Rating: 
Summary: The Man Behind the Myth
Review: When I first saw the book it did look a little chunky (nearly 800 pages) but the read was well worth the effort. It is the most comprehensive insight into Ches life I have ever read. He has clearly done his homework, unvealing things others haven't. He has basically documented almost all his movements during his time alive. I would definitely reccomend this book to anyone, people who follow Marx and those who don't. Even if you dont have a clue about Guevara you should definitely invest in this. It is a masterwork of biography. Andersen presents his views subjectively, never submiting to any preconceptions he may hold. He leaves it to you make your own mind up, but by the end of the book you seem to of built an affiliation with Guevara, and even if you know whats going to happen you always have a reaction when it does. It also gives an insight to modern South American history, after reading the book you will of gained a lot of knowledge on that area of the world. Im quite sure that part of Che's spirit lives on with this book, there is something about it which induces emotion and an attachment to Guevara in the reader. I praise Andersen for this excellent oppurtunity. Let the world know of CHE.
Rating:
Summary: Complete, Objective Biography
Review: Jon Lee Anderson presents a full, objective description of the life of Che Guevera in this book--a great starting point for those wanting to learn more about Che. Good account of the birth and growth of the Cuban Revolution, how Che got mixed up in it, and his vital role in its success. You can't help but love his idealism, humor and strength of character. You will, after reading this book, have a complete understanding of the man known as Che and you cannot help but have the utmost resepct for him. You will not be able to put this book down...a must read, for those interested.
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Summary: "Che" - The man and the myth, the life of a true adventurer
Review: Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Ernesto (Che) Guevara is one of the best biographies I have ever read, and it definitely belongs on the shortlist of the best biographies ever written. It is thorough, accessible and written in a remarkably unbiased fashion. This biography seems to have it all. Virtually everything you want to know about Che is covered in this biography. Not only does the book give you Che's life in detail, it also gives you a fair bit of history, and a study of politics in action.Che was a handsome, adventurous, highly intelligent, and an influential figure. He was the oldest son of an aristocratic Argentine family. He was also one of the most complex public figures of Latin America. This biography is complete from the birth of Che in 1926, his upbringing in upper-class Argentina, his youth which spent in the highlands due to his severe asthmatic condition, including his schooling and medical training, his (early) spirit for adventure, his unusual close relationship with his mother, his meeting with Castro in Mexico, and of course his well-known participation in the defeat of the Batista government in Cuba and the event that followed, which finally would lead to his death in Bolivia. The author conducted a comprehensive research to reveal Che, the man and the myth, and the events in Che's life that formed him to be the socialist revolutionary that he became. Anderson's biography is really a look on the inside of Che's head, merely due to the fact that much of the author's research is based on Che's own letters to his family and his private diaries. Even better, Che's second wife, Aleida March also cooperated with Mr. Anderson, giving him access to information about Che and also to some of his writings, granting us an even closer and more private look into our hero's (private) life. This book is nearly 800 pages long, and no easy read. Nevertheless, it is worth all the time you invest reading it. Anderson has not only done a thorough research, but I believe that with his unlimited access to sources close to Che, he has clarified inaccuracies and errors in preceding writings about Che. Whether you agree with his politics or not, Che is revealed as a man with a purpose and a vision, who cared profoundly and sacrificed everything for the cause he believed in. His main motive was to improve the condition of the poor people of the world; to stop Western (read: capitalism and the US) from exploiting the Latin American people and its recourses. Che's remarkable persistence and single mindedness, were valuable personal traits to have in the beginning of the Guerilla Warfare. But the same traits made it presumably impossible for Che to re-group and change, as the world changed, Communism started declining, and Glasnost became everyone's favorite word. It is tempting to compare Malcolm X and Che Guevara as they both were (in their own way) fighting for the same cause. Che lacked one thing that Malcolm X had; the ability to change view when realizing that he had been mistaken in his beliefs and views of the world. The book didn't convert me from democrat to communist, but it gave me a greater understanding as to the other side of the argument. Even if you find the methods of the guerilla group awful and sickening, it's hard not to respect Che's courage. In the end, I came away with a feeling of mercy for this strong and passionate man who gave so much of himself, his life included, for the beliefs he held to be true, beliefs which he never wavered from. To be honest, prior to my trip to Latin America in 1999 I knew very little of Che. I am too young (I was born the same year he was killed) to have had Guevara as anything but a handsome "cultural icon". As a teenager, I kept his poster on the same wall where I had my James Dean and Abba posters.. But during the year I spent trekking around in Latin America, studying Spanish, my curiosity was definitively aroused. Upon returning home, this biography was one of the first books that I bought. Funny enough, while in Latin America I visited all the places mentioned in the book except for Bolivia. We even got to be in Cuba on the 8th of October, the day Fidel & Co celebrates Che. It was absolutely amazing to see hundreds of thousands of people parading on the Molocon. (I don't necessarily think you have to have spent time in Cuba or Latin America to enjoy this book, but it definitively helped me capture much of this story's "subtleties"). This book also contains some excellent photos. I love the one of the young Che, relaxing on the balcony, and also his self-portrait of his undercover identity as an old man on his way to Bolivia (Excellent disguise! Even his kids did not recognize him!). If I can have one picture removed it would be the picture of the dead Che "laying on display". We don't really need to see that photo. This must be the best book yet written about Che and it should be considered compulsory read for everyone. Very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Impeccable!
Review: This has to be, not only the best biography on Che Guevara, but best biography on anybody ever written. Che's life, from his childhood to guerrilla warfare is extremely well documented with meticulous research and information. Anderson has done a marvelous job in bringing Che back to life and into the eyes of millions who have read and enjoyed this sensational book. I highly recommend this, nothing beats this biography!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Moving
Review: I must concur with all the other reviews here - this is a fascinating and moving book about a most unique person, and once read, makes one feel that they really know what made Che Guevara tick. It is a look inside his heart and head, since much of the research came from his own diaries and letters. Whether you agree with his politics or not (and the book does not lean one way or the other), Che is revealed as a man with a purpose and a vision, who cared deeply and sacrificed totally for the cause he belived in. Each reader can draw his own conclusions about his ultimate failure but I think his super human determination and single mindedness which were assets in the beginning made him unable to re-think and adapt when world situations changed and when the ideals of socialism and communism began to crumble.
All in all this is a very thought provoking and readable book about a most uncommon human being.
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Summary: A Complete Account of Ernesto Che Guevara
Review: This book helped me get past the 60's hype behind the mythical Che and understand the man and the influences that shaped him from childhood. Anderson details not only Che's life, but the sociopolitical forces surrounding him. After reading this book, I understand the man AND the myth. It's a lot of reading, but difficult to put down. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I was one of those people who knew the image but nothing more. I even had a tshirt! But, when questioned whether I knew anything about the man or what he represents, and not knowing, I decided to look further. Anderson offers an extremely in depth portrait of Ernesto Guevara, the handsome, hedonistic nonconformist; the first-born son of an old middle-class family into Che: the international communist revolutionary. As noted in the book, Jean-Paul Sartre called him "the most complete human being of our age" and this book explores Che's humanity to the nth degree. By sacrificing his indidualism for the benefit of humanity as a whole, Che created the prototype for a "New Man": the socialist, moral human Che saw in the future. Believing that this transformation could not take place without a violent revolution, Che endlessly sought to expand the Communist revolution, and create a global socialist state. This book truely is worth your while, no matter who you are.
Rating: 
Summary: Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson
Review: Never boring, this tome written about the life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara seems to say it all. Mr. Anderson spent several years researching his subject and as a result offers one of the most in-depth works that this reader has yet to find (and I've found many). Aleida March, Che's second wife, collaborated with Mr. Anderson giving him access to information about Che and also to some of his writings, allowing us an even deeper glimpse into the hero. No Guevara fan should ignore this book.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent, even-handed biography
Review: Anderson's biography of Che Guevara is an impressive accomplishment, and an absorbing read. Having grown up a bit too late to have been aware of Guevara as a contemporary figure, I'm of the generation that inherited him as a cultural icon: quite literally, a "poster boy" for anti-imperialist revolutionaries. The thoroughness of Anderson's research is staggering, and he effectively synthesizes and organizes a huge volume of information. His unprecedented access to people like Castro, Guevara's two wives and other family members, and those who fought alongside him in the Cuban revolution and his expeditions to the Congo and Bolivia provide a plethora of fascinating, and enlightening, detail. Anderson also maintains a very objective, journalistic perspective, avoiding both naive hagiography and knee-jerk demonizing, allowing him to present a fully-developed portrait of a real person who found himself at the center of amazing historical developments. I agree with an earlier reviewer that the text could benefit from some tighter line-editing; Anderson will sometimes use the exact same phrases or descriptions several times within a paragraph. But the writing on the whole is lucid and engaging, and the book both an engrossing character study and thoughtful depiction of the political and social developments in which Guevara's character and legend were formed.
Rating:
Summary: The Scrupulous account of a life of a great revolutionary
Review: This meticulously researched and clearly written biography of Che gives the reader all one wanted to know about the life and history of the revered revolutionary. Although I found the book a bit slow as the author sift through the details of Ernesto Guevara's life, from the account of his early childhood to first loves and his youthful trips, I appreciated the amount of work the author had done in gathering actual quotes and comments about the heroes life from that period. John Lee Anderson also does an excellent job walking us through the development of Guevara and his early influences as he graduates from Medical school and takes up traveling in South America once again. The reader almost grows up along with Ernesto and sees the influences of his early adulthood become his life long convictions that mad our hero famous and ultimately costing him his life. I couldn't put the book down once the revolution started and Guevara became Che and the hero of the revolution. The details of gorilla life were gruesome and the pace of the book ran along a neck breaking speed as Guevara ran the revolution that changed millions of lives. At this point the book was once again nicely balanced between accounts of Che's life and the historical background that painted the landscape of Cuban revolutionary forces. One disappointing detail of the book was a mention of the involvement of the Russians in the beginning phases of the revolution, but the subject was never fully developed. Che's trips abroad were also downplayed, especially his trip to China and his meeting with Mao. Overall I would recommend this excellent and thorough book to anyone who is interested in Che, the Cuban revolution or the struggles of the people of South America in the middle of the twentieth century. It also offers a great perspective on the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs.
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