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Congo Diary by Ernesto Che Guevara

Congo Diary

Episodes of the Revolutionary War in the Congo

Ernesto Che Guevara, Che Guevara Studies Center, Gabriel García Márquez

Seven Stories Press · Print & ebook · November 2, 2021

Ernesto Che Guevara's diary of his revolutionary struggle in Congo alongside Cuban guerrillas.

Revolutionary HistoryHispanic & Latino BiographyCentral African Historyhistory
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biographypoliticalscience
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Who it’s for
Guevara recounts the Congo campaign and examines its failures in his own diary.
Genres
Central African History, Revolutionary History, Hispanic & Latino Biography
Published
Seven Stories Press, November 2, 2021

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Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Central African History.

  1. Death in the CongoEmmanuel Gerard, Bruce Kuklick64% match
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  6. King Leopold's GhostAdam Hochschild59% match
  7. The Motorcycle DiariesErnesto Che Guevara, Walter Salles58% match

For younger readers: Leaving Glorytown, A Pride of African Tales

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About this book

Ernesto Che Guevara's diary of his revolutionary struggle in Congo alongside Cuban guerrillas. In April 1965, Che Guevara set out clandestinely from Havana to Congo to head a force of some 200 veteran Cuban soldiers to assist the African liberation movement against Belgian colonialists, four years after the assassination of the democratically elected socialist president of Congo, Patrice Lumumba.

Continue reading

This diary deals with what Che admits was a "failure," and he examines every painful detail about what went wrong in order to draw constructive lessons for planned future guerrilla movements. Unique among his books, Congo Diary gives us Che's brutal honesty and his story-telling ability as he recounts this fascinating episode of guerrilla warfare unblinkingly and without sugar coating or jargon. Considered by some to be Che's best book, it is also one of the few that he had a chance to edit for publication after writing it.

The Congo Campaign

Guevara recounts the Congo campaign and examines its failures in his own diary.

Come here for

  • A diary of Guevara’s revolutionary struggle in Congo alongside Cuban guerrillas
  • His examination of what went wrong and lessons for future guerrilla movements

Expect

  • A candid account of the campaign’s painful details
  • A firsthand view of guerrilla warfare in Congo

Where it sits

Central African History45%
Revolutionary History37%
Hispanic & Latino Biography31%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Hispanic & Latino Biography
  • Central African History
  • Caribbean & Latin American Politics
Authors
Ernesto Che Guevara, Che Guevara Studies Center, Gabriel García Márquez
Publisher
Seven Stories Press
Published
November 2, 2021
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Hispanic & Latino Biography