- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Pimlico; New edition edition (29 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0712664572
- ISBN-13: 978-0712664578
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.4 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
882,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > South America > Bolivia
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Looking back on the life of his revolutionary comrade Che Guevara in his introduction to the Bolivian Diary, Fidel Castro claims that "rarely, if ever, in history has one man's image, name and example spread so rapidly and so completely". Ernesto Guevara de la Sema is the ultimate revolutionary, an icon who spawned a million T-shirts, and whose death in 1967 whilst fermenting revolution in Bolivia enshrined him as a martyr of the radical Left. In his short life Che Guevara led military revolutions in Mexico, the Congo and, most famously, Cuba, before heading to Bolivia in 1966 to establish a guerrilla movement in an attempt to overthrow the Bolivian military dictatorship.
His Bolivian Diary, first published in Cuba in 1968, is the remarkable and ultimately tragic first-hand account of Che's formation of a tiny band of revolutionaries, his attempt to proselytise the local peasants, his skirmishes with the Bolivian army, and his final shootout and cold-blooded execution at the hands of the military in October 1967. Stripped of the romantic idealism usually associated with Che, the diary is a sobering account of the drudgery, fear and monotony of guerrilla warfare. Much of the diary is taken up with the preoccupations of basic survival in the primitive conditions of the Bolivian mountains, whilst playing a tense and often ineffective game of hit and run with the Bolivian army. There are some wonderful moments, such as Che breaking off from military preparations to remember that, "I must write some letters to Sartre and Bertrand Russell..." or commandeering a jeep and running it on the urine of his guerrillas. Ultimately this is a tough, uncompromising portrait of a ruthlessly disciplined and single-minded man, relishing a conflict which "gives us the opportunity to turn ourselves into revolutionaries, the highest state of the human species". --Jerry Brotton
Review
"Guevara was a figure of heroic proportions. These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument." - "Observer
"Che Guevara is part of the great myths of this century--our era's most perfect man." - Jean-Paul Sartre
"An inspiration for every human being who loves freedom." - Nelson Mandela
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This diary is both an important historical document and an insight into the mind of a twentieth century icon. After his failure in the Congo, Major Ernesto Guevara was determined to suceed in his native South America. He was doomed to failure from the start. His diary shows the terrible hardships endured by him and his revolutionaries. From illness and starvation, to the deaths of comrades and friends, Che's diary documents it all. A mixture of the emotional and the ordinary. Che Guevara was assassinated by the CIA backed Bolivian army; but his death was only the beginning of the legend. Although this version doesn't include the diaries of Che's comrades it remains a must for all those wishing to find the real Che Guevara.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For those of us not used to reading historical accounts & text books (at least since our student days) or anyone who his only a reader of novels, this isn't the easiest of books to pick up & read. However as a text and historical dicument about one of the most compelling and magical figures of modern history, this book is an absolute must.
I recently visited Cuba and was fascinated by the imagery and importance attached to Che. It was this visit and the obvious profound effect that this man had on an entire culture that kindled my desire to learn more.
I would suggest to anyone to read a bigraphy first, but the tale of suffering, sacrifice, bravery and commitment told through Che's eye's puts the whole story into focus. Well worth the read for anyone interested in the man.
I recently visited Cuba and was fascinated by the imagery and importance attached to Che. It was this visit and the obvious profound effect that this man had on an entire culture that kindled my desire to learn more.
I would suggest to anyone to read a bigraphy first, but the tale of suffering, sacrifice, bravery and commitment told through Che's eye's puts the whole story into focus. Well worth the read for anyone interested in the man.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great book for anyone that would like to learn or is interested in the history of Cuba and the revelation.
I thought for years the classic photos/prints you see were of Castro when in actual fact they are Che Guevara as he was the person that shaped Cuba!
Very good read!
I thought for years the classic photos/prints you see were of Castro when in actual fact they are Che Guevara as he was the person that shaped Cuba!
Very good read!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Bolivian Diary
Great documemt of his thinking as "Reminiscences of Cuban revolutionary war" was. Script of future book on the struggle for survival in hostile environment of Bolivian mountainous... Read more
Published 16 months ago by RasicAll
The Bolivian Diary-Review by Jeff Steers
If you have followed the adventures of Ernesto"Che" Guevara from his personal diaries, starting with his initial trip on an Old Triumph motorcycle around South America to his... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by Mr. J. W. Steers
Insights into the man, the guerilla
Che excites debate. His image, his actions, his reputation and his motivations are still argued over forty years after his death in 1967. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2007 by Mcduff
A Great Book on a Great Man
This book was f a n tastic. I was recommended it by my friens Sean and Brett. They read it and liked it so much that they bought motorbikes and che guevara hats. Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2001
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