Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson
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Book Reviews of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
Book Review: A must read for Indian Readers!!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
For a 765 pages book it reads very fast, starting with Che's childhood, the author effortlessly goes into the events that helped shape Che's career and personality. That the author researched each and every aspect of Che's life is evident and worthy of praise. Startling facts come into the surface such as US's role in toppling the democratically elected Arbenz government, which I think radicalized Che. The book is also a testament to the Cuban revolution. You would also understand the schism that broke apart Sino-Soviet relationship! Why Maoism is synonymous with guerrilla warfare? I would request Indian readers to have a go at this book to understand the Maoist issue we are facing in many parts of India. In fact, I recommend India's Secret Service to read this book. For instance, Che's penchant for setting afire garrisons after looting them is followed by Indian Maoists. The evil role of China in spreading Maoism a.k.a. insurgency did not start after she opened up to the world after Nixon's visit. Surprisingly, Chinese were very active in 1960s ( I mean in Africa/Latin America ), I wasn't aware of that, because I thought that era was all about proxy fighting between Soviets and Americans. This book is more than Che's biography, but without any doubts, it is a fantastic journey to the life of an iconic individual besieged with internal demons that never let him go when he was alive.
Book Review: An excellent, even-handed biography
Summary: 5 Stars
Anderson's biography of Che Guevara is an impressive accomplishment, and an absorbing read. Having grown up a bit too late to have been aware of Guevara as a contemporary figure, I'm of the generation that inherited him as a cultural icon: quite literally, a "poster boy" for anti-imperialist revolutionaries. The thoroughness of Anderson's research is staggering, and he effectively synthesizes and organizes a huge volume of information. His unprecedented access to people like Castro, Guevara's two wives and other family members, and those who fought alongside him in the Cuban revolution and his expeditions to the Congo and Bolivia provide a plethora of fascinating, and enlightening, detail. Anderson also maintains a very objective, journalistic perspective, avoiding both naive hagiography and knee-jerk demonizing, allowing him to present a fully-developed portrait of a real person who found himself at the center of amazing historical developments. I agree with an earlier reviewer that the text could benefit from some tighter line-editing; Anderson will sometimes use the exact same phrases or descriptions several times within a paragraph. But the writing on the whole is lucid and engaging, and the book both an engrossing character study and thoughtful depiction of the political and social developments in which Guevara's character and legend were formed.Book Review: Great Story, but too bad someone didn't shoot Che sooner
Summary: 5 Stars
Che was an intellectual revolutionary. It is unfortunate that he believed that communism was the answer to the world's economic problems. It is also unfortunate that I see young kids and adults wearing this man's image on their clothing. Face the facts, the guy was a killer. He resembled Rasputin more than Bolivar when he was executing people after ousting the other corrupt Cuban regime. However, it is interesting to read of just how incompetent the U.S. government's foreign policy makers were (still are) during this time period. It may seem exciting, you know three guys (Che, Fidel, and Raul) taking over Cuba and almost starting WWIII, but if you get past the hippy propoganda it will become evident that the 'Revolution' was a disaster. If you really want a good discussion about why central planning is bad read F.A. Hayek's "Road to Serfdom". And by the way, the next time you meet up with some Marxist revolutionaries who try their best to be different from everyone else (asserting their independence), ask them why they want to destroy the individual freedom that gives them that right. Remember, people like that help people like Mao, Che, Fidel, Stalin, Sadaam, and Hitler get to the top and then they end up statistics of the Gulag. Stop being stupid, communism sucks.Book Review: An imposing but inspirational read
Summary: 5 Stars
This heavy, but not heavy-handed, biography of Che Guevara is destined to be the definitive version of the man's life. Taking on this text without having first read his writings or other biographies, this was probably the best set-up for doing so, as everything else I read by him will be contextualized in the most historical and comprehensive manner.
Some of the other reviewers have complained about the book length and its intricacy; however, the details (which, yes, at times can be mind-numbing in their fullness) indicate the extent to which Che's life was a culmination of extremely complex histories of the time: Cold War hysteria, U.S. arrogance towards foreign policy, effects of colonization, the Vietanm conflicts, et cetera. If anything they point to the fact that Che Guevara is not simply a mascot for any fledging revolutionary or aspiring guerilla, nor an enemy of "those who love freedom" (to quote George W. Bush), but like any other martyr-hero-devil in history, full of faults and inspiring actions.
Good luck reading. In these times of unquestioning allegiances to religion and the state, it is worthwhile to read about those who have challenged them, while also keeping in mind how to prevent ourselves from falling victim to the same.
Book Review: Simply the Best
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent biography. It shows Guevara from all perspectives; personal, political, and as a historical figure. I can't recommend this book highly enough. My only serious criticism for Anderson is that he should have included better documentation for some of his sources.
One interesting item of note for the would-be "revolutionary vanguard" sorts is Anderson's masterful analysis of how and why Guevara's revolutionary incursions into the Congo and Bolivia failed (the latter resulting in his death).
As a Marxist-Leninist Guevara should have known better; you can't sustain a popularly supported guerilla campaign if the political and economic conditions aren't right. In Cuba in 1959 the conditions were right, but they were not in either the Congo of 1965 or Bolivia in 1967. Guevara had no organized revolutionary base among the people of those countries. And so the Congo proved to be a waste of his time; but the Bolivian misjudgment proved to be fatal for him.
If all it took to overthrow capitalist imperialism or reactionary despotism was a committed armed cadre of revolutionists with political resolve and good logistical support, then the red flag would already be flying over every nation everywhere by now, eh?