The two volumes under review differ greatly. One—Richard Harris’ Death of a Revolutionary—is an account and an analysis of Che Guevara’s Bolivian adventure; the other—Rolando E. Bonachea’s and Nelson P. Valdés’ Che: Selected Works of Ernesto Guevara— presents some of Che’s writings, speeches, interviews, and letters. In my opinion, both are useful works.
Harris’ book reads almost like a novel. He accounts for Che’s decision to leave Cuba and for his experiences after leaving Cuba, including, of course, those in Bolivia. Further, he examines the circumstances of Che’s death in some detail and clears up many of the questions surrounding the final episode of Guevara’s life. Finally, Harris analyzes, among other things, the reasons for the lack of popular support for Che in Bolivia, for the Bolivian left’s general indifference toward Che, and for the U.S. involvement in the Bolivian government’s anti-Che counterinsurgency program.
One is tempted to state that Harris’ account and analysis are first-class. This would indeed be the case if it were not for the fact that much of his work is based upon information the sources of which must remain anonymous. Thus the reader does not have even theoretical access to much of his data. This is not to argue that Harris’ account and analysis are incorrect. It must be noted, however, that other scholars with other sets of values (Harris is generally sympathetic to Che) and other methodologies (Harris relies upon the narrative) might have come to different conclusions concerning the reliability of the sources and, therefore, the validity of the data.
In addition, there are a few questionable assertions in Harris’ book. He claims, for example, that the rise to power of the M.N.R. in 1952 was the result of a “true popular revolution” (p. 137). While the rise to power of the M.N.R. might have brought about a “true popular revolution,” one may doubt that it was the result of one. Harris also states that the “peasants themselves . . . organized and carried out the dismemberment of the former feudal estates and the redistribution of their lands” (p. 138). While the peasants did play such a role in some places, these actions were not as widespread as Harris suggests. In general, however, his work is an extremely interesting and probably accurate account and analysis of Che Guevara’s Bolivian adventure.
Bonachea’s and Valdés’ book contains many of Che’s most interesting and useful works. It includes, for example, “Notes for the Study of the Ideology of the Cuban Revolution,” “Tactics and Strategy of the Latin American Revolution,” “Guerrilla Warfare: A Method,” “On the Budgetary System of Finance,” “Socialism and Man in Cuba,” and “Message to the Tricontinental.” It also contains some of Guevara’s less immediately accessible speeches, interviews, and letters. The book is especially valuable, however, because of its “Introduction,” which is essentially an analysis of the development of Che’s political, economic, and social ideology. In general, Bonachea and Valdés attempt to explain the evolution of Che’s ideas in terms of his personal development—that is to say, in terms of the events in his life. They generally succeed; in fact, the “Introduction” is probably the best concise analysis of the development of Che’s political, economic, and social thought currently available in English.
