Book Description
By the time he was killed in the jungles of Bolivia, where his body was displayed like a deposed Christ, Ernesto "Che" Guevara had become a synonym for revolution everywhere from Cuba to the barricades of Paris. This extraordinary biography peels aside the veil of the Guevara legend to reveal the charismatic, restless man behind it.
Drawing on archival materials from three continents and on interviews with Guevara's family and associates, Castaneda follows Che from his childhood in the Argentine middle class through the years of pilgrimage that turned him into a committed revolutionary. He examines Guevara's complex relationship with Fidel Castro, and analyzes the flaws of character that compelled him to leave Cuba and expend his energies, and ultimately his life, in quixotic adventures in the Congo and Bolivia. A masterpiece of scholarship,
Companero is the definitive portrait of a figure who continues to fascinate and inspire the world over.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
CHE GUEVARA- REVOLUTIONARY FIGHTER .......2006-07-06
This year marks the 53rd anniversary of the Cuban July 26th movement, the 47th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the 39th anniversary of the execution of Ernesto `Che' Guevara by the Bolivian Army after the defeat of his guerilla forces and his capture in godforsaken rural Bolivia. Thus, it is fitting to review the biography of the life of a man who stood for my generation, the Generation of '68, and for later generations as an icon of revolutionary intransigence. This writer has read a few earlier biographies of Che, which a reading of the author's footnotes will guide the reader toward, but selected this biography for several reasons. First, it was published in 1997 when, after the demise of the Soviet Union and other Eastern European states, more sources became available and thus a more rounded picture could be found for the enduring legacy of Che. Second, the author has done an excellent job of interviewing Che's associates, political opponents, fellow revolutionaries, fellow ministry workers and flat- out agents of American imperialism to get their take on Che. In fact, the author has presented a range of hypothesizes, facts and just pure guesses by these interviewees for every controversial aspect of Che's life from his troubled childhood to the still immense speculation around the circumstances of his early death under fire and in struggle.
Let us be clear about two things. First, this writer has defended the Cuban revolution since its inception; initially under a liberal democratic premise of the right of nations, especially applicable to small nations pressed up against the imperialist powers, to self-determination; later under the above-mentioned premise and also that it should be defended on socialist grounds, not my idea of socialism- the Bolshevik, 1917 kind- but socialism nevertheless. Secondly, my conception of revolutionary strategy and thus of world politics has always been far removed from Che's strategy, which emphasized military victory by guerilla forces in the countryside, rather than my position of mass action by the urban proletariat leading the rural masses. Those strategic differences will be discussed in another review in this space later concerning the fate of the Cuban Revolution. That said, despite the strategic political differences this militant can honor the memory of Che-exceptional revolutionary fighter.
Who was Che and why has he remained an icon for militant youth to this day. Obviously a brief outline of his biography reveals a very appealing rebel. In fact the chronology of his life is sometime no militant today can duplicate. The circumstances have long past that would make such experiences possible. For openers, a wayward, carefree youth who gets serious about politics in 1950's Bolivia when all kinds of upheavals are occurring; a marginal figure associated with the left in Guatemala at the time of the CIA coup against the Arbenz government; adrift in Mexico where he has a fateful meeting with the Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and signs on; various adventures and misadventures in the mountains of Cuba where he rises to the leadership of the Rebel Army; the final triumphant march in Havana in 1959; assignment to various high positions in the revolutionary government including Minister of Industries; pro-Soviet then anti-Soviet advocate; advocate of and advisor to Third World revolutionary alliances against imperialism; disillusioned state bureaucrat; failed African liberation fighter in the Congo; and finally, failed Latin American liberation fighter in Bolivia.
Youth needs, desires and deserves its heroes. In this sorry world today, unfortunately, there is an abysmal lack of role models available for those who want to storm heaven. More likely, today's models want to rain hell down on the rest of us. You have to take your heroes where you can get them. With the caveat mentioned about political differences above, Che makes a damn appealing icon for militants today.
And one has many Che's to choice from. If you read this biography you get to choice a classic Latin American revolutionary romantic of the old 19th century European type; a wayward, carefree bohemian; an errant father, a competent bureaucrat; an exceptional military field commander; an exemplar of the `new man' under socialism; a sycophantic and cruel Stalinist hack; a utopian Stalinist visionary; a counterrevolutionary Trotskyist upsetting the unity of the `socialist' bloc ; a closet Trotskyist bend on permanent revolution; an internationalist fighter to the core; and, a hail fellow well met to name a few. As for this writer, I have in the past usually seen him as the Trotsky of the second half of the 20th century. Another larger than life figure, however, seemingly doomed to oblivion by their political visions. There are many similarities in their personal makeup and in their revolutionary intransigence that made this true. Upon reflection, however, this is a more than a little wrong. The real comparison should be with the great French 19th century revolutionary democratic barricade fighter Louis Blanqui. Comparison with that figure is no mean honor. For you conspiracy theorists out there- Che is dead! However, Che's memory as a revolutionary fighter for the oppressed masses of this world lives on. And it should.
A complex man in complex times.......2005-10-20
This biography gives a detailed account of the life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, from his childhood days in upper-middle class Argentina to his death during a completely hopeless attempt at guerrilla war in Bolivia.
Che was a complex, and certainly a driven man. He would not let impossible odds or his sometimes poor health allow to stop him. Casteneda explains very well how both his character as well as his experiences in Latin America shaped him that way. The Mexican historian succeeds in giving an excellent account of both the historical events that Che was a part of and of Che's psychological states motivating him to act in these events. The question when and how Che was transformed from a talented son of the privileged class in Argentina who liked to travel to a fierce fighter for the liberation of the proletariat is pondered at length. Along the way, the reader learns a lot about Latin American history and politics. Che's relationship with the other Cuban revolutionaries, especially Fidel Castro, as far as it is accessible for an outsider, is elaborated on.
This book is scholarly written but nevertheless very readable. Casteneda clearly has sympathies for the subject of his biography, but he is critical when it is warranted. Particularly, he points out his failures as an economist and as a military strategist: the efforts of exporting the revolution to the Congo and to Bolivia were ill conceived from the beginning, as the popular support in these places was not comparable to pre-revolutionary Cuba. Despite all these deficits, the spirit of solidarity with the world's poor and suppressed, that Che lived, impressed me as a reader and seemed to have impressed Casteneda. He finishes with a look at Che as a cultural icon, his face printed on countless T-shirts, and on the inspiration he provided for many. After reading the last page of this book one is tempted to shout whole-heartedly "Hasta la victoria siempre!"
One of the Top 3 Biographies on Guevara.......2005-05-08
This work by jorge G. Castañeda is one of the very best biographies you can find on Ernesto Guevara by many reasons:
1. The historical chronology is accesible for everybody, but the good interpretation of those events is only at the reach of those who know the intricated aspects of diplomacy and polithics. Castañeda has done a great job understanding the polithical personalities of Guevara, Fidel, Kennedy, Kruschev and all the charachters of this saga. He signals both sides of each personality.
2. This work is obsessively well documented. Castañeda has had access to many fundamental documents for this history. From American agencies, to British and Soviet services. He takes us not only to what history says but to why the builders of history wanted it to be that way. His amount of interviews is outstanding too, the revelations on the interviews match the information on the secret documents.
3. Its difficult to confront a personality like Che Guevara without falling in his charm. Its difficult to be objective on an image that is on the chests of many generations. But Castañeda accomplishes that. He decidedly points the many mistakes that Guevara did directing the Central Bank, or the Industry Ministry. He focuses on the distance that Guevara took between idealism and dogma with economic fundamentals, this was a fatal mistake. Castañeda analyzes thoroughly how many of the guerrilla efforts of Guevara in other countries ended in failures and finally in death (Congo, Argentina, Bolivia, etc). But Castañeda also analyzes the outstanding kind of leadership that made of Guevara an icon. Fighting in the first line of fire, leading himself the voluntary work, accepting his mistakes in public (something unthinkable on Fidel, for example), building his leadership in the equity.
4. Finally, Castañeda builds strong well fundamented theories on several controversial issues like the role of Fidel in the final days of Guevara in Bolivia. The strange lecture of the farewell letter that Guevara wrote to Fidel while Che was still fighting in Congo, a lecture that reduced the polithical possibilites of Guevara in Cuba and pushed him into the craziness: Bolivia. Good or bad will from Fidel? Castañeda discusses this very well.
This is a biography that is fundamented in facts, documents and sharp interpretations. It gets very technical at certain points, like the handling of Cuban economics by Guevara.
In Paco Ignacio Taibo II biography on Che Guevara for example, Taibo focuses in the anecdotic side of the icon, its clearly a bohemian work. Taibo doesnt lie, but there are susbtantial differences in these 2 works (Taibo and Castañeda) that were done at the same time and that even shared some documents. For example, at one very interesting event they deal with the subject in very different ways. In 1961, after Bahia de Cochinos there was a OEA related meeting in Uruguay. Motivated by brazilian diplomats, Guevara meets with Kennedy's rep Richard Goodwin. A secret meeting, non authorized by Fidel or JFK. Castañeda flies to the documents, looks for the interviews, interprets and builds theories. Taibo just turns the page arguing that Goodwin overrated the meeting and that Guevara didnt give much importance to it.
By this way, you can contrast the focuses of both works which can be read as compliments. Taibo's work is very rich in anecdotes from the Sierra Maestra, or the funny things that happened to Guevara while changing the rifle for the desk in the Central Bank. You will love to read this side of Guevara. In the historical side, Taibo is accurate but not deep. His biggest achievement in historical deepness is the development of the Guevara's column since they left Sierra Maestra to the triumph in Santa Clara, this part outpowers Castañeda, but that the only thing.
Castañeda's work left me deeply satisfied, answered many questions and gave me a new panorama on the subject. My 5 stars are fair.
Literature in Jorge Castaneda's "Companero".......2004-12-16
Being the author a researcher and historian it is amazing the kind of writer he is. His dominion of literary sources is very evident in the ways of expression. Analogies, metaphors, references are abundant. I, personally liked a lot the ending of a chapter where he refers to War and Peace (a Russian novel turned later into a movie). Don't be afraid by this, the language I mention doesn't affect the understanding of the story. Regarding the Comandante, the remembrance of characters like Jesus Christ, Don Quixote, Nazarin or in these days Alexander comes to your mind readily. But, Women's or Gender Studies specialists take note: the "companeras" in the story can be shouted off, slapped in the face or disliked just because her features looked "somehow masculine". Rebember we are in the Sixties where the struggle for women's rights and feminist views were so important!
Who was the real Ernesto Guevara de la Serna y Llosa. Che?.......2004-12-11
Seeing the recent movie "The Motorcycle Diaries" brought me to read this biography of Che Guevara. I highly recommend the film, and with reservations recommend Castaneda's biography of Che. At the time, I did little research into which Che biography would be "best" so I can not reference other Che biographies. I found this in many passages a tiring read, especially in the middle section, which covers Che's career as Cuba's lead economic bureaucrat.
The book does not idealize Che although I suspect the author admires at least many of Che's humanitarian beliefs. Castendeda is excellent at pointing out a lot not to like about Che and his activities. It portrays Che as an enigma, as a very intuitive mind with an idealists somewhat naive view of human nature.
Che wanted a better world for the underclass, and yet Che determines to do build this better world not by the practice of medicine, he was a doctor, but by insisting that only by violent revolution can it be achieved.
Castandeda begins with a great review of Che's early life, his asthma (he fought being a constant prisoner to the constraints of the decease), and influence of his mother, and ends with a very interesting interpretation of why he has become a cultural icon. He follows Che on a path to what Castaneda calls his "Christ like" status in death. He places Che in context of the history of the times and within each setting, what Argentina was like when he grew up, Cuba when he fought by Castro's side, the later the "failures" in the Congo and Bolivia.
I was rather surprised to find myself seeing Che as a character in Woody Allen's "Bananas" film as I read of Che's actual efforts to export revolution to the Congo and Bolivia. He seemed to assume a lot and his band of brothers in both the Congo and Bolivia was unbelievably small. For all Che's reading, apparent high IQ, he seems to have had no sense of what each of these country's underclass's and cultures wanted, needed, or would accept. He made the false assumption they would take up arms in unity. This Castaneda points out was not the case, and I kept seeing that the U.S. view of a monolithic communist conspiracy was indeed a myth as Che could not even pull together the China or Soviet factions to support his revolutionary efforts.
I hate to claim a book is over detailed, because I did find many of the extensive footnotes of interest, and helpful. But this is really a scholarly work and as such lacks much in the way of entertaining writing. I'm glad I read the book, and recommend it to those interested in the subject.
Book Description
In his critically acclaimed epic first novel, Jay Cantor, author of
Krazy Kat and
Great Neck, draws on history, myth, and his own prodigious imagination to take on the life and death of revolutionary icon Che Guevara.
In his now famous progress through modern times, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the scion of a liberal Argentine family, abandoned a medical career to become a revolutionary. A fiery comrade of Fidel Castro’s who joined him in overthrowing the Cuban government of Baptista, Che later broke with Castro to lead a guerrilla movement in Bolivia. As the novel charts Che’s bold evolution, it also offers an incisive look at Latin America’s revolutionary struggles, an exploration of the nature of truth and storytelling, and a brilliant exegesis of the psychology of radical activisim.
Customer Reviews:
An epic of anti-America, moving forward towards a new novel and backwards towards MOBY DICK. .......2006-10-22
To browse Amazon and find this magnificent novel entirely unreviewed shocks me. Jay Cantor's 1983 debut remains among the two or three foremost accomplishments of the American generation born after World War II -- as significant a work, in other words, as the best of Richard Powers or Tim O'Brien or Richard Price. Yet Cantor's name is considerably less known than any of theirs, and apparently readers are doing without the heady and sumptuous historical reframing offered by DEATH OF CHE GUEVARA.
A shame, because few novels will offer so many traditional satisfactions -- in particular deepening emotional penetration and vivid action setpieces -- while at the same time showing such alertness to the challenge facing the tradition of long prose narratives. DEATH OF CHE GUEVARA works up great historical realism, including hair-raising battle scenes with the Cuban guerillas of 1956 and '57, packed with startling details like the taste of monkey meat during Che's '67 sojourn in the Bolivian jungle. Yet the book's multiple voices and approaches also break down each of its major lines of development, going so deeply into the story's central revolutionary conciousness as to raise probing questions about his calling.
Yet Che unites everything here, a kind of Christ even when he most closely suggests Caesar -- or the monomaniacal Ahab, to choose a literary reference this book invites. Cantor's allusions to Melville, subtly laid, are earned throughout by his complicated interplay of media (the diaries of different characters, for instance, generate fascinating counterpoint) and an overall inevitability that has the stuff of myth. There's genuine heroism in a number of the turning points here, and at the same time there's a self-destructiveness etched with fierce emotional accuracy.
But no summary in the internet's agate type can convey the richness of Cantor's achievement. No recent US novel I can think of wrings such mucky vitality out of harsh psychological and economic facts of life, and at the same time dramatizes a greater authorial awareness, a vista of history outside of anyone's particular time and flesh. For this kind of range and mastery, in fact, readers generally have to look to foreigners like Saramago or Pamuk. But such readers are poorer, by far, for failing to discover -- and devour -- THE DEATH OF CHE GUEVARA.
Book Description
A probing account of the life and death of a 1960s revolutionary icon, with a new chapter on the effects of his legacy today. For many people, Ernesto Che Guevara symbolizes the movement for social change that swept the world in the 1960s--a man who gave his life for his ideals. Whether the man made the legends or the legends made the man, a romantic aura has attached to Che, obscuring the political realities that motivated him. In this astute study of Che's life and his doomed campaign in Bolivia, which draws on extensive field research, Richard Harris considers the essential question: When Che Guevara was killed by the Bolivian Army in October 1967, did he die a hero, a martyr, or the victim of his own errors? Harris explores Che's youth and early political indoctrination and his association with Fidel Castro and the Soviet Communist parties. He follows Che as he traveled to China, to Africa, to Moscow, seeking to create an anti-imperialist front among the neutral nations of Asia and Africa. And he interviews politicians, government officials, and journalists in Bolivia, where Che went hoping to lead a peasant uprising and instead met his death. Death of a Revolutionary offers a rare, balanced look at the man behind the legend--and the circumstances that created him and shaped his choices.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book on Che.......2006-08-26
I've read a fair amount of about Ernesto "Che" Guevera, and this is a good addition to the books already out there. If you're looking for an introduction to Che, this isn't the book for you. Anderson's "Che Guevera" is more detailed and covers Che's entire life. If you're looking for a full biography, go with Anderson's book. If you already have a grasp for Che's life and want to look in detail at the end of his life, this book is for you. Harris does a good job using both book research and first-hand research from his travels around Latin America over the last 30 years. This is a worth while read. Not life shattering, but very informative.
Excellent.......2003-05-15
An interesting look into the last days of Che's life and times. It is an easy read and any person could pick it up and be enveloped in the story that Che lived. Before Pablo Escobar or Bin Laden the US wanted him and Castro more than anything. This story truly gives the reader what stress and pressure Che was under trying to start a new revolution in South America. Excellent and readable. PCR, BA history
che lives.......2000-08-30
A pretty good book on Che for people who are studing him. May be alittle complex for beginners but all in all a great book on the legend!
Average customer rating:
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Death of a Revolutionary: Che Guevara's Last Mission, Updated Edition
Richard L. Harris
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
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Guevara, Che
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ASIN: 039333094X |
Book Description
This new edition coincides with the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara's death and the 80th anniversary of his birth. Updated with a new epilogue.
Richard L. Harris includes in this updated edition of Death of a Revolutionary new revelations about Che's revolutionary legacy and discusses the renewed interest in his revolutionary ideas stimulated by the election of leftist governments throughout Latin America. In response to this growing resurgence of interest in Che's life, a feature film directed by Steven Soderbergh, and several documentaries are scheduled for release in late 2007 and 2008. To commemorate Che's life and death many international conferences and events will be held and his iconic image will be seen repeatedly in the mass media. This new edition of Death of a Revolutionary—hailed as "well written, provocative, and fair minded" by Choice—contains the latest information on this charismatic and legendary figure and reveals why he is a hero for millions of people around the world.
Customer Reviews:
Back into the City.......2007-04-12
So we're back and we're here to follow on from where Nosferatu left off. What with all the losses the Lasombra as a clan took when the city fell its no suprise that new stars start to rise. We see Lucita of Aragorn again who's so famous from modern age novels and the introduction of the malkavain Anatole who seems to get a personality make over in the coming books and is more of a warroir monk in this one. I liked this book but it was lacking in some areas. I was looking for something of an insight into the abyss and the occultism that comes with it but that side of the clan seemed to be left aside for more political manuverings which is fine but we get plenty of that later on. So it was close to a 5 but no cigar
A Lady and Her Sword.......2005-04-01
Lasombra reintroduces us to one of the clans that played a large part in the original Clan series and one of the more interesting members of that clan - Lucita of Aragon, an agent of Cardinal Moncada in the city of Constantinople. Things have gotten no better in the conquered city, and, in many ways, they have gotten far worse. Not only have the denizens become lost in internecine squabbling and intrigue, and Byzantium hovers at the brink of other wars at the hands of the Latins and Bulgars.
Lucita is drawn to the power vacuum in Constantinople, but knows full well that for her the path to that power must be through favor and connection rather than possession of a prince's crown. She decides the Bishop Alfonzo is the vampire best suited to her own plans and sets about working to bring him to power. This will put her at odds with Gabriella, another contestant, and threatens her relationship with Moncada. But, if she does her work right she will have gained much in the dark courts of the vampires.
At the camps around Adrianopolis rumors run like wildfire. Caine has been seen walking, the cultists of his dread sister Calomena seem to have regained their strength, and Malachite has returned from his search for Dracon. In the chaos many are ready to flee from all remembrance of the Dream. Change threatens from every side.
Wilson's story is just a bit too dry for me, a little too focused on politics and speeches. But there's plenty of action as well to carry the reader over the bump parts. The novel plays a vital part in setting the scene for the rest of the series and bringing the reader up to date on the bigger picture of unlife in Byzantium. We also get glimpses of some of the European factors in the vampire world, all packed in digestible, easy to read format.
For all that this is the Lasombra volume, and almost all the major characters are Lasombra, there is little of the traditional Lasombra antics until the action reaches a complex. I would have liked to see more of th emajor mojo for the simple reason that I really read vampire stories for the thrills and the scary parts. When there is too much political documentary I start contemplating a switch to werewolves. Only for a short moment, though.
Lasombra Machinations ...........2003-05-30
I've been following the Dark Ages series since DA:Nosferatu and this latest installment is wonderful. It continues the saga of the War of Princes set in the tumultuous times following the sacking of Constantinople and the fall of Michael the Patriarch. In the aftermath, various factions of the Lasombra clan are maneuvering for ascendency in lieu of the vacuum left by the Toreador Methuselah's destruction and the disappearance of the Dracon. The Nosferatu elder, Malachite is reluctant to step forward and shoulder leadership of New Rome, so it is left to Scions of Matrid, Venice, and Genoa to execute their own moves from within the shadows. Intrigue is a classic tool of the clan better known as The Keepers. We are introduced to some new characters from other clans, who no doubt will factor prominently in future installments of this clan series set in the Middle Ages. David Niall Wilson is an excellent writer of this genre of fiction and does not disappoint in this latest endeavour. I highly recommend this book, as well as the Grails Covenant Trilogy - also written by David Niall Wilson. To read about human history seen from the perspective of vampires is very intoxicating and White Wolf has a coterie of authors that will dazzle you with their ability to enfold each tale with exquisite mastery and adherence to WoD canon. Get this book!
Average customer rating:
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Dark Ages Clan Novel Series: Nosferatu, Assamite, Cappadocian, Setite, Lasombra, Ravnos, Malkavian, Brujah, Toreador, Gangrel, Tremure, Ventrue and Tzimisce (set of 13 books)
Janet Trautvetter ,
Andrew Bates ,
Stefan Petrucha ,
David Niall Wilson ,
Sarah Roark ,
Kathleen Ryan ,
Gherbod Fleming ,
Ellen Porter Kiley ,
Myranda Kalis , and
Tim Waggoner and Matthew McFarland
Manufacturer: White Wolf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000OIYKN6 |
Product Description
The complete series of 13 novels, sold as a set.
Books:
- Confessions of an English Opium Eater (Penguin Classics)
- Consent to Kill: A Thriller (Mitch Rapp Novels)
- Creative Techniques For Stained Glass
- Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth (SAS Institute Inc.)
- Dem Bones
- Dona Perfecta (El Libro De Bolsillo)
- Double Tap (Paul Madriani Novels)
- Edges of Empire: Orientalism and Visual Culture (New Interventions in Art History)
- Flint the King (Dragonlance: Preludes)
- Fortunata Y Jacinta (2 Volume Set)
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