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The Fall of Che Guevara: A Story of Soldiers, Spies, and Diplomats
 
 
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The Fall of Che Guevara: A Story of Soldiers, Spies, and Diplomats [Hardcover]

Henry Butterfield Ryan (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0195118790 978-0195118797 January 22, 1998 First Edition
The Fall of Che Guevara tells the story of Guevara's last campaign, in the backwoods of Bolivia, where he hoped to ignite a revolution that would spread throughout South America. For the first time, this book shows in detail the strategy of the U.S. and Bolivian governments to foil his efforts. Based on numerous interviews and on secret documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act from the CIA, the State Department, the Pentagon, and the National Security Archive, this work casts new light on the roles of a Green Beret detachment sent to train the Bolivians and of the CIA and other U.S. agencies in bringing Guevara down.
Ryan's shows that Guevara was an agent of Cuban foreign policy from the time he met Fidel Castro in 1955 until his death--not a mere independent revolutionary, as many scholars have claimed. Guevara's attempted insurgency in Bolivia was in reality a Cuban attempt to achieve another badly-needed revolutionary success.

This dramatic account of the last days of Che Guevara will appeal to scholars and students of United States foreign policy and Latin American history, and to all those interested in this revolutionary's remarkable life.

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Editorial Reviews

Review


"Ryan offers a thoughtful critique of both the operational and intelligence-gathering aspects of the U.S. intervention against the Cuban intervention in Bolivia....Ryan enlivens his narrative with vivid portraits of the two American officials who played key parts in the hunt for Guevara....It is a welcome addition to the literature on both Che Guevara and U.S. intervention in Latin America." --The Washington Monthly


"The Fall of Che Guevara has the merit of being both original and brief. It consists largely of a trawl through the American archives, in the wake of the Freedom of Information Act, to discover what the various U.S. government agencies really knew, and thought, and did about Guevara." --London Review of Books


"Ryan's is a balanced and carefully-documented book and a great read about one of the most fascinating characters of our times. Ryan pretty well destroys the idea that Guevara left Cuba in virtual disgrace because of disagreements with Castro. Guevara remained, and remains today, one of the most honored figures in Cuba's hall of heroes. Soviet pressure may have played some role in Guevara's decision to leave, but clearly his missions to the Congo and then to Bolivia were of tremendous importance in Cuba's foreign policy projections. Guevara would probably have embarked upon them even had there been no disagreements with the Soviets. It is appropriate that this excellent book is published just as Guevara's remains at last have been returned from Bolivia to Cuba."--Wayne S. Smith, Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies at the Johns Hopkins University; formerly a member of the Foreign Service and the State Department's leading expert on Cuba


"The enigmatic personality--and persona--of 'Che' will fascinate writers on many different levels for decades to come. But this detailed and comprehensive book is important because, for the first time, the American part in the notorious 1967 capture of Guevara is believably told. You'll be surprised."--Georgie Anne Geyer, syndicated columnist and author of Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro


"...[a]facinating and well-researched book...this book is a great read for those interested in the ideological and revolutionary challenges to U.S. policy in Latin America in the 1960s, as well as for those interested in the differences in revolutionary strategy between the Cuban school represented by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro and the Soviet school pushed by Moscow and Moscow-affliated communist parties in various countries of Latin America."--Foreign Service Journal


About the Author


Henry Butterfield Ryan is a retired United States Foreign Service officer.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (January 22, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195118790
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195118797
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very objective look at a relatively obscure episode., November 20, 1998
By 
TCB (Birmingham, Al) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Fall of Che Guevara: A Story of Soldiers, Spies, and Diplomats (Hardcover)
Ryan places Guevara's Bolivian adventure in an historical context that gives it hemispheric significance. As a case study of the US's Latin American counterinsurgency efforts in the 1960s, it demonstrates that the mistakes made in Vietnam were not repeated everywhere. Ryan also attacks some widely held assumptions, including Guevara's diminished ties with Cuba and CIA involvement in his eventual execution. Although objective at all times, this is "history with a heart". Key characters, such as Guevara himself, are brought to life by the author demonstrating not only his mistakes but his tremendous integrity, honor, and determination. A must-read for students of U.S.-Latin American relations during the Cold War.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Look at Che from the USA's Foreign Service, March 3, 2008
Books on Che Guevara are generally classified within the political spectrum the readers put themselves in. This book, by Henry B. Ryan proofs that wrong or different. His writing occured due to the opening of many documents about the Argentinian rebel that were held in silence for years. And, one of the things I do admire most in this Ryan's book is the excellent translation from research into writing his clear, precise use of the English language that turns his writing into an enjoyable narrative so easy to follow.
New also, the metaphorical vision of Guevara within the Arthurian legends frame, not rare if Ryan identifies himself with the Anglo culture, similar as in a book by Regis Debray(Alabados sean nuestros senores) where he makes analogies between Guevara and the Middle ages French epic heroes. (No one have ever written about Che without falling a bit into the mythological trap).
(One thing I share with Mr. B. Ryan as I read the dedication: his profound identification with the little ones in the family)
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First Sentence:
Che Guevara's body, strapped to the landing skid of a Bolivian helicopter, was on its way to the town of Vallegrande from the tiny backwater settlement of La Higuera, where he had been executed. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
guerrilla episode, guerrilla area, guerrilla strength, guerrilla zone, ranger battalion, first ambush, guerrilla band, orthodox communists
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, State Department, Latin America, Green Berets, Che Guevara, Santa Cruz, Sierra Maestra, Southern Command, Bay of Pigs, Dominican Republic, Second Ranger Battalion, Buenos Aires, World War, General Ovando, President Johnson, South America, Soviet Union, White House, Charles Grover, New York Times, Ambassador Henderson, Special Group, Third World, Eighth Division, Alto Seco
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