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By Raul Menchaca
HAVANA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, former president Fidel Castro, celebrates his 90th birthday on Saturday. While he has retired from public life, he has left an indelible mark on contemporary political literature.
Fidel has remained active, writing since March 2007 the "Reflections of Comrade Fidel", having published over 400 articles ever since on historical and international affairs. On various occasions, he has referred to himself as "a soldier of ideas."
Fidel is now rarely seen or heard in public, out of a desire not to overshadow the current President Raul Castro, who is carrying out a deep reform program to update the island's economic model.
During his retirement, the former president has published various books, including "One Hundred House With Fidel", a long biographical interview with French-Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, which came out in 2006.
In November 2008, Fidel published "Peace in Colombia", in which he revealed the content of various negotiations between Cuba and successive Colombian governments on a range of subjects, including the Colombian peace process.
Two years later, Castro published an account of the early days of his revolutionary struggle in Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountain range, describing the 74 successive days of battle in 1958, seen as a turning point in the war against dictator Fulgencio Batista. It was translated in English in 2012 as "The Strategic Victory: The War Against Batista in the Sierra Maestra."
That same year, he released "The Strategic Counter-Offensive: From the Sierra Maestra to Santiago de Cuba," which publishes war stories, military orders, maps, and photographs of the continuing push against Batista.
In 2012, his official biography, "Warrior of Time", was published by Cuban journalist Katiuska Blanco after numerous interviews with the leader.
