Che Guevara Reader: Writings on Politics and Revolution

Selected writings-speeches, essays, and letters-by one of the most widely known guerilla fighters, political theorists, and organizers, Che Guevara. Selected writings-speeches, essays, and letters-by one of the most widely known guerilla fighters, political theorists, and organizers, Che Guevara. Widely revered as a true revolutionary, this collection of writings from Ernesto Che Guevara highlight his principled politics and praxis in the fight against capitalism and US imperialism. Incisive speeches, critical essays, and personal letters not only serve as a primer of the Cuban revolutionary movement, but also analyze the importance of practicing international solidarity, reflect on violent resistance, and explicate the dangerous failures of capitalism. Accompanied by an extensive bibliography of Guevara's writing, a timeline of his life, and an all-encompassing glossary of individuals, organizations, and publications, the Che Guevara Reader provides insights into the historical, political, and cultural context for Guevara's radicalization. From some of his most famous speeches such as "Create Two, Three, Many Vietnams" to intimate, personal letters addressed to comrades around the world and his own children, this book extends Che's legacy and paints a stunning picture of a revolutionary struggling for a better world.

Table of Contents:
Ernesto Che Guevara
Introduction to the second edition by David Deutschmann
Chronology

PART 1: THE CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Selections from Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War
A revolution begins
Alegría de Pío
The battle of La Plata
A betrayal in the making
The murdered puppy
Interlude
A decisive meeting
The final offensive and the battle of Santa Clara
El Patojo
What we have learned and what we have taught (December 1958)
The essence of guerrilla struggle (1960)
Guerrilla warfare: A method (September 1963)

PART 2: THE CUBA YEARS 1959–65
Social ideals of the Rebel Army (January 29, 1959)
Political sovereignty and economic independence (March 20, 1960)
Speech to medical students and health workers (August 20, 1960)
Notes for the study of the ideology of the Cuban Revolution (October 1960)
Cuba: Historical exception or vanguard in the anticolonial struggle? (April 9, 1961)
A new culture of work (August 21, 1962)
The cadre: Backbone of the revolution (September 1962)
To be a Young Communist (October 20, 1962)
A party of the working class (1963)
Against bureaucratism (February 1963)
On the budgetary finance system (February 1964)
Socialism and man in Cuba (1965)

PART 3: INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
Speech to the Latin American youth congress (July 28, 1960)
The OAS conference at Punta del Este (August 8, 1961)
The Cuban Revolution’s influence in Latin America (May 18, 1962)
Tactics and strategy of the Latin American revolution (October–November 1962)
The philosophy of plunder must cease (March 25, 1964)
At the United Nations (December 11, 1964)
At the Afro-Asian conference in Algeria (February 24, 1965)
Create two, three, many Vietnams (Message to the Tricontinental, April 1967)

PART 4: LETTERS
To José E. Martí Leyva
To José Tiquet
To Dr. Fernando Barral
To Carlos Franqui
To Guillermo Lorentzen
To Peter Marucci
To Dr. Aleida Coto Martínez
To the compañeros of the Motorcycle Assembly Plant
To Pablo Díaz González
To Lydia Ares Rodríguez
To María Rosario Guevara
To José Medero Mestre
To Eduardo B. Ordaz Ducungé
To Haydée Santamaría
To Dr. Regino G. Boti
To Elías Entralgo
To my children
To my parents
To Hildita
To Fidel Castro
To my children

Notes
Glossary
Bibliography of Che Guevara’s writings and speeches
Index


About the Author :
ERNESTO GUEVARA DE LA SERNA was born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14, 1928. While studying for a medical degree in Buenos Aires, he took a trip with his friend Alberto Granado on an old Norton motorcycle through all of Latin America, the basis for The Motorcycle Diaries. During his travels he witnessed the Bolivian revolution in 1953; and, in Guatemala in 1954, the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz by US-backed forces. Forced to leave Guatemala, he went to Mexico City, where he linked up with exiled Cuban revolutionaries and met Fidel Castro in 1955. Che joined their expedition to Cuba, where the revolutionary war began in the Sierra Maestra mountains. At first Che was the troop doctor, and later became Rebel Army commander in July 1957. Following the rebels' victory on January 1, 1959, he was a key leader of the new revolutionary government and also of the political organization that in 1965 became the Communist Party of Cuba.

Review :
"If I were to recommend one of Che’s books to readers who want an introduction to his bold ideas, dialectical thinking and his concise yet expressive style, I would recommend this one."—Jonah Raskin, Counterpunch