Fidel Castro, who has announced he is stepping down as Cuba's president, has run the country for so long that nearly three-quarters of its people have known no other leader.

Cuban President Fidel Castro recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his nation's socialist revolution.

Restraint,not force,will bring change to Cuba

Cuba's president Fidel Castro has stepped down from office. The iconic revolutionary leader has been battling poor health for some time and had already handed over day to day control of the country to his brother Raul. Al Jazeera's Owen Fay takes a look at his 49 years in power.

Program: CBC Television News Special Broadcast Date: Feb. 3, 1976 Host: Don McNeill Guest(s): Fidel Castro, John Diefenbaker, Lewis Duiguid, W. Edward English, Ian Lumsden, Jack Ogelsby, Daniel Tretiak, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Duration: 16:50

lusCuban TV Shows New Images of Ailing Fidel CastroCuban TV Shows New Images of Ailing Fidel CastroThe Associated PressCuban television on Tuesday showed the first images of Fidel Castro in almost 6 months, broadcasting a silent video of the leader chatting in a garden with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (June 17)[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] The world is getting its first new images of Fidel Castro in more than five months.Cuban television released this silent video of the communist leader chatting in a garden with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez told reporters after their 2 hour meeting...that the two are working on an energy sharing proposal.He didn't reveal any details about about Castro's health. The Cuban leader's exact medical condition has remained top secret since he underwent emergency intestinal surgery back in July 2006.His younger brother, Raul, replaced him as president in February.The elder Castro hasn't been seen in *public* in nearly 2 years. The last officials pictures of him were released in January when he met with the president of Braz

Black and white picture of Fidel Castro

Together laughing when they were younger

Fidel ad his famous Cuban cigar

This inspiring book is the result of conversations held in 2003-05. It is an autobiography à deux, `an oral summing-up of Fidel Castro's life by Fidel himself'.

I first read this book over ten years ago, but have yet to find a better biography of Fidel Castro. The author, Tad Szulc, has known Fidel since 1959, when he covered the Cuban Revolution for the New York Times. He was given unprecedented access by the Cuban government, and by Castro personally, to conduct his research for this book. Szulc also interviewed countless people, both in Cuba and in the U.S., including friends, former friends, lifelong enemies, and acquaintances of the Cuban leader. The result is a fascinating and remarkably balanced look at the life of one of the world's most controversial statesmen.

It is hard, writing the biography of one such individual as Fidel castro is. Wheter one likes it or not Fidel Castro is living history, and when dealing with history one has to be extremly careful not to stray too much from path that was laid before him.