A photo of Che Guevara in black and white, smoking a cigar, next to the orange-yellow cover of 'I Embrace You With All My Revolutionary Fervor: Letters 1947-1967'.

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Extracts

Che Guevara writes to his mother: ‘Revolution needs passion and audacity’

Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War

'Powerful and poetic ... For anyone interested in the myth of Che Guevara ... this book is essential reading' Colm Tóibín, Observer 
 
'We were an army of shadows, of ghosts, walking as if to the beat of some dark psychic mechanism...' 
 
The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against immense odds to overthrow a dictator and emerged victorious. This is the story of how they did it. Che Guevara's classic eyewitness account chronicles the transformation of a country, and of Che himself, from troop doctor to revolutionary icon. 
 
'Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom' Nelson Mandela

We were an army of shadows, of ghosts, walking as if to the beat of some dark psychic mechanism' 
 
The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against immense odds to overthrow a dictator and emerged victorious. This is the story of how they did it. Che Guevara's classic eyewitness account chronicles the transformation of a country, and of Che himself, from troop doctor to revolutionary icon. 
 
'Powerful and poetic ... For anyone interested in the myth of Che Guevara ... this book is essential reading' Colm Tóibín, Observer 
 
'Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom' Nelson Mandela

The Bolivian Diary

'Guevara was a figure of epic proportions. These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument' Observer 
 
The final diaries of Che Guevara begin in 1966, when he travelled to Bolivia to foment a revolution, and end just two days before his death in October 1967. They form an unvarnished account of his guerrilla campaign against CIA-backed Bolivian troops, fighting in the jungle and keeping his men's spirits up - even as the struggle started to fail. Found in Guevara's backpack and smuggled to Cuba after his execution, The Bolivian Diary is an inspiring record of, and a moving memorial to, a revolutionary life.

Guevara was a figure of epic proportions. These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument

In 1967 Che Guevara left Cuba to lead the Bolivian Liberation Army. In the jungles of Bolivia they attempted to initiate a revolution like that in Cuba, in which Che had played such a central role. The opposing Bolivian Army was backed by the CIA, and Che and his men fought bravely in the jungle of Bolivia, with Che keeping the spirits of his men up and contending with logistical and supply difficulties, keeping the revolutionary fervour in his heart even as he notes the days of his childrens' birthdays passing. 
 
Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian Army on 8th October 1967. The notes smuggled out of his backpack back to Cuba make up this notebook, the last record of a man who truly changed the world.

Guerrilla Warfare

'Guerrilla warfare is a war of the masses, a war of the people' 
 
First published in 1961, following the successful Cuban Revolution, this is Che Guevara's handbook for guerrilla war. 
 
It covers strategy, tactics, terrain, organization of an army, logistics, field medical treatment, intelligence, propaganda and training, and focuses on seven 'golden rules' of guerrilla warfare. Widely studied both by insurrectionist movements and those who have tried to suppress them, this is the key text to understand how revolutions can be fought and won by ordinary people.

First published in 1961, following the successful Cuban Revolution, this is Che Guevara's handbook for guerrilla war. 
Che considered that the Cuban Revolution taught would-be insurrectionists three fundamental lessons: 
 
(1) Popular forces can win a war against the army. 
 
(2) It is not necessary to wait until all conditions for making revolution exist; the insurrection can create them. 
 
(3) In underdeveloped South America the countryside is the basic area for armed fighting. 
 
Covering guerrilla strategy, tactics, terrain, organization of an army, logistics, the role of women, field medical treatment, intelligence, propaganda and training, this is the key text to understand how revolutions can be fought and won by ordinary people.

The Motorcycle Diaries

'A Latin American James Dean or Jack Kerouac' Washington Post 
 
'It's true; Marxists just wanna have fun... a revolutionary bestseller' Guardian 
 
At the age of twenty-three, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado set out from their native Argentina to explore their continent, with only a single 1939 Norton motorcycle to carry them, nicknamed La Poderosa ('the powerful one'). 
 
They travelled not to visit the usual tourist attractions, but to meet ordinary people and understand Latin American life. In amidst the tales of youthful adventures - of women, wine, thrilling escapes and the power of friendship - the young Che also learns first-hand about poverty, philosophy and philosophy and forms himself into the man who would become the world's most famous and admired revolutionary and freedom fighter. 
 
 'For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. By the end of the journey, a politicized Guevara has emerged to predict his own legendary future' Time

It's true; Marxists just wanna have fun...A revolutionary bestseller

For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. By the end of the journey, a politicized Guevara has emerged to predict his own legendary future

The vision of the noble loner, whether freedom-fighter or biker...gives hope to world-weary revolutionaries and non-revolutionaries alike.

A Latin American James Dean or Jack Kerouac

'All we could see was the dust on the road ahead and ourselves on the bike, devouring kilometers in our flight northward' 
 
'In late 1951, Guevara and Alberto Granado set off on the 500cc Norton they nicknamed La Poderosa ('The Powerful One') with no other agenda than a lust for life and a desire to see it all. The Motorcycle Diaries offer a unique perspective on what led this would-be doctor from relatively affluent Argentina to become one of the 20th century's most important political figures ... genuinely exhilarating' Guardian 
 
'For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. By the end of the journey, a politicized Guevara has emerged to predict his own legendary future' Time

Ernesto Che Guevara

María del Carmen Ariet García

Disamis Arcia Muñoz

Arrogant, affectionate, and dogmatic, Guevara is intimately revealed in this compilation of personal letters sent over the latter half of his extraordinary life... a thrilling, eyewitness account of battles whose repercussions still reverberate today

Letters 1947-1967

Che Guevara was an inveterate letter writer and diarist throughout his short but extraordinary life. His letters and diaries are those of a master narrator, characterized by a brutal honesty, a remarkable lack of ego, a razor-sharp wit, an iron will and a great capacity to express his love and affection for his closest friends and family. 
 
This selection of Che Guevara's correspondence, beginning with letters penned in his early travels around Latin America as a medical student, shows how he polished his unique style over the years. This selection maps the emergence of a dedicated revolutionary and original political thinker from the wide-eyed young Argentine who set out to discover Latin America. Covering the entirety of Che's life, from his famous motorcycle journey around South America to the Cuban Revolutionary War, from the setting-up of the pioneering communist state of Cuba to his revolutionary travels to the Congo and Bolivia. But it also reveals a more intimate, personal side to Che, including his letters to his mother, wife and children. 
 
In one of his last letters to his young children, Che advised them to 'always be capable of feeling deeply any injustice committed against anyone, anywhere in the world. This is the most beautiful quality in a revolutionary.'

Ernesto Che Guevara

Books by Ernesto Che Guevara

Articles featuring Ernesto Che Guevara

Che Guevara writes to his mother: ‘Revolution needs passion and audacity’

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