Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson
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Book Reviews of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
Book Review: "Che" - The man and the myth, the life of a true adventurer
Summary: 5 Stars
Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Ernesto (Che) Guevara is one of the best biographies I have ever read, and it definitely belongs on the shortlist of the best biographies ever written. It is thorough, accessible and written in a remarkably unbiased fashion. This biography seems to have it all. Virtually everything you want to know about Che is covered in this biography. Not only does the book give you Che's life in detail, it also gives you a fair bit of history, and a study of politics in action.Che was a handsome, adventurous, highly intelligent, and an influential figure. He was the oldest son of an aristocratic Argentine family. He was also one of the most complex public figures of Latin America.
This biography is complete from the birth of Che in 1926, his upbringing in upper-class Argentina, his youth which spent in the highlands due to his severe asthmatic condition, including his schooling and medical training, his (early) spirit for adventure, his unusual close relationship with his mother, his meeting with Castro in Mexico, and of course his well-known participation in the defeat of the Batista government in Cuba and the event that followed, which finally would lead to his death in Bolivia.
The author conducted a comprehensive research to reveal Che, the man and the myth, and the events in Che's life that formed him to be the socialist revolutionary that he became. Anderson's biography is really a look on the inside of Che's head, merely due to the fact that much of the author's research is based on Che's own letters to his family and his private diaries. Even better, Che's second wife, Aleida March also cooperated with Mr. Anderson, giving him access to information about Che and also to some of his writings, granting us an even closer and more private look into our hero's (private) life. This book is nearly 800 pages long, and no easy read. Nevertheless, it is worth all the time you invest reading it. Anderson has not only done a thorough research, but I believe that with his unlimited access to sources close to Che, he has clarified inaccuracies and errors in preceding writings about Che.
Whether you agree with his politics or not, Che is revealed as a man with a purpose and a vision, who cared profoundly and sacrificed everything for the cause he believed in. His main motive was to improve the condition of the poor people of the world; to stop Western (read: capitalism and the US) from exploiting the Latin American people and its recourses. Che's remarkable persistence and single mindedness, were valuable personal traits to have in the beginning of the Guerilla Warfare. But the same traits made it presumably impossible for Che to re-group and change, as the world changed, Communism started declining, and Glasnost became everyone's favorite word. It is tempting to compare Malcolm X and Che Guevara as they both were (in their own way) fighting for the same cause. Che lacked one thing that Malcolm X had; the ability to change view when realizing that he had been mistaken in his beliefs and views of the world.
The book didn't convert me from democrat to communist, but it gave me a greater understanding as to the other side of the argument. Even if you find the methods of the guerilla group awful and sickening, it's hard not to respect Che's courage. In the end, I came away with a feeling of mercy for this strong and passionate man who gave so much of himself, his life included, for the beliefs he held to be true, beliefs which he never wavered from.
To be honest, prior to my trip to Latin America in 1999 I knew very little of Che. I am too young (I was born the same year he was killed) to have had Guevara as anything but a handsome "cultural icon". As a teenager, I kept his poster on the same wall where I had my James Dean and Abba posters.. But during the year I spent trekking around in Latin America, studying Spanish, my curiosity was definitively aroused. Upon returning home, this biography was one of the first books that I bought. Funny enough, while in Latin America I visited all the places mentioned in the book except for Bolivia. We even got to be in Cuba on the 8th of October, the day Fidel & Co celebrates Che. It was absolutely amazing to see hundreds of thousands of people parading on the Molocon. (I don't necessarily think you have to have spent time in Cuba or Latin America to enjoy this book, but it definitively helped me capture much of this story's "subtleties").
This book also contains some excellent photos. I love the one of the young Che, relaxing on the balcony, and also his self-portrait of his undercover identity as an old man on his way to Bolivia (Excellent disguise! Even his kids did not recognize him!). If I can have one picture removed it would be the picture of the dead Che "laying on display". We don't really need to see that photo.
This must be the best book yet written about Che and it should be considered compulsory read for everyone. Very highly recommended!
Book Review: Definitive
Summary: 5 Stars
Most full-length biographies sport endorsements claiming that their work is the "definitive" account of the subject's life. In the case of Jon Lee Anderson's "Che: A Revolutionary Life" the claim is accurate. Meticulously researched, dispassionate in composition and exceptionally well-organized and well-written, "Che" is everything a biography should be. A couple of points are worth noting specifically.
First, Anderson does a fantastic job of concentrating on Che's character, critical childhood and adolescent experiences, and the key relationships he maintained throughout life, especially those with his family in Argentina. What's surprising is that Che - who remains one of the most inspirational and enduring figures in the world - was really not much of a natural leader nor did he express any deeply held political convictions until adulthood. Anderson describes a man who was always something of a misfit that reveled in shocking and antagonizing people, and constantly battling a crippling case of asthma.
Anderson's focus on Che's early years is fascinating and also provides a good factual counterpoint to the recent indie hit "The Motorcycle Diaries," which is an excellent example of how Che's persona has become a hazy blend of reality and myth. In the movie, the young Che (then known by the nickname "Fuser") takes $15 from a girlfriend to use only to buy her a fancy scarf once they get to America. Che refuses to use the money for food or shelter even when he and his traveling companion, the real life Alberto Granado, are desperately in need. Ultimately, Che and Alberto meet a poor communist couple while camping overnight in Peru and Che surreptitiously gives them the $15 and Alberto is furious when he finds out. Along the way Alberto gambles to pay for sex with a sultry prostitute while traveling on a river boat and Che bolts out of a good-bye party at a leprosarium and bravely swims across the Amazon at night to be with the lepers in their dingy compound. It's all a very good story and one that seeks to foreshadow the life of the young-doctor-turned-revolutionary the world would know as Che. Unfortunately, Anderson shows that the writers of the movie employed their fair share of artistic license in creating the screenplay. For instance, Che did receive $15 from a girlfriend and he did meet a poor communist couple in Peru that left a deep impression on him; but he kept the money and ultimately did use it to buy a scarf for the girl in Miami (which Che did get to, although the movie doesn't show that). And it was Che that gambled to pay for sex with the prostitute on the riverboat. He did swim across the Amazon, but it was on a lark and out of boredom, not out of any sense of sharing his last night with the downtrodden and diseased.
A second point of conspicuous merit is Anderson's ground breaking primary research. It was his work that ultimately broke the story on the details of Che's death and his final resting place under an airstrip in Bolivia. The material in the book comes from personal interviews Anderson had with Che's old comrades from the revolution in Cuba, his widow, the CIA operatives that dedicated their lives to defeat of him and the leftist revolutionaries around Latin America and his communist and Soviet supporters and opponents. The reader gets the sense that there is little more one could know about the life of Che short of full access to the Cuban Revolutionary archives.
Third, given Che's central and driving force and the detail provided by Anderson's exhaustive research, the biography also serves as a history of revolutionary movements in Latin America and Congo. For me, the most striking thing was the almost comic nature of many of the "revolutions." Most often these revolutionary forces were nothing more than a handful (maybe 15) of poorly armed, poorly trained and poorly led young men out marching in the jungle claiming to a "People's Liberation Army" although not genuinely supported by the local peasants. The fact that the campaign to overthrow Batista in Cuba had the same exact genesis is mind-boggling.
In closing, this is a stellar example of biography. One easily senses the passion that was in Che's heart and the passion he inspired in others, and yet it is clear that Anderson approached his subject dispassionately with a sincere desire to truly understand a man that was a hero to millions - and a devil to as many more.
Book Review: Good biography both in the tale it tells and the context
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an interesting book. It is on one hand a biography of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto (Che) Guereva yet it also tells the story of the political conflicts in Latin America in the 50?s and 60?s. Che (it means he you in Spanish) grew up in Argentina the son of parents from the old landowning aristocracy. Che?s diagnosis of asthma as a two year old meant that the parents had to move to a remote area in which his disease was more manageable. This meant that his father was unemployed for a long period of time and as a result the family had financial problems. Che trained as a doctor and after graduation he travelled extensively through Latin America on a moped. These travels radicalised him as he learnt of the difficulty of the lives of the poor throughout the region. It would seem that he became a Marxist because of US policy towards Guatemala.
In the 1950?s Guatemala had a mildly progressive government which was aiming to introduce some populist measures such as land reform. The United States Government during Eisenhower?s Presidency financed a rebel movement to take over the government?. After some brief fighting the American backed troops set up a conservative junta in the country. Che was in the Guatemala at the time and from then on he seems to have considered himself a communist.
He met Castro in Mexico and joined up with the group that had been formed to set up a Guerrilla war on the Island. Che was recruited for his medical training and it was thought he could treat those who were wounded in the struggle.
Castro?s expedition was almost wiped out with only 20 men surviving the landing. They headed off into mountain country and started what was to become a successful struggle. The books longest section deals with the Cuban civil war. Che turned out to be not only a heroic soldier but a talented one. He was able to discipline his men, organise attacks on the Cuban army which were generally successful and resulted in light casualties for his men. He also established craft shops to make clothing and shoes for the rebels. His main talent however seemed to be in establishing discipline and rooting out people with little enthusiasm for the struggle. It was Che?s seizure of an important city which led to the collapse of the Bastia regime.
Che however did not fit in once the fighting stopped. He was an aesthetic who insisted on living on his salary and he would not take for himself any of the trappings of success. He initially was involved in the arrest and shooting of enemies of the new regime. It seemed however that his heart lay mainly with the thrill of revolution. Cuba started to try to export revolution to other countries in Latin America. These movements in the Dominican Republic and Argentina failed. Russia was trying to come to some understanding with America and did not want to alarm them by more revolutions in the Americas. Tiring of his life in Cuba Che went off to fight again in Africa an area not so sensitive to US interests. This time he was to fail. The book describes in some detail the problems Che had in trying to motivate the Conglose rebels and it is almost comic. He then met his end in Bolivia.
During the seventies he lived on mainly because of a photo taken of him at a funeral which was used to make a best selling poster. His physical appearance attracted the young and they saw in it a potent symbol of youthful rebellion. His reality was far more complex and he was much more than a youthful rebel. This book is interesting as it tells us a good deal about a complex figure but it also gives us an insight into the politics of the time and why figures such as Che and Castro were created.
Book Review: Che
Summary: 5 Stars
I commend Jon Lee Anderson for writing an extraordinary biography about an extraordinary historical figure. Aside from being meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book masterfully reveals the fundamental reality of Che's life - his isolation. Anderson depicts Che's personal growth as an ultimate attempt to break away from limitations imposed by his asthma and his privileged socio-economic background. The author also convincingly illustrates that the sense of camaraderie he felt during the sierra years, the adventure, and the thrill of guerilla fighting was as appealing to him as the cause of justice. In his final letter to his family before leaving Cuba for Congo, he writes that he is embarking on "round three" of his travels - first being his motorcycle years and second - his Cuban experience. These travels symbolize his personal journey that ultimately ended in a crushing defeat of his highly romantic belief that imperialism can be challenged through the will of a few. The Cuban experience entrenched that belief, the Congo fiasco unfortunately did not manage to shatter it, and as a result the Bolivian operation buried it. The same mind that was so eager to see historical logic and inevitability in the Cuban revolution, stubbornly refused to make the connection between Congo & Bolivia fiascos & systemic problems plaguing those countries. And unlike Fidel he lacked to political acumen to make necessary alliances to achieve his goals as Bolivia case demonstrated.
There were two points that I wish were better clarified by the author. One is Che's transformation into a Marxist. That evolution is not clear, and while his Latin American experiences and travels were crucial in shaping his worldview, the book does not pinpoint the exact moment, in which Che "became" a Marxist. That transition was not clear or obvious to me. The second point is insufficient deliberation on Che's own reaction to his fiasco in Congo and his failures in Bolivia. While he extensively recorded in his diaries the worst of crisis, neither Che nor the author deeply reflect about the predicament in which he found himself and the lessons to be learned. But this also could be Che's ultimate self-deception.
The book's biggest accomplishment is its ability to convey Che's individual complexity set against the background of the extraordinary world he was living in. That world was full of hope and yet never before political self-righteousness and arrogance reached such a dangerous scale. Che was truly a product of his times and whether loathed or loved, he was extraordinary.
Book Review: Fabulously researched and written. Highly entertaining
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a first class biography by a world class journalist. Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Che Guevara is unparalleled in its scholarship and accessibility. Anderson uses his investigative skills as a journalist to uncover new information about the life and times of this loved and hated revolutionary. Anderson does so by living and traveling throughout Cuba and Latin America, as well as the former Soviet Union and the U.S., to interview key figures who knew Guevara first hand.The book is well written and reads much like a bestselling novel. At almost 800 pages, this is not a light read. But it is well worth the time. Among other things, Anderson takes the reader behind the scenes at Guevara's childhood homes in Argentina and on his famous motorcycle trips throughout South America.
Later, the book transports readers into Che's apartment in Mexico, where he meets Fidel Castro for the first time. Anderson provides his readers with front row seats to the revolutionary battles that took place at and around the Sierra Maestra in 1950's Cuba. Readers are then led to follow Che into his role as a minister in Cuba's new revolutionary government. Then, after describing how Che made a feckless foray into the Congo to assist a revolutionary uprising there, Anderson follows Che into his final battle in Bolivia.
Throughout the biography, Anderson provides readers with detailed and documented access to key events (and books) that influenced Che's thinking and growth as a Marxist revolutionary. Moreover, the author does a good job of citing the original writings of Che and others near him. This makes readers (at least this one) almost feel as if they are firsthand witnesses to history.
Unlike many books on Che, Anderson's is thoroughly objective. The author paints a picture of Che that is both factual and well-rounded, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the man and his actions. If the book has a weakness, it might be that many of its quotes are not clearly documented with footnotes. This could prove problematical for students who want to pursue their own research on Guevara. But for the majority of readers, this is a problem that is easily overlooked. I am glad that I read this book and cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in its subject.