Che's definitive account of the Cuban revolutionary war, the source
of Che: Part 1, the 2008 film by Steven Soderbergh, starring
Benicio del Toro.
After a long pre-history, the actual Cuban revolutionary war itself only
lasted, incredibly, a little more than two years, from Dec 2, 1956, to
January 1, 1959 - from the disastrous first battle, in which
three-quarters of the expeditionary force of 82 revolutionaries that
traveled to Cuba on the Granma were killed, to total victory at the
beginning of January 1959. And there is no better account of the war
than this little book by guerilla leader Che Guevara, assembled by Che
from his campaign diary, first published in 1963, later corrected and
edited by Che, and published here finally in an authoritative edition
that not only includes Che's corrections, but also, in part two a number
of short essays and articles published by Che in those early years after
the revolution's triumph. As always, Che's writing is intimate,
searching, and self-critical. Written, like The Motorcycle Diaries,
mostly in diary form, Reminiscences is "more distinctive, refined" in
style as his daughter Aleida Guevara notes in her foreword, but still
with Che's "early sparkle and dynamism".
Having initially joined the Cuban expedition as troop doctor, Che
describes his dilemma in having to choose between a backpack of
medicines and a box of ammunition (he chose the box of ammunition).
Within months, he is promoted to guerrilla commander. In another justly
famous chapter of the book, "The Murdered Puppy", Che describes how he
had to give the order to have a puppy killed. Throughout
Reminiscences, the sweep of history and matters of life and death are
rendered in small and intimate ways. Originally published as a series of
articles for Cuban papers, this thoroughly updated edition includes, for
the first time, corrections made by Che himself to the first published
edition and a foreword by Che's daughter Aleida Guevara.
