Published by Pimlico, 2003, softcover, condition: as new.
In 1952 Alberto Granado, a young doctor, and his friend Ernesto Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student from a distinguished Buenos Aires family decided to explore their continent. They set off from Cordoba in Argentina on a 1949 Norton 500cc motorbike and travelled through Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. They worked as casual labourers along the way, as football coaches, medical assistants and haulage hands. The poverty and exploitation of the native population changed them for ever. Each man later wrote an account of the journey.
Alberto Granado realised later in his life that what they saw and encountered on their journey represented a crucial turning point. It strengthened Alberto's determination to forge his career as a scientist. And it started the process that was to turn Ernesto - the debonair, fun-loving student - into Che, the man who fought for the liberation of Cuba and became the heroic and glamorous warrior fighting for freedom and social justice, who remains to this day in people's minds Latin America's foremost hero and one of the world's great revolutionaries. A companion to Che's Motorcycle Diaries, Alberto Granado's book is a moving and at times hilarious account of how two carefree young men found their true purpose in life.
If you're looking for a glimpse into the making of Che Guevara, then this is arguably the best option, even more so than Che's own documentation of this journey in his Motorcycle Diaries. However, this is by no means a political work, and anyone interested in true, amusing, life-changing travel stories should enjoy this, regardless of background knowledge on Guevara, or opinion of him. Granado was able to edit this book to show the relevant moments in their journey that would eventually lead Guevara to Marxism, whereas Che was unfortunately not able to add to his diaries, making this a far better account of their journey through Latin America, which is made yet more enjoyable by Alberto Granado's humourous observations and wit.
