El Che Guevara

Hugo Gambini, one of Argentina's most prestigious journalists, published El Che Guevara in 1968, a captivating biography that quickly became a bestseller. Acclaimed by John Womack Jr. in The New York Review of Books for its objectivity and meticulous research, this book traces the life of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna from his birth in Rosario, Argentina, through his adventurous youth, to his odyssey in the Sierra Maestra and beyond.

Gambini's narrative follows the doctor-turned-guerrilla, chronicling his experiences with asthma, his medical work in the jungle, his deepening Marxist convictions, and his transformation into "El Che." The biography offers intimate details of Guevara's childhood in Alta Gracia, his family dynamics, his early travels across Latin America, and the profound influences that shaped his revolutionary spirit, including the political climate of 1930s Argentina and an early encounter with the Spanish Civil War through refugee friends.

This is not merely a chronological account but a deep dive into the making of a legend. The book covers Guevara's roles as an adventurer, a guerrilla leader, a politician, an economist, and ultimately, a myth. Notably, El Che Guevara was banned by the military dictatorships of Onganía (1969) and Videla (1976) in Argentina, a testament to its powerful and unfiltered portrayal. Upon its reissue in 1996, it received the prestigious Planeta Award for Best Biography.

This Stockcero edition is an indispensable resource for advanced courses in Latin American History, Political Science, Revolutionary Movements, and Biography, offering a rigorously documented account that seeks to understand the man behind the myth.