Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America

Guevara, Che

ISBN 10 : 1859840663 ISBN 13 : 9781859840665

Editeur : Verso Books, 1996

Synopsis

The Motorcycle Diaries These travel diaries capture the essence and exuberance of the young legend, Che Guevara. This expanded, new edition, published with exclusive access to the Che Guevara Archives held in Havana, includes a preface by Che's daughter, Aleida Guevara. 30 photos. Full description

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

In January 1952, two young men from Buenos Aires set out to explore South America on an ancient Norton motorbike. The journey lasted six months and took them thousands of miles, all the way from Argentina to Venezuela. En route, there was disasters and discoveries, high drama, low comedy, fights, parties and a lot of serious drinking. They met an extraordinary range of people: native indians and copper miners, lepers, police, wanderers and tourists. They became stowaways, firemen and football coaches, and joined in a strike. They sometimes fell in love, and frequently fell off the motorbike. Both of them kept diaries. One of them was a tall and good-looking medical student called Ernest Guevara de la Serna. Using the standard Argentinean nickname, others would sometimes refer to the two companions as Big Che and Little Che. In Ernesto‘s case, the nickname stuck. Within a decade the whole world would know Che Guevara. This is the story of that remarkable journey, eight years before the Cuban Revolution, in Che‘s own words, and illustrated with contemporary photographs. For Che, it was a formative experience, and amidst the humour and pathos of the tale, there are examples of his idealism and his solidarity with the poor and the oppressed. But it is far from being the diary of a militant, and sometimes very far from being “political correct,” which may be the reason that the manuscript has only been made available now, a quarter century after Che‘s death in the Bolivian jungle. Instead, it is a record kept by an exuberant, intelligent and observant 23-year-old, describing what might have been the adventure of a lifetime—had his lifetime not turned into a much greater adventure.

Revue de presse :

"Das Kapital meets Easy Rider." (Times)

"A Latin American James Dean or Jack Kerouac." (Washington Post)

..."Ernesto Guevara in search of Che. On this journey of journeys, solitude found solidarity, 'I' turned into 'we'." (Eduardo Galeano)

"An extraordinary first-person account. ... It redoubles his image and lends a touch of humanity with enough rough edges to invite controversy." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. (Time)

"There is pathos in these pages - the pathos of Che himself, ever thoughtful, ever willing to sacrifice all, burning with guilt over his own privileges and never letting his sufferings impede him." --(New Yorker)
"This candid journal, part self-discovery, part fieldwork, glimmers with portents of the future revolutionary." (Publishers' Weekly)

"A revolutionary bestseller... It's true, Marxists just wanna have fun." (Guardian)

"What distinguishes these diaries... is that they reveal a human side to El Che which historians have successfully managed to suppress." (Financial Times)

"This book should do much to humanize the image of a man who found his apotheosis as a late '60s cultural icon. It is also, incidentally, a remarkably good travel book about South America." --(The Scotsman)

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Verso Books
• Date d'édition: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1859840663
• ISBN 13: 9781859840665
• Reliure: Livre broché
• Nombre de pages: 176