Rating: 
Summary: Easy Rider goes Marxist
Review: It is a beautiful thing to see the political awakening of a young man. And it becomes even more notorious when we know that this man will be a true revolutionary years later.'The Motorcycle Diaries' is the account of a journey made by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado throughout South America in early 1950's. Beginning as a pair of youngsters' journey, this trip become more a self-discovering journey having as background the impoverished and exploited, but above all, not well known America. As most young people, Che and Granado had late-adolescent angst and trying to find a relief they went in a journey in the heart of South America, trying to find what was beyond their middle-class homes. What they find out was much more than what they were expecting to: poor people, with almost no conditions of living, consumed by diseases and being exploited and ignored by the government and the system. It is a joy to see Che transforming from almost a brat into a real man of value, fulfilled with social and political conscience, caring for the poor and sick people. At first, he and his friends are only two guys who want to be on the road and learn about the world. But little did they know how was this world they were about to learn about. Nearly the end, Che is another completely different person. He, now, has social and political thoughts --almost Marxist ideas -- about the world we live in and how South America has been systematically exploited throughout the years. Sometimes painfully funny, sometimes extremely sad 'The Motorcycle Diaries' is a pleasant read, written with heart and soul, by someone who was destined to be big, a person who was destined to change and touch the lives of thousands --as Che did indeed.
Rating: 
Summary: Guevara Pops a Wheelie
Review: It is a little deceptive to refer to this book as "The Motorcycle Diaries" because the motorcycle ( a 500cc Norton) is featured in less that half of the book. However it is an excellent record of Guevara's travels around South America with his friend and colleague Dr. Alberto. If you don't share Guevara's political viewpoint you'll still find the book enjoyable. It is also well written, at times lyrical . It made me wish I read Spanish better because I imagine it is even more descriptive in the original language.Finally, from a historical perspective you can see the beginnings of Che's evolution into flaming Communism. This paleo-conservative gives the book 4 stars and a high recommendation, even if you've never ridden a motorcycle.
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Summary: Rethinking Che's 'Motorcycle Diaries '
Review: Like the book's very title, two out of three comments on the cover of the book are absurd and entirely misleading. "Easy Rider meets Das Kapital" and "It's true; Marxists just wanna have fun" could not have been written by people who read this book and took it seriously. First, there is not one moment in the book where Che might offer us a hint that he had already studied Marx. If anything, there appears a crude and commonsensical 'discovery' of the plight of the poor from the part of an immature white bourgeois. Secondly, to imply that the book is just about having fun misses this very crucial point that there is a 'discovery' being made, however superficial it may seem. I think the implications of this discovery were to be more deeply felt only in the next few years following Che's first South America trip. It is rather unfortunate that the book has been subjected to this form of misleading marketing. But this aspect aside, Che's writing itself should be valued for its insight into the future revolutionary's mind. In between an often confused prose, unsuccessful jokes and a linear and seemingly uneventful (because it is nothing but eventful) storyline, we find a clear inclination toward military tactics, as the lengthy and impressive analysis of possible defence strategies at Machu Picchu reveals. As we know from biographical work, this was indeed Che's strong point, as opposed to Marxist theory. I cannot help saying I was in a certain sense disappointed with The Motorcycle Diaries. Although I had been told that it would dispel any romantic ideas I had about Che, I was not quite prepared for the shock. The feeling that his political analyses were crude to the point of being racist and that his typical Argentine parochialism seeped through the pages only made his choice of style, a distanced, unreflective approach all the more difficult to wade through. But, with a few weeks' hindsight, I must admit that this revolution in the way I see El Che has actually been quite beneficial to the very romanticism of the picture I have of him in my mind. There is more character, more depth, to the blend. Out of the three comments on the cover, then, I can only stick with the third: "Politically-correct revolutionary hero ? Perhaps a few years later, but in this account Che Guevara comes over as one of the lads."
Rating:
Summary: Moving yet humourous
Review: One of the most exiting, brilliant, humourous, moving and honest accounts of a 22 year old's first epic adventure I have ever read. De La Serna tells all in a clear and literate diary well worth reading whether revoltionary, biker or just human. The last section is particularly moving with Guevara's "Bestial Howl of the Proletariat" leading me to follow his cause.
Rating:
Summary: The Motorcycle Diaries
Review: Some books have the ability to change lives. This is one of those books. Less than one month after reading it, I quit my job and left the U.S. for South America where I spent four months "chasing Che" all the way to his resting place in Cuba. (I had never even heard of Mr. Guevara before reading this book). These are powerful words written by such a young man, and any heart that does not open while reading them is probably a dead one.
Rating:
Summary: A True Hero of the Left
Review: The fog of time and the strength of anti-anti-Communism have obscured the real Che. Who was he? He was an Argentinian revolutionary who served as Castro's primary thug. He was especially infamous for presiding over summary executions at La Cabaña, the fortress that was his abattoir. He liked to administer the coup de grâce, the bullet to the back of the neck. And he loved to parade people past El Paredón, the reddened wall against which so many innocents were killed. Furthermore, he established the labor-camp system in which countless citizens--dissidents, democrats, artists, homosexuals--would suffer and die. This is the Cuban gulag. A Cuban-American writer, Humberto Fontova, described Guevara as "a combination of Beria and Himmler." Anthony Daniels once quipped, "The difference between [Guevara] and Pol Pot was that [the former] never studied in Paris." - Jay Nordlinger
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Summary: Terrorists are not cool even if they ride motorcycles
Review: The Motorcycle Diaries is yet another attempt to re-write history and repackage a terrorist. Che was a mentally inbalanced man who by the time he arrived in Cuba, was full of hate and directly ordered the death of hundreds.
His policies caused the collapse of the Cuban economy, the persecution of thousands and the painful separation and exile of over a million people. Ruthless, cold blooded and calculating he was Fidel Castro's main henchman, who early in the Revolution killed and eliminated everyone who could challenge his Marxist Leninist ideas. Fidel and all leftist socialists love and adore him beause he was the most visible anti-American terrorist to come out of the Cuban Revolution.
The main goal of Che Guevara was not peace and love, but hate and destruction. Anyone who lived through his terror can clearly explain the truth. His hate of US Democracy, and the free market system was his driving force. Those who follow him today use his image to gain inspiration and continue with the same goals! Those who are not aware of his past, need to know the truth by reading more than just this one sided book.
This book is not a romantic account of a young idealist, but a propaganda tool.
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Summary: This book gets into the mind and personality of young Che.
Review: The Motorcycle Diaries makes us see the early Ernresto Guevara. His ambition to seek new adventures while trying to survive under poverty makes this book fascinating to read. His rebellious spirit and willingness to seek justice shows up in this book, which gives hints about his legendary future. For more information about Che Guevara read, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life" by Jon Lee Anderson.
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Summary: Puppy Love
Review: There's an honesty in this book that's not seen much lately. And that alone makes this book great. There's a scene where Che and his buddy feel like they are really roughing it, sleeping in a run down shed in the middle of nowhere when they are awoken by scary scratching sounds. They think its a jaguar and they shoot it. Instead they have killed the landowners little puppy. How many travel writers these days would even admit to that? Che's travels are rarely specatacular, and that's refreshing. Still, as do most of my favorite travel authors, his goals are never to see waterfalls or ruins; he is on an adventure of people. For him this involves booze, dancing and women but that's okay...there's something real here and that's what's really enchanting. Although, it is painfully obvious that he becomes a leper expert for the most part because they offer him free food and lodging on his travels (a sort of leper run holiday inn), his dealings and soccer games with them are charming as all hell. Che is shady and admits to it. I love it. Even without his later fame, I would have loved the book. But getting a peak at Che Guevara as a raucous young man brings this book up to five stars. Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Read with Exciting Moments
Review: This book is an absolute must to read, and serves as a perfect introduction into the life of Che. From the introduction which he claims that he is a changed man from this journey, to all the adventures and experiences which ultimately shaped his perceptions on the world. Furthermore, the Motorcycle Diaries bears an atlas characteristic and provides a better understanding of South America. There are contrasting moments, such as stealing bottles of wine and hiding them under a tree and somehow getting caught, to directly seeing exploited workers in mines with poor health. That seems to be the pattern of the book, containing happy and at times outright hilarious moments, to grim realities of poverty, disease, and exploitation. I choose to omit some key adventures because they will serve more effective when read, but I will say that the strength of the Motorcycle Diaries lies in the rare ability to inspire. It instills a sense of humanity in the reader and a better appreciation towards life. It also has the power to motivate, whether in the form of travel, or social action because it is a real documentation of a real journey that had a profound effect on a real and respected individual.
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