Monography profile

The book Che is the most comprehensive work on the famous Latin American revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, who became a symbol of revolution and resistance against American imperialism. Together with Fidel Castro, he fought the Cuban Revolution (1956-1959), and later led guerrilla units in Africa (1965) and Bolivia (1966-1967), where he was assassinated with the assistance of the US CIA, but which turned him into a martyr for leftists and national liberation movements around the world. He became an inspiration to millions of young people because he sacrificed his life for his ideals. Luboš Blaha's book describes the turbulent course of Guevara's life, with an emphasis on his political thought. He also analyses his work, especially his foco theory and his vision of the new man. The author interprets Che Guevara as a typical representative of the so-called romantic left, which he contrasts with the so-called technocratic left. At the same time, he challenges the thesis that Che Guevara was a representative of the libertarian New Left; on the contrary, the book argues that his political views belong to the classical Marxist-Leninist current, and that his ideas can also be imputed as part of a broader ideological current of the national left.