The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mary-Alice Waters (Editor) "Confronted by rapidly expanding popular support for the July 26 Movement and its advancing Rebel Army guerrilla columns, the military command directed by Washington-backed Cuban..." (more)
Key Phrases: exploratory march, urban support network, guerrilla preparations, Río Grande, Santa Cruz, Bear Camp (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pathfinder Press in publishing Che Guevara's Bolivian Diary has performed a major service for a new generation of activists and scholars….The Diary provides major insights on issues of democratic politics, transformative leadership and the ethics of revolutionary practitioners." --Letter from James Petras, October 1994

"Selected for inclusion in Significant Books of the Last 75 Years." --Foreign Affairs

Here is Ernesto Che Guevara's account, long unavailable in English, of the 1966-67 guerrilla struggle in Bolivia. A day-by-day chronicle of the campaign led by one of the central leaders of the Cuban revolution to forge a revolutionary movement of workers and peasants capable of contending for power in Bolivia and providing an example for all Latin America. This new edition includes extensive accounts by guerrilla leaders who survived, excerpts from diaries of other combatants, and documents written by Guevara in Bolivia. Much of this additional material appears in English for the first time. -- Midwest Book Review

Waters meticulously edited pair of volumes [Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War and The Bolivian Diary] is now the best original source for English-speaking scholars. Her attention to detail and her precision do not overcome the rough eloquence that was Guevara s style; the transcendental message of a new moral order bites through the prose with deceptive simplicity. --Hispanic American Historical Review, November 1996

Product Description

Guevara's day-by-day chronicle of the 1966-67 guerrilla campaign in Bolivia, an effort to forge a continent-wide revolutionary movement of workers and peasants and open the road to socialist revolution in South America. Includes excerpts from the diaries and accounts of other combatants, including -- for the first time in English -- My Campaign with Che by Bolivian leader Inti Peredo. Introduction by Mary-Alice Waters. An edition of Che Guevara's Bolivian Diary is also available in Spanish.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 467 pages
• Publisher: Pathfinder Press (NY) (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873487664
• ISBN-13: 978-0873487665
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #874,945 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Che's Report Card - "A" for initiative ," F " for judgement, January 16, 2001

By	Gerry Fahrenthold (Westfield, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In November 1966, Ernesto Che Guevara and a few comrades took to the jungles of Bolivia to recreate the revolution which he helped to lead in Cuba. This diary narrates a years effort by Che and his band and to survive in a truly hostile territory. There is no revolutionary doctrine here. The story is one of a daily struggle for food, water, shelter and security. As the months pass, the struggle becomes even more difficult as Che fails to win the support of the peasants and faces a more capable Bolivian military. Che's leadership in the face of mounting difficulties is extraordinary. Che remains focused on the big picture and the long term goal, even when they dont know when they will eat again. The diary shows Che as a true revolutionary and visionary, without resorting to propaganda. While Che's leadership is exemplary, his judgement is catastrophic. He is an expert on revolutionary doctrine, but in going to Bolivia he ignores his own advice. Bolivia is not fertile ground for insurrection. The people are not eager to hear his message. The terrain is extraordinarly difficult. He and his band are, in effect, on their own from the day they arrive. Finally, how could a man dependent on asthma medication hope to live for months or years in the wilds of rural Bolivia ? If Che harboed doubts about his decision, he kept them out of the diary.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From México, September 2, 1998

By	Yaotl Àltan ([e-mail]) (Mexico City, México) - See all my reviews

Nobody thought that Ernesto Che Guevara, born in an argentinian burgeois family could develop advanced ideas in the revolutionary palaestra. A latinamerican traveller, a dreamer. Later, the great revolutionary that made a whole story in the guerilla warfare which still many leftists all over the world. Bolivia was the begining of the leggend and in the daily we can found the meaning of phrases as "Forever until victory". Never surrender. A book that equals a summary of guerilla tactics and the deception of 60's latinamerican politics, a sadness that never ends.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extending the revolution, August 13, 2001

By	hatlanta "hollyatlanta" (Marietta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

Che went to Bolivia because he (and the Cuban leadership) thought that the situation was ripe for revolution. It tells the story of how he built a cadre of fighters with dedicated youth who wanted to fight until freedom or die. He wrote this diary in the mountains, fighting the Bolivian army as well as hunger and asthma. Despite everything, he was always focused on the goal, not his own pain or suffering. He was constantly evaluating their situation, politically and militarily, and determining the next move.

I first read Che's diary in the early 1970s because I wanted to learn more about him. At the time I thought it was interesting, but it didn't make much sense to me. This new edition is far superior to the Ramparts edition I read back then. The Pathfinder editors went to Cuba to collect photos and maps to make the diary come to life. This book includes accounts by surviving guerillas who fought with Che in Bolivia. There is a chronology and a glossary so you can understand who everyone was, where they came from, and what happened to them. If you want to read this famous book, make sure to read this edition!