Cuba Libre
by Elmore Leonard

Dell: 1998. Paperback: 405 pages. ISBN-10: 0-440-22559-0 Suggested retail price: $7.50 (US) Tags: Action; cowboys; Historical; horses; war Tactical strength: [5/10]

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Ben Tyler takes a job delivering horses to a hacienda in Cuba. The horse delivery will barely break even, but he also has a contract to deliver rifles. The day Ben arrives, a militant group sinks the U.S.S. Maine in the Havana harbor. Ben gets caught up in the chaotic events that lead up to Teddy Roosevelt landing with the Rough Riders.

As I read Cuba Libre, I kept getting the feeling that Leonard looked forward more to writing the movie script than the novel at hand. Many of the scenes cut back and forth with an omniscient point of view, following the action rather than any character in particular. Leonard moves the story along at a good pace, and only introduces enough historical detail to lend plausibility. For this novel, 1898 Cuba provides a setting that you could easily replace with just about any occupied country about to erupt in civil war.

Leonard provides pretty standard fair: a cowboy, a love interest, an evil secret police captain, a need for revenge, several shootouts, and a few close calls. Good, light reading appropriate for a day at the beach or the down time on your vacation.