The author, a Cuban writer and journalist, is also a distinctive individualist who has broken with Castro. Permitting his inquiring mind to roam freely, he writes in a philosophical vein of Caribbean problems, sparing no one. He advocates a U.S. alliance with democratic political groups, bolstering them against communism, militarism and authoritarianism. His remarks on the "Antilles man" and what he calls "Antilleanness" are noteworthy.