Compañero: vida y muerte del Che Guevara (Paperback)

by Jorge G. Castaneda (Author) "Una investigacion de esta indole requiere necesariamente de una gran multiplicidad de fuentes..." (more)
Key Phrases: sureste boliviano, testimonio recogido, primer gran viaje, Fidel Castro, Estados Unidos, Che Guevara (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
As Casta?eda's masterfully written biography concludes, "The death of Che Guevara gave significance to his life and life to his myth." Thirty years later, despite Che's failed economic policies and disastrous military adventures, the myth endures as a worldwide pop-cultural phenomenon. Of the several biographies on Che published this year, this work by Casta?eda (political science, New York Univ.) offers the most illuminating and substantive interpretation of the reasons behind the slain revolutionary's persistent appeal. Casta?eda accurately places his most lasting legacy in the cultural rather than the political realm, showing that in his idiosyncratic mixture of selfless idealism, willful arrogance, and uncompromising rejection of status-quo politics, Che personified the spirit of the popular youth movements of the Sixties. No less relevant today despite the hindsight of history, his legacy is well served by this lucid and eloquent examination of the mythic congruence of a man and his turbulent times.?Maria S. Macias
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Cuando llegó el momento en que fue muerto en las selvas de Bolivia, donde su cuerpo fue exhibido como un Cristo destronado, Ernesto "Che Guevara se había convertido en sinónimo de revolución en todas partes desde Cuba hasta los terrenos universitarios de los Estados Unidos. Esta biografía extraordinaria por uno de los más prominentes analistas políticos de Latinoamérica revela la leyenda del Che Guevara para mostrar el carismático e inquieto hombre detrás de ella.

Tomando de los archivos de tres continentes y de entrevistas con la familia y asociados de Guevara, Jorge Castañeda sigue al Che desde su niñez en la clase media argentina hasta los años de peregrinaje que lo hicieron un revolucionario dedicado. Castañeda examina las complejas relaciones entre Guevara y Fidel Castro, quien lo hizo su mano derecha aùn cuando el Che se convirtió en la conciencia política de Fidel. Y Castañeda analiza las fallas de carácter que forzaron al Che a irse de Cuba y dar sus energias y, finalmente, su vida a aventuras quijotescas en el Congo y Bolivia. Una obra maestra de erudición y simpatía literaria, Compañero es el retrato definitivo de una figura que continua fascinando e inspirando a gentes del mundo entero.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; spanish edition (September 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679781617
• ISBN-13: 978-0679781615
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #517,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars El libro mas objetivo que existe sobre el CHE, September 27, 1999

By	[e-mail] "snow747" (Juncos ,Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

Este libro presenta de forma organizada la vida del Che desde su nacimiento hasta su muerte y la situacion politica,economica familiar que le rodeaba.Va mas alla de la leyenda para ver el hombre y el revolucionario detras de ella.Analiza en una forma objetiva sus pensamientos y su trascendencia despues de su muerte.En fin creo que quien quiera conocer la figura del Che,este es un excelente libro para hacerlo.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biographies, November 3, 2008

By	A customer (Geneva) - See all my reviews

Having read about half a dozen biographies on Che Guevara (written by a myriad of authors with different perspectives & objectives), I can confidently say that it is Castaneda, an eminent political scientist, who has written the most elegant and constructive evaluation of the life of Che Guevara. Although the book lacks the baroque detail of, say, Anderson's or Taibos' acclaimed biographies, Castaneda makes a moving and profound analysis. And unlike Anderson, who, as a somewhat mercenary journalist, comes across as calculating and contrived in his so-called "objectivity", Castaneda's sincerity shines like a beacon.

The only negative point of "Companero" is that the first half of the book appears to be somewhat rushed compared to the dazzling second half. Castaneda clearly prefers to write about Che Guevara from 1959 onwards. However, this criticism does not detract me from giving this book the five stars it deserves.

Because "Companero" is more of an "evaluation" than a full-blown biography, it lacks the detail of Anderson's, or the profound intimacy of Taibo's, books, so if you have time, read at least one of these first.

Another book I would highly recommend is the newly-released "Evocacion", written by Che Guevara's widow, containing a selection of previously-unpublished letters, including a heartrending, prophetic and immensely revealing poem written to her before he died. I can only presume that Castaneda, Anderson and Taibo's biographies would have been quite different had the authors come across this material at the time of writing their books. In fact, I suspect that Che Guevara's wife decided to finally release it after reading these biographies (notably Anderson's) - in order to close the circle once and for all.

3.0 out of 5 stars CHE AN ICON, December 12, 2008

By	Chewas (Quito) - See all my reviews

It's a good book. But the only thing why I rate it with 3 stars is that the author tries to discover the reason why Ernesto Guevara de la Serna became the Comandante "Che" Guevara using logical reasoning and history. Sometimes things have no logic. Che is an icon, trying to unwrap his image is like trying to unveil the secret of how life begins. No one knows except God.