Fidel and Che: A Revolutionary Friendship

by Simon Reid-Henry

Book Overview

A unique dual portrait shines new light on two of the most dramatic figures of the twentieth century. Drawing on sources in Cuba, Latin America, the United States, Europe, and Russia, and on material... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802715737
• ISBN13: 9780802715739
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Walker Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Revolutionary Friends.

I liked this book very much, being that Che Guevara is one of my favorite personalities. Fidel not so much, but they seem to go hand in hand. I'd like to get my book club to read this book, but unfortunately they are stuck with sappy books, and books on Nevada! You don't have to be a Revolutionary to read this book and enjoy it. Forever Che!

The Lawyer and the Doctor

Mr. Reid-Henry has composed a compelling primer on the state of revolutionary politics in Cuba in the late 1950's and the 1960's. The writer uses duel portraits of Fidel Castro and Ernesto (Che) Guevara to plot first their symbiotic objectives for the Cuban revolt and secondly their divergence over Cuba's post-revolution relations with the Soviet Union and finally Castro's betrayal of Guevara when he pulled the rug from under his ill-fated mission to Bolivia. Contrary to the opinion in the excellent Che Guevera: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson as well as Tad Szulc's Fidel: A Critical Portrait , Reid-Henry concludes there was no acrimony between Castro and Guevara. Both Anderson and Szulc expound at length there was bitterness that marked the years prior to Guevara's departure to the Congo. The Congo and Bolivia - both misguided ventures were disasters in part because Castro abandoned Guevara logistically. However the author insists that cordial relations and extreme respect continued to exist between the two comrades. Despite the differing views of the state of relations between Castro and Guevara, Reid-Henry has put together a vivid and absorbing re-creation of Castro and his revolt in Cuba. Che Guevara and Fidel Castro are genuine towering icons of the 20th century.

Feet of Clay

Che Guevara was one of the great enigmas of the 20th century. He also had, in death, a cult following. Perhaps some of this was due to the famous photo of him staring into the distance with long hair poking from beneath his beret. Is there a more reproduced photo in history? Yet for all his charisma, Che was a dogmatic relentless individual. He grew up in comparative comfort in Buenos Aires where he graduated a medical doctor. However, this was never to be his calling in life. He began travelling widely in Latin America whereupon he met Fidel Castro in Mexico. They became friends and brothers in arms and Che accompanied Fidel on the "Granma" to launch the Cuban Revolution. Upon victory, he was given various ministerial postings. Being a bureaucrat was never to Che's liking. He longed to spread the revolution elsewhere in the third world. He tried first in the Congo without success and then travelled to Bolivia where he ultimately met his death. In this regard he was a naïve dreamer. But he was more than just a dreamer. He was a man who would brook no opposition. He would kill with impunity if he thought it to be in the interest of the cause. Let us never think of Che as just a heroic figure. Like most people placed on pedestals, he had feet of clay. Simon Reid-Henry has compiled a thoroughly readable book that covers the entirety of the relationship between Che and Fidel. The reader is given an insight into the dramatic lives that these two men lived separately and together. It is worth reading for this reason alone. If I was to offer a criticism, however, it would be that the author glosses over the failings of the two men too readily. Neither was perfect. Cuba today is no socialist paradise.