Che Guevara The Romantic Revolutionary

Although Che Guevara was murdered almost sixty years ago, thefamous red-and-black image of him is still widely seen around theworld: at leftist political demonstrations and, ironically - given hisstrong opposition to capitalism - on many commercial products.However, he was a controversial figure during his lifetime - andremains so today. On both the political left and the political right,attitudes to him vary widely: while some see him as a romantic,highly-principled and legendary fighter for the world’s poor andexploited masses, others depict him either as an unrealistic and thusirrelevant adventurer, or even as a ruthless and cold-blooded butcher.Consequently, biographies about him over the decades have rangedfrom the overly sympathetic, to the extremely hostile.As well as covering aspects of his family life and his loves - and hisearly, sometimes less-than-revolutionary, attitudes - this biography,as expected, deals with those areas for which Che is best known.These include his adventurous explorations, as a young man on amotorbike, of Latin and Central America; his leadership and braveryduring Cuba’s Revolutionary War; his practical and theoreticalcontributions to the conduct of guerrilla warfare; and his emergence asan international revolutionary legend who inspired radical youngpeople in the 1960s, and who continues to inspire rebellious peoplearound the world today.However, this biography also explores other aspects of Che’s lifewhich are not so well-known. From an early age, he developed akeen love of reading, covering an eclectic mix of adventure stories,poetry, history and philosophy - and, from his teens, he began alifetime habit of making notes on what he read. He also became astrong chess player, able enough to draw with one of the world’sleading grandmasters. Even during guerrilla campaigns, he managedto maintain those loves.Since his murder, he has emerged as an original contributor toMarxist economics and philosophy. It was his wide-ranging studiesthat led him to become an outspoken opponent of the ‘orthodox’communism followed in the Soviet Union - and of its Cold War foreignpolicy of ‘peaceful coexistence’. His tolerance of, and willingness towork with, those having different views saw him accused of Maoism -and even Trotskyism. More accurately, Che has bequeathed theunique strand of revolutionary socialism known as ‘Guevarism’.