Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary [Paperback]

Ernesto Che Guevara (Author), William Galvc)Z (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In April 1965, Ernesto "Che" Guevara left Cuba and mysteriously disappeared, eventually resurfacing in revolutionary Bolivia, where he lived until his assassination in October 1967. Now we know that he spent most of 1965 and 1966 in Central Africa, helping anti-Mobuto revolutionaries in the Republic of Congo. This new volume is a collection of writings from and about those years: fragments of letters he wrote, bits of an unpublished manuscript called Pasajes de la guerra revolucionar!a: Congo (which Che wrote shortly after leaving the Congo), and transcripts of interviews with Che's compatriots. G lvez, who is a brigadier general in the Cuban army as well as an experienced biographer, ties all of this together with fine, explanatory introductions. Although the title is a misnomer (since most of the information comes from the manuscript written by Che and not the diary itself), this collection provides a documentary history not found in any other publication. Recommended for libraries with collections on Africa or Cuba.AMark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Ocean Press (AU) (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1876175087
• ISBN-13: 978-1876175085
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,081,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( G ) > Guevara, Che

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Che's episodes in Africa, March 23, 2000

By 

A. Woitel (Seattle, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary (Paperback)

A great and detailed account of Che's not so famous campaign in Africa. Well written; you can actually capture Che's philosophy and lifestyle.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those interested in Che, May 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary (Paperback)

Filled with excerpts from Che's own Congo diary and replete with insights into the failures of the Cuban backed People's Liberation Army. A haunting look at some of the same failures that would befall Che and lead to his capture and execution in Bolivia. A great read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Historical Contribution, March 7, 2005

By 

Ernesto Del Mundo (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary (Paperback)

Galvez fought with Che during the Cuban Revolution and here he takes Che's Congo diary and expands upon it to offer a comprehensive overview of a historical event whose details remained elusive for more than three decades. The story begins in 1961 when Patrice Lumumba, one of the great African leaders of independence, was assassinated at the behest of foreign and native oligarchies and with the complicity of the United Nations. Che had visited Africa as a representative of the Cuban government and realized that the winds of change sweeping away colonial governments in Africa had made that continent a flashpoint of struggle between the forces of liberation and those of exploitation. By 1963-64, Che was planning a guerilla movement in his native Argentina, but the nascent insurrection was crushed before he was able to join it. With that avenue closed off, Che looked to Africa instead. Vowing to avenge Lumumba's death, he arrived in the Congo in early 1965 with a group of Cubans intent on joining forces with those fighting against the Belgian mercenaries and their native army. Almost from the beginning Che sensed a lack of revolutionary character among many of the leaders of the opposition, as well as poor training, superstition, and lack of military bearing among the rebel army. Believing that this could be overcome through training and an awakening of revolutionary spirit among the troops, Che launched a program of instruction and leading by example that was ultimately unsuccessful, despite great effort by him and his Cuban compatriots. After several months of largely inconclusive skirmishing, Che and the Cubans withdrew at the request of a group of African independence leaders.

Perhaps the most enlightening part of the book is reading Che's self-critique along with his analysis of what was wrong with the conditions of the struggle and other things that contributed to its failure. These same elements, including Che's intense and unyielding sense of mission, would reappear in his Bolivian diary. The interviews with Che's contemporaries that served in the Congo are fascinating and historically invaluable. Anyone interested in Che Guevara or African nationalism will find this an indispensible reference.