The Young Che: Memories of Che Guevara

(Paperback)

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An intimate and endearing portrait of the early life of one of the last century's most important political revolutionaries and one of this century's prevailing icons On 14 June 1928, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina. A charismatic boy who loved jokes and shunned bathing, the first signs of Che's radical perspective began to show long beofre his famous motorcycle journey around South America in 1953. Assembled from two separate books- My Son Che and A Soldier of the Americas- written by Che's father, The Young Che is a wonderfully vivid narrative through Che's bourgeois but nonconformist childhood, the people, books and political events that shaped him, through to the moment he joined Castro to train for the invasion of Cuba. It also includes, published for the first time anywhere, Che's diary of his bicycle journey around Northern Argentina in 1950 and draws on his letters home as he travels further and further afield on his journeys into Latin America. Charting his excitement at what he sees, the spontaneous empathy he feels for those he meets and the humour with which he conveys his feelings, this landmark book- edited and translated by Lucia Alvarez de Toledo- sheds new light on the development of an intrepid, compassionate and adventurous boy who grew up to become an iconic hero throughout the world.

Reviews

[A] thoughtful memoir... Guevara Lynch believes that only by knowing the early milieu of a historical figure can he be understood. Reading about Che Guevara's sickly childhood, love of danger and bourgeois, socialist home... one begins to think he might be right * Guardian *

Author Bio

Ernesto Guevara Lynch was born in 1900 of Irish and Basque origin. He is the father of Che Guevara. Lucia Alvarez de Toledo grew up and was educated in Argentina and was awarded a Scholarship at the University of Delhi, where she read philosophy. Having worked as a journalist and broadcaster in her native Argentina, she settled in London in 1968 and established herself as a professional interpreter and translator. Her background, knowledge of Latin America and long-standing interest in the life and works of Ernesto Che Guevara have enabled her to bring a unique understanding to the first English language translation - and the editing - of this book.