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Title: Che Handbook, The

Author: Gareth Jenkins, Hilda Barrio

Description: This beautiful book gives new life to the values and thinking of the Che Guevara behind the legend, a man who was at once sensitive, passionate and determined to pursue his socialist dreams to their conclusion.

Che is viewed through the camera lens of his photographer Perfecto Romero, through posters and other images, and through the iconography that grew up around him after his death in 1967 while trying to start a revolution in Bolivia.

The images are accompanied by quotations from writings by Che and others, which show his commitment to timeless human values such as honour, truth, loyalty and honesty, and highlight his transition from a guerrilla fighter to a leader of the Cuban Revolution and his later return to guerrilla warfare.

The picture which emerges is of a complex man with a highly developed aesthetic sensibility, extraordinary self-discipline, physical daring and a remarkable sense of destiny. The images presented and the lucid accompanying text combine to reveal the personal Che behind the icon.

This book is unique. The Che handbook is based on meticulous research in both official and private archives. It is without any doubt, the finest and most comprehensive photographic and iconic record of Che ever published. At the same time, it is the most accessible and authentic portrait of Che through its combination of photographs and writings linking the public man with his private life and feelings.

Content

• Features 200 remarkable photographs, many of which have never before been published.

• Interviews with Ches closest friends and fellow revolutionaries and allies.

• Accompanying text includes detailed captions giving the real story behind each of the photographs. This unique and fascinating information has been discussed with Aleida March (the widow of Che Guevara), as well as with several of Ches still living contemporaries.

• Features striking visual iconography such as propaganda posters, pictures and artwork from renowned revolutionary artists. The pictures are sourced from photographers who were close to Che at different times, the Cuban Department of Revolutionary Orientation, the Office of Historical Affairs of the Council of State, and the Organization for Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America, many of which have not been available before for use in this way.

• Organized chronologically and also around the central themes of Ches life, portraying him not only as a revolutionary fighter, leader and public hero, but also as a private family man, individual and friend.

• Significant extracts and quotations from Ches original texts, personal letters and other little known documents on subjects such as love, honour, integrity, morality, justice, liberation and joy.

• Free double-sided book mark with images of Che at different stages of his life.

About The Authors

Hilda Barrio was born in Havana and studied philosophy and history of art at the university of Havana. She has taught philosophy to diplomats and worked as a curator for the art institute Centro Wifredo Lam and as a producer for national Cuban television. She currently works as a free lance cultural researcher. She undertook the picture research for Havana in My Heart: a celebration of Cuban photography, by Gareth Jenkins (MQ Publications, 2002).

Gareth Jenkins was born in England and studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford, followed by a masters degree in economics. He has been visiting Cuba for many years and is recognised as a leading expert on Cuban culture, business and politics, regularly speaking at conferences on both sides of the Atlantic. He is the author of Havana in My Heart: a celebration of Cuban photography (MQ Publications, 2002).

Visual ContentThis book includes remarkable images of Che as used in posters and other forms of iconography, many of which have never been published. The 200 insightful photographs have been taken by some of Cubas most important photographers. The photographs have been researched from major Cuban archives such as the Cuban Departamento de Orientación Revolucionaria, the Oficina de Asuntos Históricos, the Pabellon Cuba and the archives of the magazine Bohemia, the Prensa Latina press agency and from the personal scrapbooks of Ches widow, Aleida March.First Time Interviews Include* Victor Dreke, who was second in command of Ches column in the Sierra Maestra and accompanied him on his military expedition to the Congo.* Colonel Alberto Castellanos, who was a member of Ches Column 8 which cut the island in two with its victory in the battle of Santa Clara. He became Ches personal bodyguard after the Revolution.

* Alberto Granado was a personal friend of Che from the time of their school days in Argentina, and toured South America with him on a motor bike. He has lived in Cuba since 1959.

* Ulises Estrada Lescaille was entrusted with the task of bringing Che back from his mission in the Congo, via Tanzania and Prague. He is currently Director of Tricontinental, the magazine of the Organization for Solidarity Among the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, founded in 1967.

* Oscar Fernandez Mell, a former mayor of Havana and ambassador to Britain, who as a young doctor joined Ches column in the guerrilla war and later accompanied him on his military expedition to the Congo.What others have to sayThis is a splendid, original and evocative work that conveys the charm and energy that characterised the life and politics of Che Guevara. It will help make his example and his personality available to subsequent generations.Richard Gott, writer and journalist for the Guardian

The style and photos make it a very successful publication with such a useful and interesting explanation of Che from childhood to international figure. Well done to the authors for providing a very valuable handbook on Che.Marjorie Mo Mowlam MP

Che and the Cuban revolution which he served alongside Fidel Castro has inspired people all over the world. Ches death made him a martyr for our common cause. This book reminds us of what he believed and worked for. It is a must for all socialists.Tony Benn

432pp Hbk 170x130

Subtopic: Biographies

Year: 2003

Code: 2641

Price: €17.80