Guevara, Che

Lincoln. 1998. Bison Books/University oif Nebraska Press. 1st Bison Books Paperback Edition. Very Good in Wrappers. 9780803270756. Introduction by Marc Becker. 173 pages. paperback. . keywords: Politics Latin America War. FROM THE PUBLISHER - This indispensable book includes three of Che Guevara’s most influential essays describing his tactical philosophy of fighting a guerrilla war in Latin America. Guerrilla Warfare, written in 1960, outlines Guevara’s doctrine for guerrilla fighters, especially against Caribbean-style dictatorships. In Guerrilla Warfare: A Method (1963) and Message to the Tricontinental (1967), Guevara modified some of his earlier tenets. These latter two works move away from his earlier dogmatism, suggesting that Marxist revolution was possible even in purportedly democratic regimes. All three essays reflect his deeply held belief that a small, rural-based guerrilla army could trigger a revolution. GUERRILLA WARFARE is both a science and an art. One of the most brilliant students of the subject is Ernesto ‘Che' Guevara, Argentinian-born physician who was a member of Fidel Castro's expeditionary force in Mexico in 1956, and is today the chief planner and administrator of the Cuban economy. In the mountains of Mexico, under the expert tutelage of Colonel Alberto Bayo, the revolutionists learned how to shoot with pistols, rifles, and machine guns; how to make bombs-and how to use them in blowing up a barricade or destroying a tank; how to spot and bring down enemy aircraft; how to camouflage and take cover; how to march through the jungle and see and hear without being seen or heard. In three months of forced marches they learned how to harass the enemy, to bewilder him, to attack and withdraw, attack, disappear, return, wear him down. When their course was completed, the students were graded by Colonel Bayo. First in the class was Che Guevara. What he and his fellow-revolutionists learned in the mountains of Mexico, they put to good use in the Sierra Maestra in Cuba, in the war against Batista. When the time came for the revolutionists to leave their mountain hideout and carry the war to the enemy in open country, Che Guevara, supported by Camilo Cienfuegos, was given the assignment. His La Guerra de Guerrillas is more than a manual of guerrilla warfare. It is a political tract by a revolutionist who believes that the success of a guerrilla army will be determined by the extent to which it fits into the category of ‘the people with guns.' The book is unquestionably destined to become an important historical document. The translation is by Professor J. P. Morray, author of From Yalta to Disarmament: Cold War Debate, published by MR Press. inventory #47669 ISBN: 9780803270756.