Hagiographies
The left-leaning London weekly The Observer published a surprisingly lukewarm review on Sunday of Ignacio Ramonet’s “biography” of Fidel Castro, which has just been published in English in the United Kingdom under the title, "My Life".
And once again, the supposed biographer is revealed for what he is: a Castro apologist of the worst kind.
As the reviewer, Jason Burke, points out, Ramonet secured “astonishing access” to the ailing 81-year-old dictator but ended up producing a 700-page hagiography of the worst type - too long, too dull.
“To say that Ramonet is an uncritical interviewer would be an understatement,” writes Burke, who then goes on to point out numerous instances of Ramonet’s unquestioning admiration for his subject.
“For Ramonet, like millions of others, Castro is not a controversial dictator with a mixed record who has traced an interesting historical course, but the figurehead of opposition to the global hegemony of the United States and the other great, related bogeyman of the European left, 'neoliberal globalisation'. And wreathed in legend, he can do no wrong.”
You can read the review here.
And once again, the supposed biographer is revealed for what he is: a Castro apologist of the worst kind.
As the reviewer, Jason Burke, points out, Ramonet secured “astonishing access” to the ailing 81-year-old dictator but ended up producing a 700-page hagiography of the worst type - too long, too dull.
“To say that Ramonet is an uncritical interviewer would be an understatement,” writes Burke, who then goes on to point out numerous instances of Ramonet’s unquestioning admiration for his subject.
“For Ramonet, like millions of others, Castro is not a controversial dictator with a mixed record who has traced an interesting historical course, but the figurehead of opposition to the global hegemony of the United States and the other great, related bogeyman of the European left, 'neoliberal globalisation'. And wreathed in legend, he can do no wrong.”
You can read the review here.
posted by Luis M Garcia at 11:19 am
2 Comments:
Ah, yes. It's always good to be reminded how base and contemptible human beings can be, especially when they steadfastly refuse to see the truth staring them in the face. So who's publishing this tripe that even the Observer can't swallow? Lovely people, no doubt, who simply want "everyone to have his say," no matter how perverse.
I wonder what publisher would take on a similarly hagiographic and grossly one-sided "biography" of Pinochet, for instance. I'm sure there is a Pinochet apologist somewhere more than ready to write one, but it will never get anywhere, certainly not with any mainstream/major publisher. I wonder why. Could it be, perhaps, just possibly, a hypocritical double-standard at work? Perish the thought.
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