“Book Descriptions: Decades ago, in the wilds of southeastern Bolivia, the life of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna came to a sudden, inglorious end. An unquenchable myth was born. To this day, the mere mention of "Che" summons up a mental picture of the bearded revolutionary leader who was deeply & directly involved in the upheavals in Latin America & Africa during the '50s & '60s. From his inclusion of such unique material as Che's teenage love letters to his detailed review of archives in the former USSR & elsewhere, Castaneda provides the most balanced & thoro account of Che's personal & political endeavors-neither a whitewash nor an excoriation, but biography at its best. He places each stage of Che's career in its social, cultural & political context. He tackles questions that are crucial to understanding the entire Socialist venture: Did the Soviets help or betray Che in the Congo & Bolivia? Did Fidel Castro wish him well or hope for his demise? Perhaps most compelling of all, how did a blue-blooded, asthmatic doctor from Argentina transcend ideology & politics to become the icon known as Che? Acknowledgments Prologue Childhood, youth & asthma in Argentina Years of love & indifference in Buenos Aires: medical school, Péron & Chichina First blood: navigating is necessary, living is not Under fire with Fidel Our man in Havana The "brain of the revolution"; the scion of the Soviet Union "Socialism must live, it isn't worth dying beautifully" With Fidel, neither marriage nor divorce Che Guevara's heart of darkness Betrayed by whom in Bolivia? Death & resurrection Notes Index” DRIVE