Death of a Revolutionary: Che Guevara's Last Mission

by Richard L. Harris

A probing account of the life and death of a 1960s revolutionary icon, with a new chapter on the effects of his legacy today. For many people, Ernesto Che Guevara symbolizes the movement for social change that swept the world in the 1960s--a man who gave his life for his ideals. Whether the man made the legends or the legends made the man, a romantic aura has attached to Che, obscuring the political realities that motivated him. In this astute study of Che's life and his doomed campaign in Bolivia, which draws on extensive field research, Richard Harris considers the essential When Che Guevara was killed by the Bolivian Army in October 1967, did he die a hero, a martyr, or the victim of his own errors? Harris explores Che's youth and early political indoctrination and his association with Fidel Castro and the Soviet Communist parties. He follows Che as he traveled to China, to Africa, to Moscow, seeking to create an anti-imperialist front among the neutral nations of Asia and Africa. And he interviews politicians, government officials, and journalists in Bolivia, where Che went hoping to lead a peasant uprising and instead met his death. Death of a Revolutionary offers a rare, balanced look at the man behind the legend--and the circumstances that created him and shaped his choices.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Politics

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Dr. Richard Harris is Professor Emeritus of Global Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently an independent lecturer, researcher, consultant, writer and editor. He is the managing editor of the international Journal of Developing Societies (published by SAGE India) and a coordinating editor of the well known periodical Latin American Perspectives. He is the author and editor of many publications on politics, economics, history and revolutionary change in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book challenged some of the myths that I had believed in about Che's death in Bolivia.
First, I had long thought that the CIA was primarily responsible for his capture and death. Harris makes a convincing case that while the CIA was involved in the capture and death, Che had already lost before the CIA became involved.

Harris devotes an entire chapter to the betrayal of Che by the pro-Soviet Bolivian Communist Party. Fascinating and very serious.

Harris lists five ways in which the pro-Soviet Communist Party was primarily responsible for Che's defeat:
1. They mislead Cuba about the political situation in Bolivia in the hopes of extracting funds from Cuba.
2. They prevented young Bolivian Communists, trained in Cuba, from joining Che's guerrilla forces.
3. They promised Che support they never delivered.
4. They prevented militants in their Party from joining or otherwise actively supporting Che and his forces.
5. They provided Bolivian authorities and the CIA with important information about Che and his forces.

[Mike Da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us look at the wrongness in life and shake our heads at it before going to work and carrying on with our routine lives. Very few of us decide to do anything to try and fix the problem. This is a story of a man who could have settled for a cushy political job next to Castro, but saw that there was still injustice in the world, and felt the need to do something about it. A brave fighter to the end, who should be known for more than being "that guy on those tee shirts."

[Osama Böy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of Che's last mission in Bolivia. Richard L. Harris provides an impartial perspective of the greatest revolutionary and his adventurism.

[Ryota · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of successful narrative control campaigns on the 20th century communism is burial of the revolutionary twists of Che's Bolivian episode in both mainstream and ''independent'' media, especially, it's about the René Barrientos (1919-1969) regime and his Minister of Internal Affairs Antonio Arguedas Mendieta (1930-2000). Their anti-CIA stance since 1968 led to their personal tragedies (Barrientos was killed in the same way with the Panamanian president Omar Torrijos (1929-1981) in the helicopter ''accident'' in 1969; Arguedas in his last years he fought drug cartels in Bolivia as a governmental official but falsely framed as a drug cartel leader and accused for terrorist activities without any evidence by police, ultimately he was killed by a mysterious explosion which could be seen as an assassination. DEA or CIA involvement on his death is still highly suspicious) however the unexpected episode which is totally buried in establishment publication of today is the most brilliant and revolutionary twist of Che's ''failed'' Bolivian mission. Grave reactionaries, US agents who killed Che and his FOCO in 1967 later became revolutionaries than any ''leftists'' in Bolivia at that time. This is the most exciting part of this book. It's totally impossible without Che's Bolivian guerrilla campaign (1966-67) and his famous Bolivian Diary (1968). In fact, historical meaning and revolutionary impacts of Che's Bolivian campaign are equally or more important than the ''successful'' Cuban revolution of 1959 itself. Anyway, both revolutionary campaigns proved correctness of Che's socialist theory of new mankind ''Communist New Man'' (read Che Guevara's essay "Socialism and man in Cuba" ) and methodology of guerrilla warfare. For his Bolivian campaign, Che's moral fight finally won the heart of Arguedas in 1968. The episode of Arguedas is what CIA wants to totally bury forever. As a result, the episode of Arguedas' rebellion against CIA is still totally excluded from media coverage and narrative of establishment in many countries including ''socialist'' China. The Bolivian campaign must be rediscovered in context by readers without edits. "Failure is the mother of success." (Che's Bolivian mission revolutionized Arguedas after his death)

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should probably start this review with some sort of disclaimer... something to present a non-threatening image of myself so as to calm anyone who might read this review. After all, this book is about Che Guevara, one of the most polarizing figures of recent history. I would not want you to get the wrong idea about my political beliefs... you might otherwise think I was a Communist or a Fascist! So I want to be on record, so that there is no confusion. Listen up, because this is important:

Agusto Cesar Sandino was always my favorite Latin American Revolutionary.

Now that I got that out of the way, in Death of a Revolutionary, Mr. Harris attempts to provide an objective view of Che's fey mission to Bolivia and account for its failure. With this in mind, it should be viewed that this book is not a biography of Ernesto Guevara. Any biographical detail is only included to give perspective and context to his actions in Bolivia in 1967.

So, broken down we have essentially three sections:

1) Background: Here, we get a summary of Che's life up to shortly after the Cuban Revolution. We also get a chapter that summarizes his views on guerrilla warfare and its place in the struggle of Latin America against the imperial reach of the United States. This takes up about 22.4 percent of the book.

2) The Bolivian mission: This includes a summary of the preparation and events of Che's last mission to help further the cause of Latin American Revolution. This is the heart of the book and takes up about 34.2 percent of the book.

3) That means that 43.4 percent of the book then deals with the results and analysis of the event.

That is how the book is structured. And the first two sections are fairly quick reads, very informative, and insightful into the personality of Che Guevara. The analysis following directly after, though somewhat repetitive and redundant at times, is also informative and well argued. The main weakness of this book would come when it deals with events after Che's execution. At this point, we are treated to a thirty page chapter of Arguedas accusations of conspiracy level involvement of the CIA in Bolivia.

At that point, most American readers are probably going to start rolling their eyes and scream "Bias!" before they stop reading this book. But they shouldn't. Those accusations and other such viewpoints are a necessary part of the legacy of Che Guevara that is happening right now in Hispanic countries. Freedom from US imperialism and socialist ideals are at the center of the Revolutionary movement that has adopted Che as its saint and symbol. So aside from observing that a country's history tends not to be as noble and rosy as you may want it to be, it is important to remember that these ideas are important to paint a complete picture of Che Guevara's importance to millions of people.

This book, then, is for people who are interested in Che's place in Hispanic culture. It has some interesting tidbits about the man himself, but this book is not a biography and commits over half its pages on Che's historical and cultural significance.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che wanted to kick start revolution through action. Seems like we've gotten away from those roots and ae too often waiting for the moment when we can take to action, instead of creating that moment. He was constantly thinking about how, by engaging in action, you can (or cannot, in the case of Bolivia) develop popular support.
I don't know the author and while he made some good points (esp how Castroite/Che-ite revolutionary politics were non-sectarian ideally; although because of the need to get outside support, they were forced to choose one side in the soviet camps), it's hard to place him. I esp hate statements like one made early in the book that "[Che] was the personification of the true revolutionary: a super idealist who insists on bringing heaven immediately to earth."

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this as an Early Review and felt compelled to give it a go at the time I received it, which may have colored my impression of it. I generally do not read books on politics or political history, but given that I knew little about Guevara, I thought this work would be a great opportunity to correct that and maybe even find that I'm more interested in those fields. Unfortunately, I found this book quite dry, a fault which may or may not lie with the reader instead of the author. I may give it another try in the future; however, I will do so only when I'm feeling more in the mood.

[Momo29 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book because I remember having no idea of who Che Guevara was. This book gives in depth information of Che's last mission and a analysis of why it did not work

[Scott Worden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was extremly biased toward Che Guevarra and his socialist ideals. I would prefer to read a book that looks at both sides of the plane. However I found it to be very useful into understanding why the United States has such poor relations with South America and how the C.I.A. is a very scary entity.

[Ilan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read more like a research essay than a historical account. I guess it's both.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars are not enough for this book or this man Che! Such a moving read. Read it in one day. I believe I'll put this on my "to REread" list!

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book, perhaps a bit one-sided. I read about 3/4's of it, then I'd had enough....

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite go to book for me read the book tailend of the late 90's

[carlita_is_probably_reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read.. It is a one sided essay pretty much, but interesting none the less. If you are a fan of Che then you should definitely read this book.

[Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

So boring!!!

[Gabby Barrera]

i highly recommend this book: it was a quick and to the point read. the Author gives enough indo and details on Che's life. but also gives you enough background on his journey as a revolutionary.