Guevara, Also Known as Che

Book excerpt: Mexican novelist and historian Paco Ignacio Taibo II here captures the life and character of Che Guevara, the preeminent Latin-American revolutionary of the late twentieth century. The symbol of radical egalitarianism and the war against social injustice, Guevara was gunned down in the jungles of southeastern Bolivia in 1967, his death surrounded by questions that remain unanswered. In the years since he died, fascination with Che and his independent and pragmatic brand of Guerilla Marxism have become increasingly focused. Taibo, whose extensive contacts in Latin American political activism gives him unprecedented access to hitherto untapped sources, probes Che's life with a storyteller's pen and an historian's judgment. Delving into vast archives to which few researchers have entry, Taibo investigates the mystery and myth surrounding Che's life, careers, and ideals.