Most of the world considers him a terrorist...I was not very different until I read this book. Authored by Jon Lee Anderson; it is the most comprehensive literary work of the life of Che Guevara.
A doctor by profession, a voracious reader, a friend of the erudite Pablo Neruda, a comrade of many socio-communist reformers in Guatemala, an ambassador to a foreign country, the minister of finance, a mathematician, an architect, an author, a man who took the UN general assembly by storm on his visit to USA and most importantly a revolutionary by choice, Che is considered the most complete individual to have graced the world made up of other mere mortals by the political fraternity of the 1950s and 1960s.
He is a guy who lived a life of self-abnegation: Che was the only Argentine in the revolutionary July 26th movement headed by Fidel Castro and the Cubans. Later, he would strive to start a revolution in Bolivia with the ultimate objective of spreading the revolution to his home country. Fidel Castro and Che worked together in analyzing the failures of the Jacobo Arbenz's governance in Guatemala and learned from his mistakes. Soon after the success of the revolution, they solidified their stronghold of Havana by educating the civilians and making them work for the cause. It is fair to state that their measures were successful as the populace of Cuba responded to their call for sacrifice and working for posterity.
The book extricates the mysterious and complex character of Che and enlightens the reader about the principles he stood for and his beliefs. During the course of reading the book, one would realize that he belonged to a world eons into the future. His character dwarfs his contemporaries; be it scholars or powerful men with political and social clout. It is a great read also for the prose and the description of Guerilla warfare.
Ironically, Che gained more global recognition posthumously than when he strived to spread the message of proletariat internationalism with unabashed implacability. However, I really don't understand why his portrait appears in all the dorm rooms and t-shirts of college sophomores!
2 comments:
Hmmm...... Seen the movie "Motorcycle Diaries"? It shows Ernesto Guevara (before the "Che"ness)and his friend Alberto Granado drive around South America on bikes. I think the stuff he saw then was instrumental in shaping who he later became.
@srivatsan...yes and no...those vagabond days in north america make him leave Argentina for Guatemala. its after the disbanding of Arbenz' govt in Guatemala that he decides to become a revolutionary and moves to Mexico and eventually Cuba.
Post a Comment