"A SENSE OF BELONGING," by U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez. Crown Forum; 240 pages; $26.95.
Regardless of whether you agree with Mel Martinez's political philosophy, he's led an interesting life. His autobiography's subtitle tells it all: From "Castro's Cuba to the U.S. Senate, One Man's Pursuit of the American Dream."
In this volume written with Ed Breslin, Martinez recalls his seemingly idyllic childhood in pre-Castro Cuba: fishing, playing ball, accompanying his veterinarian father on farm visits and relatives who owned a local soft-drink bottling plant. Then came the revolution, and Martinez recalls hiding under a bed with his younger brother as bullets flew in the streets.
Martinez gives an insider view of the agony of families contemplating sending their children to the United States in the early 1960s as part of the Pedro Pan (Peter Pan) program that placed Cuban children with American foster parents. The most moving part of the book is Martinez's retelling of his emotional turmoil as he left his family at the age of 15 — not knowing when or if he'd ever see them again.
Martinez does a good job conveying his experiences and emotions as a stranger in a strange land: a child who did not know the language, the customs or even the food. He had deep misgivings the first time he was confronted with the suspicious-looking substance called peanut butter, and anyone who has been a teenager can sympathize with his loneliness when he's left out of the fall homecoming dance.
But fortune and good-hearted people smiled on Martinez. He was welcomed with open arms by two middle-class Anglo families in Orlando who raised him through high school and encouraged him in years afterward.
Four years later, Martinez was reunited with his family and from then on his role, in many ways, was as the guardian of his parents. The book tells the story of his days at Florida State University, his courtship of his non-Cuban-born wife, Kitty, and his entrance into the legal profession.
Just when the book seems to be nothing but a saccharine success story, Martinez encounters two tragedies: the sudden death of his father-in-law and the debilitating disease and death of his young sister.
At the end of the book, Martinez quickly recounts his political career, from unsuccessful candidate for Florida's lieutenant governor to chairman of Orange County, then secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and finally, U.S. senator.
If there is a disappointment with Martinez's book, it is in an overall lack of depth. He skims over so much material and gives little insight into either his political philosophy or his electoral battles. For example, he deals with the contentious 2004 U.S. Senate campaign in one sentence: "After a difficult, tightly contested election campaign, fought hard every step of the way, I emerged victorious."
While his disdain for Castro and communism is a theme of the book, Martinez's conservative political philosophy is barely mentioned. How and why did he become a Republican? What were the challenges, victories and setbacks of his years in government? Martinez glosses over or totally ignores those.
What comes through is the story of the emotions of a young boy forced to leave his homeland: to confront, and succeed in a new world, and his sense - not only of belonging - but of owing something in return.
Larry Lipman writes for The Palm Beach Post.