Che Guevara

by Andrew Sinclair

'I was born in Argentina. I fought in Cuba, and I began to be a revolutionary in Guatemala.' Che Guevara was the most admired and beloved revolutionary of his time, the first man since Simon Bolivar seriously to plan to unite the countries of Latin America. This concise biography unravels Che's life, from his birth in 1928, the child of free-thinking radical Argentinian aristocrats, his youthful membership of Accion Argentina and his training as a doctor in Buenos Aires, through his witnessing of the fall of the new revolutionary government in Guatemala alongside its leader, Arbenz, his action as a commander in the guerrilla war in Cuba with Fidel Castro and his part in the reforming Marxist Cuban government, to his fight for liberation of the Congo and, finally, of Bolivia, where he was executed.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Politics, Biography Memoir

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 1970

About the author

Andrew Sinclair was born in Oxford in 1935 and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. After earning a Ph.D. in American History from Cambridge, he pursued an academic career in the United States and England. His first two novels, written while he was still at Cambridge, were both published in 1959: The Breaking of Bumbo (based on his own experience in the Coldstream Guards, and later adapted for a 1970 film written and directed by Sinclair) and My Friend Judas. Other early novels included The Project (1960), The Hallelujah Bum (1963), and The Raker (1964). The latter, also available from Valancourt, is a clever mix of Gothic fantasy and macabre comedy and was inspired by Sinclair’s relationship with Derek Lindsay, the pseudonymous author of the acclaimed novel The Rack (1958). Sinclair’s best-known novel, Gog (1967), a highly imaginative, picaresque account of the adventures of a seven-foot-tall man who washes ashore on the Scottish coast, naked and suffering from amnesia, has been named one of the top 100 modern fantasy novels. As the first in the ‘Albion Triptych’, it was followed by Magog (1972) and King Ludd (1988).

Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.

Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Ian Skalky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is about Che Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, doctor, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. Born into a middle class, well off, educated family, makes many curious as to why such a well off person would fight for the people and decide to became a revolutionary. The fact of the matter was that unlike most people of his time, he was brought up to be a free thinker. This gave him the ability to question the society in which he lived in and why it was so cruel. The novel discusses many aspects of his life, ranging from who he was before he became a revolutionary to his death. As well, it discusses his actions, their effects and the possible reasons he had for some of them.
From reading this novel I have learned many facts about Che Guevara, such as he was a doctor before he was a revolutionary. My favorite aspect of this novel is not only how well it discusses what happened, but also the authors’ diction used to describe the events makes it seem as if you, the reader, are actually there. This book would be great for any one who likes historical/biographical novels.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise read that was thorough and fairly detailed. While in some areas it glosses over what exactly Che was doing during certain periods,only mentioning some events in passing the author makes up for it for the detailed explanations of Che's thinking and his personal ideology. This was what made this concise bio so good was it clearly laid out Che's thinking and how it changed over the course of his life, and what it was that drove him to be the revolutionary he was.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

inrooza ke "che" mode!age doost darin ,in ketabe jalebi dar bareye zendegie oone.

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sympathetic account written soon after Che's murder. In addition to biography, tries to synthesise Che's thought--a feature lacking in many of the other books I've read on the man.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

more a focus on ideas and ideology than a biography. Nevertheless, an interesting little read.

[Bill38silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second slim biography in this series I have read in a few days (the other was on fellow Latin American revolutionary, Fidel Castro). This book on Che is much more interesting. Although both men were ( and perhaps still are) much revered in Cuba, it is the the handsome face of Che that was to be found on so many wall posters and tee shirts from the late 1960s onwards. Perhaps, if you want to be a hero, die young.

Inevitably, in a book of only 120 pages or so, it is impossible to cover the life of the man in detail. Barely two pages is devoted to his 270 days travelling around the Americas which is recorded in his "Motorcycle Diaries". Apart from the fascinating experience itself, this journey, beset with illness, abject poverty, and suffering of many people he met, was a key to his emerging belief and turned him into the revolutionary which controlled his being. Ironically, when he achieved success he became restless in positions of power, and preferred active service in guerilla warfare to home comforts.

There is much to admire in Che and clearly the author is a fan. For those seeking to know more about one of the 20th century's most celebrated revolutionary, this book is a useful starter.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Sinclair’s Che Guevara was originally published in 1970 as part of the Modern Masters series edited by Frank Kermode. The series was intended to focus on “the men whose lives have changed and are changing the life and thought of our age”. Other volumes in the series dealt with people as Albert Camus, Herbert Marcuse and James Joyce.

Sinclair’s contribution is brief—115 pages—and of the seven sections, the strongest and most informative are those that deal analytically with Che’s theories of guerrilla war (section 3), the changes in the Cuban Resolution from 1959 to 1964 (section 4), and Che’s efforts to seed proletarian internationalism (section 6).

It makes a neat companion piece to Jon Anderson’s detailed biography of Che.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing look into the revolutionary mind, and while brief, was full of detail.

[William Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

If nothing else, a man of not just principles, but self-expressed principles: he practiced what he preached, a rarity amongst political visionaries and activists.

[Thelma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very basic overview. Some outdated language.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

comprehensive. che was a poet, a leader, and above all, a true revolutionary til the end. vivat revolutio!

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s part of the pocket biographies series published by The History Press. It comes in at only 128 pages, including a references section and it was quite a quick read. Unfortunately its briefness is probably the only reason I stuck with it. Perhaps it’s not fair, given that Andrew Sinclair, the author only had ~110 pages in which to cover Che’s whole life, but it was a really simplistic book.

Sinclair is very clearly a Che fan. There are a few attempts within the book to be objective and to offer a balanced point of view but mostly it’s a very kind biography. I suspect Che would have been more critical of himself than Sinclair was. Again, perhaps it’s difficult to provide a nuanced viewpoint in so few pages, but I’m not convinced that any attempt was made.

I’d recommend this to readers under 14 who have never heard of Che Guevara, or to people who want a very quick overview and recommendations for further reading. I’m not sure I’d give it to anyone else. On the bright side, though, Sinclair did quickly cover Che’s campaign in the Congo, so at least I’m now slightly more enlightened in that respect.

[Debra Parienta · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the Cuban Revolution and the life of Guevara, you will like the insight this book provides. Che was an enigmatic, contradictory man and I was interested in understanding what motivated him to give up his bourgeois, educated, suburban life to fight for the rights of the Latin American peasants.

[Wara Diyari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography which i enjoyed reading!
Actually i enjoy reading political books, especially those about political people’s biographies!

Recommend this book to readers who love politics and biography

4/5

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true HERO!