Book Review: Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by John Lee Anderson, 754 pp. 5/5

Revolutionary Robin Hood. Murderous despot. Father. Husband. There are many titles you could give to Che Guevara depending on your political and ideological leanings; however, no matter what your opinion is, nobody can dispute that he is one of recent history’s most controversial and mysterious figures. Who is this man whose face appears on countless dorm rooms and t-shirts? Why could pundits argue for hours about his legacy? Who is Che Guevara?

These are the questions I wanted answered when I picked up Jon Lee Anderson’s Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. I wanted to get past the newsroom truths and passionate following surrounding Che and find an objective, truthful voice to share his life story. With Anderson’s biography that is exactly what I found. There are many other “biographies” of the revolutionary out there, but even though Anderson’s was published 11 years ago, I challenge any of them and future Che biographies to match the scope and objectivity that is found in this masterpiece.

The biography begins with the birth of Che and ends with his death in Bolivia at the hands of the Bolivian military and the CIA. In the middle you learn countless things. Che was not Cuban but Argentinean. He suffered from debilitating asthma his entire life, which makes his treks through the Cuban jungle even more remarkable. He was a doctor. He is a father of today’s guerilla warfare as he constantly improved his tactics and wrote guides on the subject. His socialist cause did not end in Cuba as he left the island after the successful revolution and tried to spread his ideas to Congo and Bolivia.

You also see why so many people could love him and why others could despise him at the same time. As a youngster, Che saw people suffering throughout his travels and could not understand why they received no aid. As he grew older, although his means spawn countless arguments, he wanted to create change so all would be provided for. Che was not like the leaders of today who preach one thing and do another. He truly believed in socialist reform and the “new socialist man,” people who shunned individualism and worked for the whole, and was willing to give his life for this cause as he eventually did. He lived in a modest home and received modest pay, and even participated in his own program that called for citizens to take one day and volunteer one’s self for society with no consideration of payment.

However, while it is honorable that he followed his own example, it is easy to see why he could also be hated as his socialist passion and anti-individualist ideals caused him to be often ruthless towards those who did not share his vigor. Also, from an American standpoint, his principles differ completely with the capitalist, “winner take all” U.S. mindset. He also believed the only way to end “Yankee imperialism” was through all out war, which almost came to be during the Bay of Pigs incident.

People who read this biography will, of course, learn about Che, but Anderson also does much to illuminate the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro, being that Che’s relationship with both is pivotal in fully understanding the revolutionary. Much of the middle of the biography is devoted to Castro’s beginnings, his clash with America’s imperial influence in Cuba, and his rise to power after the Revolution with Che at his side.

At an epic 754 pages this biography may seem daunting to the casual reader, but curiosity and Anderson’s quality writing will keep you going. I recommend this book to anybody who was as curious as I was about Che and to those out there who truly want to know how powerful the image on their walls and t-shirts is.