[habernac]

for historical political, I choose Jon Lee Anderson's exhaustively researched Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life



This book is an intense read. You get a play by play of almost his entire life. Anderson's reasearch is unreal. I was always curious as to why so many people wore the t-shirts, etc. I found out that most people have no idea what this man was all about. He was definitely into his cause. But the lengths to which he would go were totally unacceptable.

An amazing read, pick it up and enjoy.

some reviews:

“Superb . . . Mr. Anderson does a masterly job in evoking Che’s complex character, in separating the man from the myth . . .”—The New York Times Book Review

“Excellent . . . admirably honest [and] staggeringly researched . . . It is unlikely that after Anderson’s exhaustive contribution, much more will be learned about Guevara.”—Los Angeles Times

“Groundbreaking. . . . Anderson’s book is an epic end run around the guard­ians of the Che legend.”—The New Yorker

“A masterly and absorbing account of Latin America’s famous guerrilla leader . . . Anderson’s book, easily the best so far on Guevara, is a worthy monumentto a flawed but heroic Utopian dreamer.”—The Sunday Times (London)

“Remarkable . . . Anderson’s account is well rounded and far from uncriti­cal . . . [his] journalistic flair and hard legwork are evident.”—Foreign Affairs

“Exceptional and exciting . . . Anderson’s up-close look, with beauty marks and tragicflaws so effortlessly rendered, brings the reader face to face with a man whose ‘unshakable faith in his beliefs was made more powerful by his unusual combination of romantic passion and a coldly analytical mind’ . . . An invaluable addition to the literature of American revolution­aries.”—Booklist

“A solidly documented biography that succeeds, with brilliant effect, in stripping away the layers of demonization and hero worship that for so longhave concealed the human core of this legendary figure. . . Thanks to Jon Lee Anderson, we now have the true story, the real man, a portrait of excep­tional substance to confound the myth and enhance our understanding of the facts.”—The Kansas City Star

“Jon Lee Anderson . . . draws upon an unprecedented wealth of new infor­mation . . . [an] assiduously researched and perhaps definitive biography.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“A skillful interviewer, Anderson elicited information from dozens of par­ticipants in Guevara’s life….Combining contradictory sources and an immense amount of detail, Anderson produces a multifaceted view of Guevara as a person, seething with ambiguities and complexities. This is an achievement that makes Che Guevara essential for anyone seriously inter­ested in Guevara or the Cuban revolution.”—The Nation

“Thirty years after his death, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life gives an admirablybalanced account of the Argentine adventurer, his real achieve­mentsand glamorous Robin Hood appeal . . . . An excellent guide to the myth behind the martyr.”—The Independent (London)