needed to read her new novel, The Veins of the Ocean. Not only because the reviews were intriguing (and very positive) but also because I don’t remember ever reading anything by a Colombian American novelist. The Veins of the Ocean is the story of Reina Castillo. When we first meet Reina […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Cartagena, Colombia, Communism, Cuba, disenchantment, dolphins, exile, family saga, Florida Keys, free diving, guilt, Havana, healing, Immigrants, Latin America, loss, Love, Miami, orishas, Patricia Engel, Prison, scuba diving, The Veins of the Ocean, tragedy

pluiedenovembre's CBR9 Review No:7 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Cartagena, Colombia, Communism, Cuba, disenchantment, dolphins, exile, family saga, Florida Keys, free diving, guilt, Havana, healing, Immigrants, Latin America, loss, Love, Miami, orishas, Patricia Engel, Prison, scuba diving, The Veins of the Ocean, tragedy ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

I kept expecting a wizard, but all I got was Richard Nixon.

December 16, 2016 by ingres77 2 Comments

The aura that surrounds John F. Kennedy is, by itself, worthy of enough attention to warrant a book all by itself. From his familial history to his infamous relationship with women to his storied political career and untimely, traumatizing assassination, few Americans are both so well known and mysterious. I’ve stated before my intention to read a biography on every president. This goal grew out of a plan to rank every president (plus Jefferson Davis) by various criteria. I generally have that done already, but […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Bay of Pigs, Camelot's Court, Civil Rights Act, Cuba, Cuban Missile Crisis, john f kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert Dallek, Soviet Union, Vietnam

ingres77's CBR8 Review No:105 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Bay of Pigs, Camelot's Court, Civil Rights Act, Cuba, Cuban Missile Crisis, john f kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert Dallek, Soviet Union, Vietnam ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2


Recent Comments

  • Tracy
    on CBR Diversion – Bingo – “Bird”
    Bird characters: Wild Robot by Peter Brown: has a significant character that's a goose The Guardians of Dreamdark: Windwitch by...
  • MsWas
    on CBR Diversion – Bingo – “Bird”
    I'd like to highly recommend a series that is new to me: Birder Murder Mysteries by Steve Burrows. Each book...
  • BlackRaven
    on CBR Diversion – Bingo – “Bird”
    Would Catherine, Called Birdy by Cushman work? (The new cover)
  • Jen K
    on CBR Diversion – Bingo – “Bird”
    Bird on the cover: The Correspondent This Kingdom Will not kill me (it’s a fantastical bird) Where sleeping girls lie...
  • Tracy
    on A Solid Sequel
    I was also disappointed by the Sunbearer sequel. This was a better sequel.
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission, Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2026 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in