Reddit Reddit reviews Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Revised Edition)

We found 14 Reddit comments about Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Revised Edition). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Biographies
Books
Historical Biographies
United States Biographies
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Revised Edition)
2010 revised edition, first printing, new trade softcover, acclaimed
Check price on Amazon

14 Reddit comments about Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (Revised Edition):

u/PlumbTheDerps · 21 pointsr/HistoryPorn

I'm surprised this picture exists. Che was notorious for shunning even the most benign expressions of wealth or leisure after the revolution because he didn't want to be viewed as distinct from the average Cuban.

Edit: All I've ever done is read Jon Lee Anderson's 700-page biography of him and specialize in Latin American politics at the university level, so no credibility here, reddit!

It doesn't matter if you like or dislike Che Guevara or Fidel Castro; my comment had nothing to do with that. Stalin lived frugally also, and he was a complete sociopath.

u/Oneludovicianwon · 11 pointsr/NetflixBestOf

Che killed people. He killed a lot of people. Many of them innocent. He also sacrificed a lot to fight for a cause he believed in. A lot of people blindly idolize him with out realizing the atrocities he committed. Many in the Cuban exile community despise him because he represents everything that went wrong with Cuba's revolution or because he ordered the execution of one of their loved ones.

Regardless of your stance on Che, he is a compelling figure. I highly recommend everyone do some research on him and form your own opinion. I recently read Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life and it changed my perception of the man. I went in thinking very positively about Che and came out with a much better understanding for why he is so reviled. I also better understand why he became the symbol that he is to this day.

u/shobb592 · 9 pointsr/AskHistorians

I thought Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life was an excellent and extremely thorough biography. I really think it's worth reading The Motorcycle Diaries as well just to read his motivation to become the revolutionary icon.

u/Meep-meh · 9 pointsr/socialism

Hmm, I've started reading a biography on Che, and don't know too much about him, so I can't really have an opinion yet.

u/alesiar · 5 pointsr/socialism

ah, I see. well let me cite some shit, too.

  • http://anti-imperialism.com/2014/02/05/debunking-the-che-guevara-was-racist-lie/

  • On massacres: Biographer Jon Lee Anderson, (who spent 5 years studying the topic) has addressed this matter in a PBS forum stating ...
    • "I have yet to find a single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed an innocent. Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder."
  • http://www.amazon.com/Che-Guevara-A-Revolutionary-Life/dp/080214411X - if you want to read more?

    I have no comment on East Germany, because thought I support the Soviet Union in essence, I have never supported some of the things they did, esp. in Warsaw Pact / Soviet bloc nations.


    Now back to the discussion. What do you have to say to my original point? I'll write it here again, because you seem have a knack for avoiding discussions where you have nothing to say for yourself:

    > I don't think you really care about having an honest discussion about socialism vs. fascism if all you bring with you are half-pint facts without any citation.
    > Furthermore, I don't know why we're even having this specific debate in the first place. The picture is that of a female Kurdish fighter who is defending her people from the IS invaders who could murder them or worse if they took control of Kobane.
    > If you still feel that she's doing something wrong, then I'm sorry you feel that way; it seems there is nothing rational that I can say to make you see that what she's doing isn't wrong by any long stretch.
u/Ayatrolla · 4 pointsr/QuotesPorn

Keep believing that bullshit propaganda. There's not one shred of evidence that Che Guevara executed any homosexuals. This is why people need to read and enlighten themselves.

Edit: For anyone that wants to learn more about Che, I highly recommend Jon Lee Anderson's book, which is probably the best researched and balanced biography out there.

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/pics

This book is pretty comprehensive.

u/crashtheface · 2 pointsr/socialism
u/Kush5150 · 2 pointsr/pics

I have always found that peoples' opinion of Che falls in line with their political leanings. I will admit that after reading Jon Lee Andersons incredibly exhaustive biography of Che in which had many many passages from Che personal Journals lent to the author by Ches' widow.

I can say that there are, like most people, good and bad things about Che. I will not deny any bad things about a person;I might argue details and context, but why more? History has a bad habit of painting figures in a positive light. The information if still there though, you just have to go look for it. There was a great post on best of reddit about the atrocities committed by Columbus--a hailed figure in American history-- against the natives. I'm not comparing the two by any means, its just a good example.

But after reading the biography and really, the journal entries of Che, you see a different man. A passionate man, a compassionate man. You see someone so dedicated to the cause that he turns down any government salary and continues living on the meager commandant salary. A true revolutionary who lived with the workers, a man who volunteered his weekends to help out as a labourer. You see someone dedicated to education and virtually eliminating illiteracy.

Any killing, outside of the military tribunals after the overthrow of Batista's regime, which were for the standard crimes for which many militaries around the world call for the death penalty--rape, murder, torture, desertion etc--would have been against, yes, counter revolutionaries, in some Marxist interpretations this is the solution. I don't condone it. Part of seeing and accepting the good and bad. But, and this part is just my opinion, I think the majority of the oppression and killing is more on the Castros.

I think this because of this quote by the author(and, of course the journal/diary entries) "I have yet to find a single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed 'an innocent'. Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder. I should add that my research spanned five years, and included anti-Castro Cubans among the Cuban-American exile community in Miami and elsewhere." — Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, PBS forum


That's a pretty bold statement to make. I'll admit it. Again, I can't sit here and say Che is completely innocent. I just can't. But, I think, that if Che knew about the crimes committed by Castro he wouldn't approve.
I get the impression that Che was more committed to fighting for the people and teaching Marxism and he left more duties up to Castro than he should have. Castro respected his opinion highly and Che was really the one who could keep him in line if need be--diffuse a potentially hostile situation--and when he left for Africa and then Bolivia, he left a very fragile situation in the hands of someone who wanted to control the revolution and not guide it like the State was supposed to.

I just think of him as someone who was fighting for the poor and exploited. Anything after that is up to how much you approve of violence and war to reach your end. It does seem to be a common approach throughout history though .

u/NekoLas90 · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

Put your money where your mouth is and read a real source. If you read that book and don't come out with a different opinion of Che I'd be surprised. He murdered at his own discretion, which didn't take much. If you wanted to go back to your family and leave the resistance you were a traitor, if you were a farmer who was indifferent to the revolution, you were a traitor. Che is such a complex historical figure. This is a man who left his own country by choice to overthrow the government in a country he knew barely anything about. He paid hardly any attention to his first wife or kid, essentially abandoned his second wife and kids. Che was an asshole, through and through, a political idealist who's ideas and orders led to the murder of thousands of innocent people.

u/silasroberson · 1 pointr/AdviceAnimals

Che held free clinics for rural farmers in Cuba even while they were fighting the Cuban army. Free immunizations, checkups etc...the majority of rural farmers in Cuba were black. I assume you are a product of the American school system so all you know is what the state department tells you. Read a few books....http://www.amazon.ca/Che-Guevara-A-Revolutionary-Life/dp/080214411X...http://www.amazon.ca/The-Motorcycle-Diaries-American-Journey/dp/1876175702...http://www.amazon.ca/Our-America-Theirs-Alliance-Progress/dp/1876175818. These are just the start of what got me reading about this man. And just in case you are wondering he is not Cuban

u/TheRealPariah · 0 pointsr/Libertarian

>Prove Guevara killed thousands or kill yourself.

What, exactly, do you want me to produce in order to show Che killed "thousands" of people, including women and children? Do I have to show you that he shot the people himself? Ordered their deaths? Ordered the attacks on villages which resulted in their deaths? Involved in a regime which killed thousands? What is necessary?

>a single credible source

Must be an interesting definition of "credible." He must mean, "I have yet to see a source which I cannot dismiss or ignore trying desperately to defend my preconceived bias."

>executed an innocent

"executed" as opposed to ordered people to do things which resulted in death. And "innocent" as opposed to "killed thousands including women and children." Come on now, you're smarter than this. This is barely even responsive to my post and exposes your thought process as you desperately try to protect your beliefs on this topic.

And Jon Lee Anderson himself most certainly admitted that Che sometimes summarily executed people suspected of spying or informing... including being responsible for and participating in military operations which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. Come on now kiddo, even Anderson (who himself admits he great admiration for Che) admits to these things in A Revolutionary Life. Please read it.

I would gladly produce evidence to prove my assertions, but your going to have to promise me that you will never, ever spout this incorrect, false bullshit again.