The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Final Tycoon

“Fascinating…A richly detailed portrait.” -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Instances

Recognized in his day because the King of Sugar, Julio Lobo was the wealthiest man in prerevolutionary Cuba. He had a life match for Hollywood: he barely survived each a gangland taking pictures and a firing squad, and courted film stars reminiscent of Joan Fontaine and Bette Davis. Solely when he declined Che Guevara’s private supply to turn into Minister of Sugar within the Communist regime did Lobo’s decades-long reign in Cuba come to a dramatic finish. Drawing on tales from the creator’s family historical past and different tales of the island’s misplaced haute bourgeoisie,
The Sugar King of Havana is a uncommon portrait of Cuba’s glittering previous—and a hopeful window into its future.