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orlion's review against another edition
4.0
I should probably start this review with some sort of disclaimer... something to present a non-threatening image of myself so as to calm anyone who might read this review. After all, this book is about Che Guevara, one of the most polarizing figures of recent history. I would not want you to get the wrong idea about my political beliefs... you might otherwise think I was a Communist or a Fascist! So I want to be on record, so that there is no confusion. Listen up, because this is important:
Agusto Cesar Sandino was always my favorite Latin American Revolutionary.
Now that I got that out of the way, in Death of a Revolutionary, Mr. Harris attempts to provide an objective view of Che's fey mission to Bolivia and account for its failure. With this in mind, it should be viewed that this book is not a biography of Ernesto Guevara. Any biographical detail is only included to give perspective and context to his actions in Bolivia in 1967.
So, broken down we have essentially three sections:
1) Background: Here, we get a summary of Che's life up to shortly after the Cuban Revolution. We also get a chapter that summarizes his views on guerrilla warfare and its place in the struggle of Latin America against the imperial reach of the United States. This takes up about 22.4 percent of the book.
2) The Bolivian mission: This includes a summary of the preparation and events of Che's last mission to help further the cause of Latin American Revolution. This is the heart of the book and takes up about 34.2 percent of the book.
3) That means that 43.4 percent of the book then deals with the results and analysis of the event.
That is how the book is structured. And the first two sections are fairly quick reads, very informative, and insightful into the personality of Che Guevara. The analysis following directly after, though somewhat repetitive and redundant at times, is also informative and well argued. The main weakness of this book would come when it deals with events after Che's execution. At this point, we are treated to a thirty page chapter of Arguedas accusations of conspiracy level involvement of the CIA in Bolivia.
At that point, most American readers are probably going to start rolling their eyes and scream "Bias!" before they stop reading this book. But they shouldn't. Those accusations and other such viewpoints are a necessary part of the legacy of Che Guevara that is happening right now in Hispanic countries. Freedom from US imperialism and socialist ideals are at the center of the Revolutionary movement that has adopted Che as its saint and symbol. So aside from observing that a country's history tends not to be as noble and rosy as you may want it to be, it is important to remember that these ideas are important to paint a complete picture of Che Guevara's importance to millions of people.
This book, then, is for people who are interested in Che's place in Hispanic culture. It has some interesting tidbits about the man himself, but this book is not a biography and commits over half its pages on Che's historical and cultural significance.
Agusto Cesar Sandino was always my favorite Latin American Revolutionary.
Now that I got that out of the way, in Death of a Revolutionary, Mr. Harris attempts to provide an objective view of Che's fey mission to Bolivia and account for its failure. With this in mind, it should be viewed that this book is not a biography of Ernesto Guevara. Any biographical detail is only included to give perspective and context to his actions in Bolivia in 1967.
So, broken down we have essentially three sections:
1) Background: Here, we get a summary of Che's life up to shortly after the Cuban Revolution. We also get a chapter that summarizes his views on guerrilla warfare and its place in the struggle of Latin America against the imperial reach of the United States. This takes up about 22.4 percent of the book.
2) The Bolivian mission: This includes a summary of the preparation and events of Che's last mission to help further the cause of Latin American Revolution. This is the heart of the book and takes up about 34.2 percent of the book.
3) That means that 43.4 percent of the book then deals with the results and analysis of the event.
That is how the book is structured. And the first two sections are fairly quick reads, very informative, and insightful into the personality of Che Guevara. The analysis following directly after, though somewhat repetitive and redundant at times, is also informative and well argued. The main weakness of this book would come when it deals with events after Che's execution. At this point, we are treated to a thirty page chapter of Arguedas accusations of conspiracy level involvement of the CIA in Bolivia.
At that point, most American readers are probably going to start rolling their eyes and scream "Bias!" before they stop reading this book. But they shouldn't. Those accusations and other such viewpoints are a necessary part of the legacy of Che Guevara that is happening right now in Hispanic countries. Freedom from US imperialism and socialist ideals are at the center of the Revolutionary movement that has adopted Che as its saint and symbol. So aside from observing that a country's history tends not to be as noble and rosy as you may want it to be, it is important to remember that these ideas are important to paint a complete picture of Che Guevara's importance to millions of people.
This book, then, is for people who are interested in Che's place in Hispanic culture. It has some interesting tidbits about the man himself, but this book is not a biography and commits over half its pages on Che's historical and cultural significance.
carlita_is_probably_reading's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read.. It is a one sided essay pretty much, but interesting none the less. If you are a fan of Che then you should definitely read this book.
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