 | The Motorcycle Diaries : Notes on a Latin American Journey The New York Times best-selling book of the popular movie STARRING GAEL GARCIA BERNAL The young Che Guevara's lively and highly entertaining travel diary, now a popular movie and a New York Times best seller. This new, expanded edition features exclusive, unpublished photos taken by the 23-year-old Ernesto on his journey across a continent, and a tender preface by Aleida Guevara, offering an insightful perspective on the man and the icon. "A journey, a number of journeys. Ernesto Guevara in search of adventure, Ernesto Guevara in search of America, Ernesto Guevara in search of Che. On this journey of journeys, solitude found solidarity, 'I' turned into 'we'."--Eduardo Galeano "When I read these notes for the first time, I was quite young myself and I immediately identified with this man who narrated his adventures in such a spontaneous manner... To tell you the truth, the more I read, the more I was in love with the boy my father had been."--Aleida Guevara "Our film is about a young man, Che, falling in love with a continent and finding his place in it." --Walter Salles, director of "The Motorcycle Diaries." "As his journey progresses, Guevara's voice seems to deepen, to darken, colored by what he witnesses in his travels. He is still poetic, but now he comments on what he sees, though still poetically, with a new awareness of the social and political ramifications of what's going on around him."-- January Magazine Also available in Spanish: DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA Features of this edition include: --A preface by Che Guevara's daughter Aleida--Introduction by Cintio Vintier, well-known Latin American poet--Photos & maps from the original journey--Che's personal reflections on his formative years: "A child of my environment." Published in association with the Che Guevara Studies Center, Havana Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 14, 1928, to an aristocratic family of Spanish-Irish descent. He was known from an early age for his dynamic personality and radical points of view. Guevara graduated from the University of Buenos Aires with a degree of doctor of medicine and surgery in 1953. He witnessed the 1954 CIA-backed coup in Guatemala that ended the regime of socialist Jacobo Arbenz. As a direct result, Guevara became convinced that the United States would never support leftist governments and that violent revolution was the only way to end poverty in Latin America. He joined Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement in 1956, and following the Cuban Revolution held several influential posts in the new socialist government, including Minister of Industries. In 1965, Che left Cuba for the ex-Belgian Congo to support the Marxist Simba movement, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Following his time in Africa, Guevara traveled to Bolivia to teach guerrilla warfare to native Communists preparing for revolution. He was captured during a military operation by army forces supported by the United States and executed on October 9, 1967. Guevara's remains were discovered in 1997 and relocated to a mausoleum in Cuba. Guevara had a daughter with Hilda Gadea, whom he married in 1955 and divorced in 1959, and four children with his second wife, Aleida March, a Cuban-born member of the 26th of July movement. He also had a son with Lilia Rosa López. After his death Guevara became a global icon of martyrdom and a symbol of rebellion, particularly during the worldwide student protests of the late 1960s. Among his most noted written works, which include texts on guerilla warfare, socialism, and political economy, are "The Motorcycle Diaries," "Bolivian Diary," and "Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War." (Bowker Author Biography) |
