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| View Larger Image | Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
by Jon Lee Anderson
| | List Price: | $20.00 | | Price: | $13.60 | | You Save: | $6.40 (32%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 12484 | | Studio: | Grove Press | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 814 | | Publication Date: | March 09, 1997 | | Publisher: | Grove Press |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
This New York Times “Notable Book of the Year” is the definitive biography on Che Guevara, whose epic dream was to end poverty and injustice in Latin America through armed revolution. Anderson’s biography traces Che’s extraordinary life, from his comfortable Argentine upbringing to the Cuban revolution, from the halls of power in Castro’s government to his failed campaign in the Congo and assassination in the Bolivian jungle. |
Amazon.com
Even to those without Marxist sympathies, Che Guevara (1928-67) was a dashing, charismatic figure: the asthmatic son of an aristocratic Argentine family whose sympathy for the world's oppressed turned him into a socialist revolutionary, the valued comrade-in-arms of Cuba's Fidel Castro and a leader of guerilla warfare in Latin America and Africa. Journalist Jon Lee Anderson's lengthy and absorbing portrait captures the complexities of international politics (revolutionary and counter); his painstaking research has unearthed a remarkable amount of new material, including information about Guevara's death at the hands of the Bolivian military. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 133 reviews)
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One of two essential biographies 
For detailed insight on the dynamics of the Cuban Revolution, the historical context, the complexity of events on an international scale, and Fidel Castro's strategic and political wizardry, look no further. This book is by far the best.
However, in depicting Che's "world" so brilliantly, and by dedicating a third of the book to his life before the Cuban revolution, Anderson has had to give up many details and, sadly, some intimacy. "The enormous gesture that was [Che's] life" (to quote the famous song) remains an... incomprehensible gesture. For that extra touch of colour and a more intimate portrait, I would highly recommend Paco Ignacio Taibo's "Ernesto Guevara, also Known as Che" (published in the same year). Not only does Taibo concentrate on Che the revolutionary, but also writes, essentially, through his protagonist's own writing. To quote Taibo, "Che's own words... There is no way to approximate that narrative tone, that incredible sincerity, and that caustic sense of humour."
Whilst Anderson dedicates many pages to Ernesto Guevara's fascinating youth, Taibo quickly gets to the Cuban Revolution. Every phase of Che Guevara's life as a revolutionary, including his two ill-fated ventures abroad, is covered in greater depth. Taibo's biography undoubtedly lacks the "scoops" contained in Anderson's book, as well as the vividly-described (and necessary) context; however, it is less "macho", and it offers a more detailed description of Che Guevara the man and thinker.
One important criticism I have regarding Anderson's book is that he sometimes seems to deliberately - and somewhat blatantly - select positive and negative points here and there in the name of "convenient" objectivity (i.e. to make the book palatable to a wider audience). In doing so he comes across as being rather self-conscious. Taibo, on the other hand, writes more spontaneously: he is less obsessed with objectivity at all costs, and more interested in the richness of his protagonist's life. But his book is by no means naïve: Taibo endeavours to portray Che Guevara as he would have been seen back then, rather than with the hindsight of today (which is what Anderson does).
Oddly, in Anderson's book there seems to be an entire passage missing on how the Cuban Missile crisis came about, almost as though it has been accidentally erased. And one passage bothered me; "Who was to blame for the shortages? The US trade embargo? The revolution's radicalization that had caused the... exodus of technicians, managers from the island? The incompetence of the revolution's leaders in attempting to convert a capitalist economy into a socialist one? Yes, all of these were contributing factors". Anderson, who otherwise dedicates so much time to the most intricate details, for some reason does not elaborate on this monumental statement.
Last but not least, the book has been poorly proofread. Spelling and syntax errors abound, some names are misspelled, and, in the final chapter, "Bolivia" has been mixed up with "Algeria". Given the high standard of writing, this is a terrible shame.
To conclude, both biographies are excellent. Although the crucial details are similar, the authors' perspectives couldn't be more different. For this reason the books beautifully complement each other.
For those interested in reading more, aside from Taibo's book, I would recommend Che Guevara's incredible Bolivian Diary. The much-awaited "Evocacion" by his widow Aleida March has just been released (yet to be published in English) and I would recommend this mainly for the poignant farewell poem that Che wrote to her shortly before he died (I am sure both Anderson and Taibo would have loved to get their hands on this). A short but moving account written by Che - "La Piedra" (about his mother's death) - is now freely available on the internet.
August 27, 2008 | |
Tales of Power 
i didn't read this because i have an affinity for or dislike of che. i just don't care one way or another. i'm the kind of person that he said he despised. i read this to fill in some historical gaps. it's the kind of history book that i love reading i.e. extremely long on primary (first hand) source material and short on author subjectivity; as verifiable as possible and without agenda.
the largest factor in the success of the Cuban revolution was that it was lead by the two most dangerous types of individual in the world; those being the brilliant totally unprincipled power-hungry charismatic politician (Fidel), and the brilliant charismatic radical idealist revolutionary (che). together they effected a quantum synergy that ultimately endangered the entire world. when Khrushchev withdrew the nuclear missles ...
"In an interview with Che a few weeks after the crisis, Sam Russell, a British correspondent for the socialist Daily Worker, found Guevara still fuming over the Soviet betrayal. Alternately puffing a cigar and taking blasts on his asthma inhaler, Guevara told Russell that if the missiles had been under Cuban control, they would have fired them off." page 545.
this is a great history book.
August 14, 2008 | |
MY REVOLUTIONARY BROTHA
i love revolutionary people. with out them we would still be slaves. with out revolutionaries like malcom x or
martin l.king we might not have civil rights. this book will take you from before che was born all the way past his death covering every thing. this book is huge. it covers everything and includes a lot of great photos. i see a lot of people wearing his t-shirt in san diego but the people dont know who he is so thats what made me buy the book. he was a communist and nothing wrong with that. its just a form of gov. that he lived under and was his choice. just like americans.democracy is a form of gov. we live under and is our choice. do you hate poor communist who live on the streets? i dont. what about a person living under democracy who is poor living
on the streets. do you hate that person? no its silly. just because the governments dont like one another dont meant the people have to follow. so what im saying is whether che is communist or not i love him for what he fought for. many people stood up against america for its wrongs. so why not che guevara. america is wicked and is destructive world wide and he was there to try and stop etc. get the book its great.ALSO CHE BELIEVED IN THE BLACK CHRIST. SEE NOT ALL OF THE WORLD LOOKS AT JESUS AS A WHITE PERSON. IN SOUTH AMERICA WHERE HE IS FROM MOST PLACES LIKE GUATEMALA BELIEVE IN THE BLACK CHRIST AS HE DID AND I
THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING.
May 15, 2008 | |
yes
One of my favorite books. Doesn't fall prey to the halos of the commie left OR the devilhorns of the gusano right.
April 05, 2008 | |
Read it critically; Enesto was a murderer...
This was a really well written bio on the man. It is historically well researched with plenty of good first-hand accounts. I think the writer did a poor job balancing some of the Latin geopolitical realities ofthe time. It is important to understand that not everyting written in books is nescessary concrete fact and there are other interpretations. This was a leader of a revolution who murdered people. He authorized bank robberies and executions. This is by no means someone that should be looked up to, but I believe that is exactly what John Anderson does. I would not tell anyone to avoid this book. I think it was definitely worth the read, but take it with a grain of salt and read it critically.
It is a good strong chronicle of Latin American sentiment at the time. It is very poor in that it always paints a picture of the evil Americans, when the reality was far different. He did not talk about the corrupt influences in Latin America enough when he directed a lot of scorn towards the US government at the time. I am not arguing that he shouldn't have, I am arguing that he should have been a little more objective.
As for all those out there sporting 'Che' T-shirts, and flags, I would highly recommend they do a little more research into the man they love so much. There is a good chance they will not like what they see.
March 31, 2008 | |
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