Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

Author - Jon Lee Anderson ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Grove Press was reviewed on 16-Oct-2008.

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1) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. I read this book shortly before going into the Peace Corps in 2006 and with a curosity that, as I saw the book on numerous bookshelves all over the world, seemed to always be present. For "Che haters" you´ll hear many comments usually with the word "communist" included. The fact is he was anything but a communist. For those more enlightened, he represents an idealism and theory as put forth in "A Theory of Justice" by John Rawls. Anderson does well to document the hatred Che had for capitalism and the destruction it brought to the people of Central and South America. Anderson documents with clarity and compassion the man Che sought to be and the intellect he brought to his efforts to improve the life´s of people all over the world through his vision of what it meant to be "a citizen of the world". Unfortunately uppper middle class and elite power structure, El Che was destined to failure and execution. Anderson goes into great detail the events subsequent to the conference Che, along with Castro and Kruschev, in Algiers when Che broke ranks with the communist ideology once and for all. Unfortunately his comments and actions were more or less the deciding events that determined his eventual fate. If you´re interested reading a book that dispels many of the myths of the man, allows you to understand clearly where he was coming from as a revolutionary and what he hoped to accomplish, take some time and read this carefully.¤

2) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. 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 youth before the Cuban revolution, Anderson has had to forsake 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 recommend Paco Ignacio Taibo´s "Ernesto Guevara, also Known as Che" (published in the same year). Not only does Taibo focus 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 vital!) context; however, it is less "macho", and it offers a more profound portrayal of Che Guevara the man and thinker.

One criticism I have regarding Anderson´s book is that he opportunistically picks positive and negative points here and there in the name of "objectivity" (perhaps to make the book conveniently palatable to a wider - read "larger" - audience). In his selective choice of anecdotes he comes across as rather self-conscious and calculating. Conversely, Taibo (like Castaneda in "Companero", another well-known Che biography) writes more spontaneously: his objectivity is not contrived, and he is more interested in understanding Che Guevara, defects and all. But Taibo´s book is by no means naïve or sentimental: he endeavours to portray Che Guevara as he would have been seen back then, rather than with today´s condescending hindsight (which is what Anderson does).

Another criticism is that oddly, in Anderson´s book, there seems to be an entire chunk missing on how the Cuban Missile crisis came about. Was it accidentally erased? And one passage bothered me; "Who was to blame for the shortages? The US trade embargo? The revolution´s radicalization that caused the exodus of technicians and 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, but only if both books are read. Without one another, they are flawed. Although the crucial details are similar, the authors´ perspectives couldn´t be more different. For this reason the books beautifully complement each other. Clearly, the many positive reviews for Anderson´s book are based on the assumption that readers make that the autor has written "everything there is to know" about Che Guevara. This is not true of (and not possible in) any biography.

[For those interested in reading more, aside from Taibo´s book, I would recommend Che Guevara´s incredible Bolivian Diary. Castaneda´s biography, "Companero" is wonderful: the author is an eminent historian and he provides a masterful analysis. The only pity is that it is less reader-friendly and should be read with some previous knowledge. The much-awaited "Evocacion" by Che´s 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 his biographers 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.]¤

3) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. 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.¤

4) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. 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.¤

5) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. One of my favorite books. Doesn´t fall prey to the halos of the commie left OR the devilhorns of the gusano right.¤

6) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press.

7) Paperback Book Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Grove Press. 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.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 13-Nov-2008, 08021355879780802135582, 870-031-481-021-821-199-8

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