Che Guevara was something of a cult icon in the 1960s with his visage appearing on all sorts of items and media. In some ways he was considered to be a socialist revolutionary whose ideals were widely copied during the time. He gained his 'fame' during the Cuban revolution and based his operations out of that nation. What was and is not widely known is that Guevara was a hateful and cruel person who thought nothing of torturing and killing the opposition. He also was not really that successful as a revolutionary. This was all brought to light during his campaign to try to bring communism to the nation of Bolivia.

The book starts by providing a short history of Bolivia and how it was gradually whittled down in size due to conflicts with its neighbors. Eventually things stabilized to the size that it is today. Bolivia is not a wealthy nation, but it does have resources that are worthwhile. While a fair portion of the country is arid, it has a variety of climates including tropical and alpine. Its current capital is in one of these alpine areas. The nation has an army, a navy, and an airforce. At the time of this book, the mid 1960s, that air force's offensive arm consisted of T-6 Texans and F-51D Mustangs. Both types saw wide use against Che's guerrilla war.

Che Guevara went to Bolivia with a number of followers and managed to recruit a few of Bolivia's more radical members. However, they were for the most part, quite unsuccessful as they were unable to win over the Bolivian peasantry. Not having wide support led to their downfall. Local farmers and villagers cooperated with government forces. This made it impossible for Che's followers to spend any time in towns or other places. It also made it quite difficult to get supplies. This lack of support resulted in the death or capture (ok, death, as those captured were killed) of all the revolutionaries including Che Guevara. So ruthless was the government campaign against the rebels that even today, very little is written about the campaign.

In line with other books in the series, the author has done considerable sleuthing to dig up info. This was made fairly difficult due to the lack of aforementioned data. His ability to gather information from the government was minimal so much was gleaned from period publications as well as memoirs of those involved. Add to it the usual photos and color profiles, and you have a very well done book. I found the section on the Bolivian Armed Forces to be particularly interesting. It is a fine read and I know you will find it interesting as well.

August 2025

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