The race car drivers of the 1950s were the most flamboyant and personable characters since the Bentley Boys of the late twenties and early thirties. Add to this the fastest and most beautiful cars ever built and the best racing teams of the time. Now stir that into a pot of Havana Cuba -- the most exciting city in the world during that period. Then have one of the best automotive writers of today serve it to you -- Joel Finn, the on-the-scene chef giving us first hand knowledge of the events. No one else could have created a volume that will captivate you like Caribbean Capers will. At the time, I considered the 1957 Cuban Grand Prix, the greatest race of all time, and I still do.

Cuba became the playground of the rich, especially Americans, in the 1930s and under the Batista dictatorship, and continued that way until the Fidel Castro revolution. Over 300,000 American and an additional 200,000 tourists traveled to Havana in 1956. The city was the gambling capital of the world at the time, with prostitution as a major industry employing over a 11,500 prostitutes. That set the stage for a popular racing scene, much promoted by the government through the Cuban Sporting Commission run by an enthusiastic Colonel Roberto Miranda.

Racing became popular in Cuba beginning in 1902 and the first international race was held in 1905. The author's enlightening coverage of the pre-1957 racing sets the scene for a new era of racing that began in 1955 with an international effort to host a series of major races that would attract the best drivers and racing teams. For the first race in 1957, the coastal Malecon Circuit in central Havana was designed. The 1957 Grand Prix of Cuba was off and running with the greatest cars and drivers in the world. Juan Fangio in a Maserati 450S shared with Stirling Moss. Alfonso de Portago and Peter Collins driving a Ferrari 290MM. Carroll Shelby in a Ferrari 4.9 litre 410 Sport. Phil Hill at the wheel of a Ferrari Monza with co-driver Paul O'Shea. Schell, Bonnier, Gendebien, Gregory and other greats participated. The party atmosphere included actors like Gary Cooper and several beauty queens.

Joel Finn covers the events in detail with outstanding photography and entertaining descriptions. His coverage continues into the 1958 and 1960 races. Add to it the kidnapping of Fangio in 1958 from the race track hotel, cars flying off the track into the crowd, killing spectators and the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro. Exciting times. Most pages have multiple photographs that you have undoubtedly never seen before and richly described stories you have never heard. Finn's accomplishment is extraordinary.

Joel Finn attended the 1958 and 1960 Cuban Grand Prix races and spent the next fifty years collecting photographs and other documentary records to supplement the materials originally obtained at the races. Along the way, he discovered the long and passionate racing heritage of Cuban racing. Over the years, he owned a number of the important cars that participated in the Cuban Grand Prix races. Those include the Ferrari 410 Sport driven by Carroll Shelby in 1957 and Masten Gregory in 1958 and the Ferrari TR59 driven by Pedro Rodriquez in 1960. He also owned both of the Maserati 450Ss driven in 1958, the car Buell Jr. entered for Juan Fangio as well as the one Carl Shelby drove. He also owned both of the Maserati Tipo 61s driven by Sterling Moss and Loyal Katskee in 1960. During this period of research for the Cuba book he produced three other outstanding books on the cars he has owned: Maserati Birdcages, Maserati Sports Racing Cars and Ferrari Testa Rossa V-12. Now, that is passion!