Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary

Library Journal

In April 1965, Ernesto "Che" Guevara left Cuba and mysteriously disappeared, eventually resurfacing in revolutionary Bolivia, where he lived until his assassination in October 1967. Now we know that he spent most of 1965 and 1966 in Central Africa, helping anti-Mobuto revolutionaries in the Republic of Congo. This new volume is a collection of writings from and about those years: fragments of letters he wrote, bits of an unpublished manuscript called Pasajes de la guerra revolucionar a: Congo (which Che wrote shortly after leaving the Congo), and transcripts of interviews with Che's compatriots. G lvez, who is a brigadier general in the Cuban army as well as an experienced biographer, ties all of this together with fine, explanatory introductions. Although the title is a misnomer (since most of the information comes from the manuscript written by Che and not the diary itself), this collection provides a documentary history not found in any other publication. Recommended for libraries with collections on Africa or Cuba.--Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, UT Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

Cuban historian G<'a>lvez documents Che's seven-month effort, and failure, to organize and train a revolutionary guerrilla army in Congo in 1965. He juxtaposes passages from Che's own diary with the official diary of the campaign, letters, and later interviews to chronicle the struggle in the context of political events in the rest of Africa and the world as a whole. Drawing on his personal acquaintance with Che and experience as a guerrilla both in Cuba and later in Africa, he also comments and assesses the campaign and the analysis of it. Photographs enhance the treatment, but maps and an index would be more helpful. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)