'A penetrating account of Cuban history ... [an] extraordinary book'
MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT, US Secretary of State, 1997-2001

'This is a splendid book, which narrates the tragedy of a Cuban, Oswaldo Payá, who dared to oppose Fidel Castro in communist Cuba, and paid dearly for it. David E. Hoffman's research is magnificent and his biography reads like a great novel' MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

The riveting biography of a dissident who defied Castro's dictatorship, and paid with his life.

Oswaldo Payá was seven years old when Fidel Castro seized power, promising to create a 'free, democratic, and just Cuba'. But Castro instead created an authoritarian regime and crushed all dissent.

The dream of democracy became Payá's life work. Sent to Castro's forced labour camps, he could not stay silent, and formed a pro-democracy movement. After receiving multiple death threats, Payá was killed in a suspicious car accident in 2012.

Democracy is in retreat all over the world. Oswaldo Payá showed how to fight for it. His battle was waged from the streets of Havana but carried universal truths.Pulitzer Prize-winner David E. Hoffman, author of the acclaimed The Billion Dollar Spy, tells the compelling story of a courageous dissident in action.