Fidel Castro reflects on the Bay of Pigs on the 40th Anniversary of the U.S.-bakced invasion Fidel Castro's commentaries on the Bay of Pigs invasion - both from the 1960s and his subsequent reflections on the significance of the U.S.-backed invasion - are published here for the first time. Castro assesses why Cuba was able to defeat the 1961 invasion and considers how the Bay of Pigs invasion affected U.S.-Cuba relations and led to the Missile Crisis in October 1962. In April 1961 a band of anti-Castro Cuban exiles invaded Cuba, supported by the CIA. The Eisenhower Administration had initiated the invasion plan but it was left to newly elected President Kennedy to carry out. The invading force was dramatically defeated within a few days. This first foreign policy crisis of the Kennedy Administration marked relations between Washington and Havana for decades, propelling U.S. plans to topple Castro as well as Cuba's measures to defend the island from a more substantial invading force. The 1962 Missile Crisis followed only 18 months later. 72-hour battle that followed as well as a historical overview of the significance of the invasion for Cuba and the region. Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1961 invasion - described by the Cuban leader as the first defeat of imperialism in the Americas - this book is a definitive contribution to the history of both Cuba and the United States. * The first time that Fidel Castro's commentaries on the Bay of Pigs invasion have been published - both from the 1960s and his subsequent reflections * Castro assesses why Cuba was able to defeat the 1961 invasion * Considers how the Bay of Pigs invasion affected U.S.-Cuba relations and led to the Missile Crisis in October 1962 * Includes maps, chronology, glossary & bibliography