An Interactive Biography of Che Guevara (Enhanced Edition)

Includes over 20 minutes of video highlighting the important events in Che's life.
Includes a list of Che's most memorable quotes.
Includes pictures of Che and important people, places, and events in his life.
Analyzes Che's enduring legacy.
*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.

"The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.” – Che Guevara

Everyone has read about history’s most important people and events in dense textbooks and classrooms, but words can only say so much. In Charles River Editors’ Interactive Biography series, history comes to life in video and audio, allowing people to experience history through the eyes and ears of the people who were there.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known to the world as Che, has led two lives. In the first of these lives, the Argentine-born revolutionary was a remarkable and flawed doctor-turned-guerilla who left behind a highly controversial political legacy. In the second, he was – and is – first and foremost an image. Specifically, he is one particular image in which he appears as a wavy-haired, bearded young man with a beret and an intense gaze. The photograph, entitled Guerrillero Heroico and taken on March 5, 1960 by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, is said to be the most reproduced image in the history of photography. There is little market for the type of revolution that Che advocated and pursued, but the aura of rebellion that his image exudes still carries a notable sway.

Most ironically of all, his image is frequently deployed to the direct economic benefit of the kinds of multinational corporations whose power he hoped to obliterate. In contrast to the quaint and hoary air that now surrounds other revolutionaries like Lenin, Mao, and even Fidel Castro, Che has managed to maintain a youthful glamour and allure in the post-Cold War world.

When considered as a political figure, Che is most notable for his unwavering commitment to the ideals and goals that motivated him. Even his fiercest critics would never accuse him of cynicism, and his lack of willingness to compromise probably did him significant damage and shortened his life. Unusually among revolutionary leaders and in stark contrast to his compañero Castro, Che seemed to have no strong attachment to power. Having reached the pinnacle of his authority as the second-in-command of the new revolutionary Cuba and having occupied several prominent government positions, he preferred to leave Cuba and take part in obscure and ultimately hopeless struggles in remote corners of Africa and South America.

An Interactive Biography of Che Guevara chronicles the life, death, and legacy of the world’s most famous revolutionary. Along with video and pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Che like you never have before.